Harvest festival sees in new Vilagrad vintage

Revellers stomped new season's grapes at Vilagrad's 2012 Harvest Festival celebrations last weekend.

A crowd of more than 200 braved a cold night for a warm welcome and a chance to see in the new vintage with a Vilagrad gourmet feast, music and colourful South American dancers.

Vilagrad Wineries' Nooyen family - direct descendants of Dalmatian Ivan Milicich - have been commemorating vintages from the Rukuhia property for more than a century.

The original Rukuhia property was planted in grapes in 1906 and in 1922 gained a licence to make and sell wine.

Four generations later, Ivan's three great grandsons have launched their own label - 3 Brothers - to add their varietals to Vilagrad's award winning wines.

Jacob, Master of Oenology, is the winemaker; Kristian is a qualified chef who prepares food and wine matches for their range, and the youngest, Adam, is responsible for the marketing of wines and the band that all three are involved in.

While many wines have been made from the 3.2-hectare Rukuhia vineyard, 3 Brothers have widened their outlook to make wines from grapes sourced from the great wine growing areas of New Zealand.