Grapes left to rot vines in Hawkes Bay

Grapes have been left to rot on the vine in Hawke's Bay this year because a wet autumn has hit the quality of the vintage.

Hawke's Bay Winegrowers chairman Nicholas Buck said the weather had made the 2011 vintage a challenging one, though many wineries – including his own Te Mata Estate – were happy with the grapes they had picked.

However, some contract growers had suffered as wine companies had refused to take their grapes because the quality was not considered high enough.

Even at the lower end of the market, companies were insisting on good quality. Growers who had not put in the extra work in the vineyards to cope with the wet conditions were left with grapes they could not sell, so they did not pick them, Mr Buck said.

Wineries needed to sort their grapes and reject rotten or inferior fruit, but the careful companies would make some good wine this vintage.

Sileni Estates winemaker Grant Edmonds said he had heard some "horror stories" from other wineries but he was happy with the grapes he had received.

Mr Edmonds and Sacred Hill winemaker Tony Bish said chardonnay had been a particular problem. Quantities were down because of cool weather at flowering and then rain and humidity had caused rot in some vineyards.

"We process grapes from Hawke's Bay and Marlborough, and Marlborough had a particularly good vintage," Mr Bish said.