Those conditions have impacted on yields across the board according to New Zealand Wine CEO Philip Gregan.
“At this stage, based on our recent Pre-Vintage Survey of wineries, our current estimate is for a harvest of around 300,000 tonnes of grapes, down from the record 328,000 tonnes in 2011.”
Mr Gregan noted however that pre-vintage estimates of crop size are not an exact science. “With the variable crops that wineries have reported, this makes crop estimation more difficult than normal. Accordingly, the harvest could be up to 20,000 tonnes smaller or larger than our current estimate.”
Auckland
In Auckland the harvest began on target, says Melba Brajkovich from Kumeu River Wines, which had 52 pickers and a little Pinot Noir and Hunting Hill Chardonnay in, as at mid March.
“We’re quite happy but we’ve only just touched the tip of what we’re going to pick; not even a fifth. So there’s a lot to come in yet,” said Brajkovich.
“There was a lot of rain on some other grapes, though, so it’s probably a bit early to ask but if this weather stays as it is, it will be fantastic,” said Brajkovich, on a sunny early autumn day.
Gisborne
A typical La Nina season cloudy and wet with less sunshine hours and heat, means the Gisborne vintage is running about seven to ten days later than normal says Gro Co general manager and viticulturist Warwick Bruce.
“At this stage the grapes are holding up well. The looser bunches, and combination of high acids and pH, and sugars on the low side is helping.”
“Grape picking started in the first week of March for companies producing sparking wines.”
Gisborne Winegrowers president John Clarke desscribed the yields as average for the region, over most varieties; “Better than last season,” he said. The weather over the next few weeks will determine how the vintage will be remembered, with all growers hoping for blue skies and warm temperatures from here on in, to ensure the fruit reaches maximum ripeness.
Hawkes Bay
An uncharacteristically cool season that delayed fruit ripening in Hawkes Bay promises to deliver up good flavours for the region’s wines.
At the beginning of March it was stacking up as a particularly good vintage for Chardonnay, aromatic whites – apart perhaps from Pinot Gris – Merlot and Syrah.
The growing year got off to a promising start. Frosts didn’t pose a threat and there was a good fruit set throughout the region.
However, as the season progressed the Bay rarely turned up the thermostat.
Chris Howell says it was the coolest summer he had experienced in the 15 years he has been growing grapes at Maraekakaho and his figures for the number of growing degree days support that view. At the end of February, Chris had recorded 910 against an average of 1083 for temperatures above 10 degrees.
A summer characterised by cloudy days and reasonably warm nights did not boost the brix, but those conditions have helped in developing flavours. And with looser bunches and less rain than last year, growers haven’t had to struggle with periods of infection and were feeling happy with the quality of their fruit as they headed into vintage.
“Chardonnay should be really good,” says Chris. “The aromatics are going to be outstanding, with good flavour/acid balance. Syrah, if it can hang out long enough, should be very good.”
Vintage was expected to get underway two weeks later than usual, starting with Pinot Noir for methode champenoise at the beginning of the third week of March. It will continue into May with late Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and grapes for late harvest wines.
Martinborough
This year’s vintage is late. Whatever the weather over the next few weeks, it will largely define the quality of grapes harvested this year, says Helen Masters, winemaker at Ata Rangi in Martinborough.
“We had quite a cool spring, which has meant high variability in the cropping levels.”
While it’s mostly Pinot Noir that will be reduced in quantity terms; Chardonnay looks to be “okay, though not high”, while Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc appeared to be more in line with usual cropping levels, Masters said.
The saving grace of Martinborough winery, Murdoch James, may be a reduction of about 30 per cent of the anticipated Sauvignon Blanc crop, due to cool weather, says winemaker Carl Fraser.
He expects an even greater reduction in Pinot Noir this year.
“We’ve certainly had a slow season but this year’s grapes have vibrant acidity.
“Our ripeness levels may have been saved by poor flowering in December, which really reduced our crop levels. And with a very cool summer that’s turned out to be a really good thing.”
Marlborough
Prior to December it looked like Marlborough would be on track for another larger than average vintage in 2012. But the weather never came to the party, instead heralding in very cool December conditions, which impacted on flowering across many varieties. Temperatures rose again for a few weeks in January, but since then, Marlborough has very much lived up to the nation’s name, of land of the long white cloud.
There were less sunshine hours in Marlborough in February than there had been in the 80 years previously.
The average temperature was down and while rainfall and wind were below average, it was the lack of warmth and sun that has impacted on the upcoming vintage.
Yields are estimated to be 10% down on the long-term average, and when compared with the heavy yields of recent years, they are between 25 and 30 percent down, (depending on just where in the region you are). Chardonnay and Pinot Noir were most affected by the cool flowering conditions and although Sauvignon Blanc numbers are also down, some of that has to do with careful vineyard management back at pruning, as growers strove to keep within expected yield caps.
Vintage itself is up to two weeks behind average, but it also has to be remembered that Marlborough has had some very early vintages in the past five years.
The great fear for many growers is, will the fruit reach optimum soluble solids, before the region is hit by an autumn frost? When the weather bomb hit New Zealand in early March, it brought snow to the mountains to the west of the province – a frightening reminder that wintry conditions can strike at any time.
Given the window has been pushed back in terms of starting harvest, there is no leeway in this region at the other end, for fruit to hang out there, unless of course a very late Indian summer appears on the horizon.
There are many in the region keeping their fingers crossed
for that to happen.
Nelson
Rain in December during flowering has had a significant impact on crop size with most growers reporting a reduction of between 20% and 40% on what they would consider normal yields.
After Nelson’s flood event in December the weather in January and the first half of February was perfect; hot and dry conditions with moderate daily breezes - the perfect antidote to the earlier rains.
However the cooler than average end to February and into March has had an impact on flavour profiles.
Most growers spoken to are reporting a medium to light fruit crop that is pretty much disease-free and appears to be ripening nicely. But the challenge for all growers in the region is going to be the slow development of flavour intensity and natural sugar levels in the crop if the variable weather continues as forecast.
Harvest is due to start at about the normal time, although for some it may be a touch later than in previous years. Vineyard management and location, along with the ability of winemakers to extract full flavours from the fruit delivered to them, will be critical factors in the quality of the final product delivered by a challenging 2012 wine grape harvest.
Canterbury/Waipara
Waipara and Canterbury may have not experienced some of the extremes seen elsewhere in the country this season, but it has still been “one of the most challenging for a long time”, according to Chairman of Waipara Valley Winegrowers, Gwyn Williams.
“Its cool wet nature has been the dominant factor from the beginning, resulting in variations in the crop especially in bunch and berry size,” he noted. “The number of bunches varies per plant and unit area varies as well, with people working hard to manage these crops both for volume and quality.”
Volumes are likely to be down by around 25%, with the harvest currently looking to start approximately two weeks later than average.
“The vines have had to cope with early frost events, poor flowering and prolonged fruit set stage,” reported Dom Maxwell from Greystone. “Growing degree days are now starting to lag behind the 2010 vintage which finished warm and very dry, but with the easterly patterns we are seeing, chances of sunny dry weather appear low.”
But it’s not all doom and gloom as disease appears low and wineries are reporting small bunches and berries, and consequently the potential for good wine.
“Definitely the season will be later than most of the vintages in the last five years,” commented Lynnette Hudson at Pegasus Bay, “but if the season finishes like 2010, we will be ecstatic: there is great potential for the white wines and great purity of flavour due to the longer hang time and excellent natural acids.”
As in Waipara, Canterbury has experienced a cooler than average growing season. No early frosts and a warm and wet spring, got things off to a good start, with flowering ahead in some vineyards. However fruit set appears variable and humidity has created disease pressure.
Central Otago
Central Otago, at least early on, escaped the ravages of the big wet summer unscathed. In fact, December was one of the driest for a long time, with a welcome string of 30+ degree days over the Christmas break. There was also less wind than usual, and these conditions resulted in an ideal, quick flowering with strong berry set (except for those sites – mainly high altitude – adversely affected by the freakish snow/frost event in early November). It wasn’t until mid January that Central gained its first real rain (roughly 20mm), which was followed by more two weeks later. It wasn’t altogether unwelcome, especially leading into veraison.
Conditions were looking ideal – a great summer with warm conditions, good fruit set, plus disease-free, healthy and open canopies. But on the 23rd of February, Central Otago saw rain. A lot of rain. Up to 7 and a half centimetres poured onto the vineyards over 24hours, which either ballooned those berries with enough cell elasticity, or split those berries incapable of stretching. Suddenly average-sized bunches became oversized bunches. All was not lost – the level of splitting was negligible at best – but it did open the door for some late season botrytis pressure, which we’re now seeing after four more (smaller) rain events leading up to the middle of March.
The one saving grace is that, with the season earlier than average (though not as early as 2011), there is a finite window for that rot to proliferate. ν
