Working together to bring in a great harvest

Every vintage is the story of a great coming together. As the grapes reach the peak of their condition, everyone in the vineyards and in the winery work together to get the best quality fruit into the glass.

Vintage 2022 Harvest was no exception, with everyone from hand harvesters, to harvester drivers, truck drivers and cellar hands, coming together to guarantee their smooth delivery into the winery; even down to micro-managing the quantity of grapes going into each truck.

“They say good wine is made in the vineyard, but all the hard work during the summer can be quickly undone if we don’t pick the grapes at the best time” says Marlborough Viticulture Manager David Bullivant.

The weather over the harvest period had our vineyard staff on their toes as there were some periods of rain that forced our harvesters into hibernation. Water on the fruit dilutes the fruit going into the winery. So when the weather was on our side and the grapes at optimal ripeness, our team jumped to action, working tirelessly to harvest the grapes and get them to the winery.

With the Babich Wines team yet again working seamlessly together, wine lovers have a lot to look forward to, with our Viticulturalists in both Marlborough and Hawke’s Bay predicting there to be some fantastic wine to come from this vintage.

“I think there will be some very good and interesting wines to come out of this harvest. The growing degree days were up and I tasted some very good flavours in the vineyard,” says Hawke’s Bay Viticulturist Tony Smith.

And now that the Harvest is done, and the reins are handed over to our winemakers to work their magic, our hard-working vineyard teams can enjoy a break, before reflecting on what they can improve on even further, next year.