Grape harvest kicks off on one of the hottest days of summer

The grape harvesting machine straddles the row at Wrights’ Manutuke vineyard, shaking the fruit off ready to be offloaded and carried to the winery. The young chardonnay grapes will be made into verjuice, a milder alternative to vinegar, used in cooking.

by Mihi Fitzgerald

There was an air of excitement around the first grape pick of the 2024 season in Tairāwhiti this week.

Wrights Vineyard and Winery picked chardonnay grapes from their Manutuke block on Wednesday for their certified organic verjuice.

Grower and winemaker Geoff Wright said chardonnay was usually the first pick of the season because it has low sugar and high acidity. For verjuice, the grapes were picked while they were still a light green.

Mr Wright said this season was looking a lot better than last, when growers had to deal with the havoc of Cyclone Gabrielle.

“It started a little rocky with mild wet weather through the flowering season making it a bit light,” he said. “There have been no significant weather conditions recently which is great for the grapes,  meaning they will be of the best quality.”

Davies Contracting were machine picking the grapes for Wrights, as they have done for the past 15 years.

Owen Davies said he had been driving grape harvesters for over 32 years.

Mr Wright said the verjuice was used in restaurants for cooking and would be bottled and on the shelves in March.