Vines in good shape as grapes ripen

TESTING TIME: Lone Gum's vineyard manager Tim Laverack says monitoring for pests and diseases, such as powdery mildew, in the vineyard during summer is important.Relevant offers

The region's flagship vines are lighter this year as attempts are made to bring supply and demand for Marlborough wine back on track.

Lone Gum's vineyard manager Tim Laverack said his vines were in good shape with a yield prediction of 10 tonnes per hectare in the sauvignon blanc blocks.

He said fewer sauvignon blanc canes were laid down to reduce overall yield this year.

He said bunches would be weighed pre-veraison (onset of ripening) to get a more definite idea of crop levels.

The vineyard had been leaf plucked to help air flow through the vines to allow the fruit to dry and for disease prevention.

He said the next step was to do a spray before bunch closure which should be in the next week.

The pinot noir and chardonnay grapes had already had this spray.

Gibson Bridge Vineyard owner Howard Simmonds said the vines were looking "exceptional".

He said despite a slow spring growth the vineyard had accelerated with everything on track for harvest.

Mr Simmonds said his vineyards were all cropping low this year with about 25 bunches per vine on most blocks though some blocks had up to 35 bunches per vine.

Wither Hills general manager Geoff Matthews said there was some mechanical and hand leaf plucking still to do but everything was looking "pretty good".

He said the vineyards were on track for the crop level the winery wanted but there was crop adjustment taking place in some pinot noir blocks.

The cooler summer had slowed down vineyard growth but this would quickly catch up if yesterday's weather continued, he said.

In 2008, the national grape harvest was an unprecedented 285,000 tonnes which was followed with another 285,000 tonne harvest in 2009.

As a result of these large harvests New Zealand Winegrowers have called on the industry to reduce