Wine Grower (2154)
When nature hit Hawke's Bay with Cyclone Gabrielle, Steve Poulter hit back with John Deere.
Nothing can prepare a winemaker for the news that they won't be able to undertake vintage due to unforeseen circumstances.
Less than 12 weeks after Shed 530 Estate opened its doors in the Dartmoor Valley, Cyclone Gabrielle smashed them to pieces.
Kiwi mental health advocate Mike King has thrown his support behind an Eskdale restaurateur's community health initiative.
Indevin was on the cusp of its Gisborne vintage when Cyclone Gabrielle stormed through, cutting communications, inundating vineyards, and blowing harvest-as-usual out of the water.
Ian Quinn is wearing the patient, purse-lipped mask of someone being harried by myriad snippets of shouted advice as he manoeuvres Links Road’s tractor-forklift through the silt at Petane winery.
“It was an apocalyptic crazy scene,” says Philip Barber, of watching cars and containers float past his house during the fury of Cyclone Gabrielle. “It was like the world was ending.”
As incredible scenes of seasonal workers stranded on rooftops emerged during the flooding in Hawke's Bay in February, local businesses and community groups leapt into action, providing emergency shelter, clothing and food.
When Simon Gilbertson was 4 years old, he and his father stood on the beach at Seatoun, watching in horror as Cyclone Giselle sunk the Wahine.
At the other extreme of the nation's weather stats, Central Otago had low rainfall from December through February, with 44.4mm of rain (37% of the LTA) in the 82 days from 1 December to 20 February.
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In North Canterbury, Greystone Viticulturist Mike Saunders is very happy about harvest prospects, with Pinot Noir his pick for the season, due to good flavour development at lower brix.
Despite one of the most challenging Marlborough growing seasons Clive Jones has seen, he's feeling "very positive" about the 2023 vintage.
Wairarapa winegrowers "got off lightly" compared to other parts of the North Island this season, says Urlar Winemaker Jannine Rickards.
Hawke's Bay and Gisborne winegrowers were hit hardest by Cyclone Gabrielle, capping off an inclement season already beset with disease pressure.
