The winery is now as empty as it has been in a long time with the final despatches of 2021 Whitehaven wine – Chardonnay and Pinot Noir - going out for bottling at the start of March. Despite the much smaller intake in 2021, we have decided to still produce a 2021 Greg Pinot Noir. We were extremely pleased with the quality of fruit from vintage 2021 and we want to be able to continue the legacy of our limited-quantity Greg Pinot Noir.
Early March has also seen the arrival of our 2022 harvest interns. We have some very welcome returnees from 2021 along with plenty of fresh new faces, all friendly and eager to learn. Special thanks to the team who have worked tirelessly in a very competitive market to assemble a great harvest crew and have put together a comprehensive induction and training program to ensure we’re well placed when the fruit starts rolling in.
Speaking of fruit, the vineyard team have been busy liaising with growers, monitoring and sampling the ripening fruit and the winemakers have been turning their focus to the 2022 wines. Things have kicked off with a Chardonnay hand pick for our Samantha Methode Traditionelle on March 7th. The busy intake of Sauvignon Blanc is not expected to really get going until well into the second half of March at this stage, slightly later than previous years.
Finally, the new receival building and red cellar at the winery is nearing completion and looking very smart, with only the final touches now required. The team is now able to familiarise itself with the layout of the new building and function of the new equipment. It certainly feels like a big step up from the last year’s receival area and can’t wait to test it out in a few weeks.
