Que Syrah Syrah: Hawke's Bay's red wine harvest begins

Ashridge winery assistant winemaker Lochy Bainbridge treads the Syrah grapes in the old fashioned way on Tuesday. Photo / Warren Buckland

While chardonnay is queen of the whites this vintage, Syrah will be king of the reds as Hawke's Bay winegrowers begin picking the red varieties.

Earlier this year Hawke's Bay wine ambassador Nic Olsen said this year's vintage was the best in years and was thrilled with the different varieties that would be produced by wine makers across the region.

Red wine was the next focus and Smith & Co viticulturist Caleb Dennis said it was shaping up to be a good season.

"It's been really nice settled weather which means we're picking when we actually want to, not because the weather forces us to."

Dennis said picking for the Merlot variety started during the last week and a half with the red harvest lasting at least two to three weeks.

"It's one of the better vintages we've had within the past four years, I've spoken to quite a few people in the industry and they're very happy with the way things are tracking."

Ashridge Wines winemaker Lauren Swift said they started to haul in the grapes last Friday and said she was particularly excited about stirring up some Syrah.

"I think everyone has got some pretty beautiful Merlot as well. The Cabernet Sauvignon is a bit of a wait and see - but our main focus at Ashridge is Syrah.

"We've been picking the fruit today and it's just looking stunning.

"Syrah can be quite a fickle variety - its all to do with the grape's skin thickness and things like that. The thing with this variety is you want a little bit of dehydration to happen, and this is the first year that we're getting that process occurring without the grapes starting to fall apart which is awesome."

Swift said the grapes for white wine varieties were always picked earlier as they flowered earlier than the reds.

"The sugar content for whites is also quite different and making reds is slightly more complex as its all based around the skin quality - apart from chardonnay, white wines don't have as many layers or complexity as the reds."

Te Awa winemaker Richard Painter said he was also excited about harvesting for red wine varieties.

"We've harvested most of the Merlot now and it's really good quality and really nice concentration - so one of the best Merlot vintages in recent history which is exciting.

"Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon are still on the vines, but they should be ready to harvest within the next two weeks."

Painter said he's worked in the industry for 11 years and hasn't seen a vintage like this since 2014.

"We're just crossing our fingers and hoping that we'll get through the next two weeks - the biggest threat at this time of year is a tropical cyclone coming our way. That sort of thing has affected us - so if the cyclones could just hold off for two weeks that would be great."