Glimmer of a juicier future for our grapes

IT HAS been a challenging season in more ways that one for the Gisborne Wine industry but those involved can see glimmers of light at the end of the tunnel.

Gisborne grower consortium GroCo general manager Warwick Bruce said the vintage to date has seen mixed results with a percentage of vineyard blocks (Chardonnay sparkling) harvested earlier than last year and other blocks/varieties (e.g. Pinot Gris) harvested seven days later than in 2010.

“The Pinot Gris fruit quality to date has been very good and is some of the best that I have seen,” said Mr Bruce.

Rain events of February and early March did cause some concerns, but again the effects on grape condition varied from region to region within the Gisborne Plains and even from block to block.

“By far the biggest frustration to growers and wineries has been the cloudy cool days and lack of sunshine that has resulted in the slow ripening of the grapes.

“The country is in a La Nina weather phase and as such we expect wetter conditions associated with this, however whilst we have had some rain events over the past four weeks, these could have been greater had it not been for the “highs” that have pushed the rain bearing fronts out to the east,” he said.

The month of March is the main grape harvest month for the Gisborne region and while there has been a reasonable volume of fruit harvested to date this has been mainly for sparkling base wine.

The harvest of fruit for table wine has only just started and will continue through until the end of the month for white varieties and mid April for the reds.

GroCo has harvested the majority of its Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc grapes and three blocks of Chardonnay; there is still a large percentage of shareholder fruit to harvest and in excess of 2200 tonnes was expected in total from the 2011 vintage.

Mr Bruce said the weather pattern over the next three weeks would have a major influence on the end results.

Gisborne Winegrowers president John Clarke said some varieties had been under pressure from humid conditions in late February and early March but overall quality was good in vineyards round the district.

Around 20,000 tonnes was expected to be harvested in the 2011 vintage compared with around 18,500 tonnes harvested last year.

From a Gisborne perspective the arrival of Indevin and Lion Nathan has breathed new life into the Lindaeur brand that is a Gisborne icon, he said.

“It desperately needed a shot in the arm to get it back to its rightful place in the market, both locally and nationally and the leverage off that brand can only be good for Gisborne down the track.”

Internationally sales are on the up and this year’s likely national harvest will be close to the total wine sales.

“This is good in one sense, but is being achieved at the expense of profitability for both wineries and growers and this is the big challenge going forward.

“The fall in the OCR is fine but the high dollar and the rising costs of inputs is a large financial challenge for growers and wineries.

“We are not out of the woods but we can see glimmers of light.

“This is long-term industry and the majority are in it for the long haul and will ride out the highs and lows,” says Mr Clarke.