Vintage Report 2022

Vintage Part 1

Vintage started 2 weeks later than previous years but in some ways like the old days. Leading up to vintage we had a wet winter/ spring but in summer we had some brutal heats waves and beastly eastly winds. The change of season came early and by April things are looking for very autumn with significant rainfalls. With average temperature of 22-14 degrees, we are reminder that this area and this season is all about slow ripening. Vineyard that are well prepared and seasoned winemakers of the area will fare well with long term experience of a wet season.

Whites have Great acidity! Again, timed picking and good vineyard practices prove well here. It's all about the natural balance of the wine within the vineyard and the quality of the fruit which will provide wines with searing intensity. Good acid equals good Riesling year. Over two full weeks all the whites came in and look great.

Vintage Part 2

Red were slow to ripened. Again, reminding us of old times. While waiting 3 weeks for reds to ripen we had a significant rainfall. One day over 40+ mms. This dropped all the reds baume by 1. Which is a lot when they are ripening half a baume a week! But waiting tests your patience and finding little jobs in between times frustrating. Experience begins to kick in, I can see a work funnel forming where things will all happen at once.

As May looms another big rainfall is predicted, and we make the decision to pull everything off at once. We were not alone. The whole region was doing the same. The boys harvested fruit 6 days straight. I remember being in some much physical pain from the workload. It was like I had spent all weekend at a sports carnival. But I am happy with the quality and ripeness. Once again, the quality of our vineyard fairs well in difficult conditions.

Because all the reds came in at once they also needed to be pressed at once. We began a big 5 days of pressing all the reds. At the same time was the Taste Great Southern festival. The last press was done on Tuesday and our infamous Long Table Lunch was on Sunday. Finding staff had been an issue but we manage to get a few friends to help out and put on a great Long Table lunch celebrating our 45^th Anniversary.

As a girl who has built her career on being resilient this year has been relentless. We spent the last 3 weeks of vintage in a state of "just gotta get pass the next deadline and the next deadline and the next…"

Slow ripen patience and experience is key to 2022 vintage as will be strong winemaking skills to produce reds with depth of tannins. Whites will produce wines with great acidity and excellent for aging. Low alc reds but great colour and skins for flavour will prove popular early.