Martinborough’s winemakers are smiling. They talk about “fantastic fruit” and the sheer delight of having back-to-back “excellent seasons”.
TS Eliot said “April is the cruellest month” and viticulturists may agree this year. Fortunately, with a few exceptions, most wineries brought most of their 2014 harvest in before the April rains did much damage. There were frenetic days of picking with one eye on the weather, and long nights in the wineries.
“Everyone was pretty much done in Martinborough as picking started early and it was warm and dry for most of harvest,” commented Martinborough Vineyard’s Paul Mason, chairman of the Wairarapa Winegrowers.
“Rain caught the last blocks, but all the good stuff was well and truly done by then. We did better than some other regions.”
Many rieslings and gewürztraminer grapes were left on the vines, and aficionados of “stickies” are looking forward to some fine examples of the sweet effects of botrytis.
As one resident observed, you know you live in a wine village when the aroma of grapes fills the night air as you drive past a winery.
