January/February is a busy time in the vineyard - especially for Sauvignon Blanc. The workers are busy lifting wires, mowing, trimming, spraying and irrigating row upon row of vines.
During the early part of January the florets that flowered in December will turn into berries and start to develop in size. Over the rest of January and February they will continue to grow and then begin to ripen and develop sugar. They keep ripening across February and March and we should be picking late March to early April in most parts of Marlborough.
We had some late flowering this year due to colder weather, which means the vines will have a shorter amount of time to become fully mature and ready for harvesting. The late flowering will have an interesting effect on the Sauvignon this year. It's still too early to tell exactly what, but we're taking extra care in managing our blocks to ensure we get the maximum flavours from the fruit given the shorter number of growing degree days.
Despite the early cold weather we're excited about producing another great vintage in 2010.
