2017 Harvest time at Packwood Wine Estate
Wine harvesting is a very nerve-wracking and busy time for us all. There is lot’s of risk and it involves delicate, unrelenting procedures that need to be done absolutely right.
After all, this is the month of the wine harvesting that every wine estate lives and work for every day.
“Our beautiful 2017 Pinot Noir grapes straight out of the chiller before being fermented…”
The intense heat we experienced this year, added to the harvesting challenge, not to mention keeping the baboons at bay! With the little rain we’ve had recently and the surrounding forest being so dry and short of food, the baboons took quite a fancy to our harvest again this year. However the dedicated Packwood team did a marvellous job of keeping them away by patrolling the vines all day, every day.
As the last crate was finally delivered to the winery, the vineyard staff all breathed a huge, (albeit brief), sigh of relief. The grapes were now safe from the heat, safe from the sun and definitely safe from the wildlife!
“Thank you to the wonderful team at Packwood who once again worked very hard harvesting the grapes and watching the baboons…”
Next, the pressure was on as we started the fermenting process. It’s a vital time of monitoring temperatures, adding yeasts, cooling the chardonnay grapes in the chiller room and punching down the red grapes to release the flavours & ensure the best quality juice is extracted.
The Pinot skins are worked very gently to release colour and flavour during the fermentation progress, its going to be a great vintage, good sugars and beautiful colour.
“The chardonnay wow, great flavour and aroma, the pressure is on to produce another winner” Vicky Gent 0f Packwood
It’s also a very important time for fine tuning the cooling systems for the Sauvignon Blanc. As the temperature rose and the yeast started cooking, the aroma of the grapes fermenting this year was absolutely glorious. We compared the nose to “lemon sherbet bonbons”.
