Harvest Report 2026

'Short but sweet!’

My mate Neil McGuigan once said to me “I’ve never seen one vintage like another” and 2026 was no exception!

Following on from one of the longest wet and cold winters I can remember we were treated to the most perfect growing conditions over Spring. Returning from a short Christmas break we were hoping to have our usual couple of weeks to prepare for harvest. Mother Nature had other ideas and started to turn up the thermostat. Ripening started to really scream along so testing started 7th January and by the 16th we were picking the Gewurztraminer and vintage was on.

What followed was 48 hours of grueling work. Semillon block E, Cyril block, Rosalie Joan Verdelho and the Chicken shed block all picked within two days the 17th and 18th!! That was the whites all picked. In two days we had achieved what would take us two weeks. Tonnages were on target and the fruit looked excellent.

Then came a lull of two weeks as the reds continued their ripening at a slower pace.

A great parcel of Tempranillo was picked on the 1st February by our hardy crew of club members. A cluster of 40 degree days had us gravely concerned as the Shiraz vines were really starting to wilt but they hung in there and on the 3rd to the 4th the Shiraz blocks were all picked. The tonnages were down but the fruit quality is excellent so a William Henry is a good possibility this vintage.

So that was it, our whole vintage was done over two 48 hour periods! I’ve never seen anything like it. Big sighs of relief and chance to put the feet up early😊

Cheers

Ross & Jason Wilson