Central Otago had "a tricky little vintage", says James Dicey of Grape Vision.
Finding excellent crops on Greystone's hillside vineyards was "great, but also gutting", says winemaker Dom Maxwell.
Nelson was dealt a significantly low fruit set and crop this year, says Andrew Greenhough, with yields of Greenhough Vineyards' home block down by 30 to 40 percent.
Brian Bicknell is carfully watching the shifting landscapes of hospitality around the world, hoping to gauge the strength of Mahi's markets.
The 2021 harvest was the latest in a run of kind harvests for Gisborne, says Matawhero owner Kirsten Searle.
Dry River Wines has always been aptly named, but is especially so now, says Winemaker Wilco Lam, with vintage 2021 highlighting the industry's dire need for drought tolerant rootstocks.
“It's been an excellent harvest for us in Hawke’s Bay,” says Te Awa winemaker Richard Painter, at Villa Maria’s winery on the Gimblett Gravels.
A very early harvest paired with a very slow shipping schedule caught Auckland Winemaker Peter Turner on the hop this vintage.
An unusual and unsettled summer has been the theme for many of the growing regions across New Zealand.
Marlborough grape growers enjoyed a leap in yields and profits for the 2020 season, despite the complications of a Covid-19 harvest.
Native plantings trialled under Villa Maria vines have yielded good results, despite dry conditions and destructive rabbits.
Hawke’s Bay celebrated its inaugural biodiversity field day in early February, with grower Xan Harding leading a posse of viticulturist utes on a tiki tour around the wider Bridge Pa area.
When Anthonius and Leonarda Ham emigrated to New Zealand from the Netherlands in the 1960s, there were probably no thoughts of establishing a wine business.
A 19-year soil monitoring programme in Marlborough is showing viticultural use is leading to more compact soils, increased nutrient loss and a decrease in organic matter.
Winegrowers in Central Otago are embracing organic practices at a rate that “punches above their weight”.
In the first Sommeliers Choice Awards held in the US, a Marlborough winery gained medals for every single wine they entered in the competition.
Since graduating from Lincoln University in 2004, Central Otago viticulturist Nick Paulin has been on a steep upward trajectory.
The summer of 2019 is not the first time Marlborough has suffered from a big dry.
It’s high in price, small in production and set to grow following high quality grapes from the 2018 vintage.
Te Hera Estate Vineyard is small by anyone’s standards and its output is destined to become even smaller this year after a spring frost wiped out approximately half of its potential grapes for the 2019 vintage.
Central Otago grape growers and orchardists will continue to face labour shortages at critical times like harvest, if the region can’t provide enough accommodation for seasonal workers.
The Central Otago wine industry may have “dodged a bullet” with a record long and severe early season October frost, says acting Central Otago Winegrowers Association chairman James Dicey.
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