Good wine tipped despite late harvest

Wairarapa winemakers are breathing a sigh of relief after a sunny Easter finally allowed the harvest to get under way.

Many Martinborough and Gladstone vineyards started picking grapes this week, much later than usual after a cool, wet summer meant the fruit was slow to ripen.

But while the lack of sunshine will make for lower yields – and higher prices – winemakers are confident they can still produce a top-quality drop.

"It's not going to be a blockbuster year like we had in 2003, where we had a really hot summer," said Kai Schubert, of Schubert Wines.

"But I remember the 2004 vintage was a very cold summer with a late harvest, and that summer, while not going down in the history books as a top year, we made some fantastic, elegant pinots."

Workers had hand-picked white wine varieties, including chardonnay, at Mr Schubert's Martinborough vineyard on Tuesday, and yesterday started picking pinot noir grapes at a Gladstone plot.

A string of sunny days over Easter had given the grapes a boost, he said.

"We're really happy with the quality we have seen so far, and that's probably due to the amount of work we've had to put in to make up for the weather."

Some varieties such as syrah, which required more time on the vine, may not be harvested at all, Mr Schubert said.

"They will be the really tricky grapes. We'd be looking to pick them at the end of May or the start of June and that is getting really, really late."

Hawke's Bay Wine Growers vice-chairman Xan Harding said the Hawke's Bay harvest was 10 to 14 days behind, "like everywhere else".

That had led to a compressed season, with white wine grapes being harvested over two "frenetic" weeks rather than the normal six.

While the season would certainly prove financially tough for growers, it should not affect wine quality, he said.

"There's no market for bad New Zealand wine, so if the grapes don't cut the mustard they just won't be harvested."

As it got closer to winter, it was inevitable grapes would start to rot on the vines, he said.

Martinborough recorded just 536 hours of sunshine during summer – the third-fewest since records began in 1986 – as well as being wetter than usual.