The glorious weather run of Summer has continued into early Autumn and nothing captures this better than at a spectacular sunset looking out over the Estate vineyard. Every sunset brings the promise of a new day and excitement in the team is still sky-high. The team has been getting through a mountain of work, asking lots of questions and putting in a fantastic effort for which we can only say thank you.
This week is critical with cool nights and mild days allowing us to harvest our last remaining sparkling Pinot Noir parcel and some of our premium white varieties at optimum ripeness – Pinot Grigio, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. Later this week we will transition to our very important Prosecco fruit parcels.
While touched on last year in our diaries it is important to discuss one of the important winemaking decisions which is the harvest method. This week we will be utilising both traditional hand-harvesting and mechanical harvesting achieve the best results for certain varieties and wine styles. Hand-picking affords a very precise selection and control. It tends to do a better job of protecting the grape’s juice content from oxidation due to damaged skins and is ideally suited to some vineyards. Technical advances in mechanical harvesters allow for an efficient, cost-effective, and now very selective process in the coolest part of the day to retain freshness and aromatic purity.
“The connoisseur does not drink wine but tastes of its secrets.” – Salvador Dali
Andrew Santarossa
CEO & Chief Winemaker
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MEET OUR 2023 VINTAGE CREW! Chad & Bonnie are the only home-grown locals on our 2023 Vintage Crew and have joined Gapsted to complete their very first vintage. They are from a coffee background, have an interest in wine, and are wanting to build their skill base as they have ambitions to travel the world and do some vintages overseas. They have loved working outdoors and even though the work can be physically demanding, they say it’s nothing on owning a coffee shop! They are thrilled with the amount they have learned in just a few weeks and are looking forward to working through the whole process of winemaking. Chad and Bonnie are especially enjoying working with a really cool team from around the world and being able to be the local tour guides and show the team our beautiful region. Welcome to the team Chad & Bonnie! |
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