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Staff at Cloudy Bay Winery in Blenheim are enjoying what is likely to be a short-lived leisurely work pace as the last of its sparkling grapes are brought in to press, says winery spokeswoman Stephanie McIntyre.
"At the moment, everyone's just taking it easy. You can see there aren't too many people around, but that will all change in a few weeks when all the ripening comes on at the same time."
Cloudy Bay winemaker Sarah Burton anticipated the first lot of grapes for the still variety would be brought in today. There was usually a one week gap before this harvest began, so it was a good way to prepare the crew for what was in store.
"Sparkling is a really cool wine to make because it's like a mini-harvest before the big harvest," Ms Burton said.
It took a special talent to achieve the desired flavours for a sparkling variety, as it was fermented twice, Ms McIntyre said.
"You have to be a bit of a visionary to make sparkling ... there are just so many steps involved along the way. It's a huge challenge."
Harvesting for the chardonnay and pinot noir sparkling varieties began on March 21 and wound up on Saturday.
Vineyard workers were on site handpicking the sparkling varieties from 7am each morning. "Grapes are handpicked early in the day when it's cooler so they retain the more zesty flavours needed for sparkling wine," Ms Burton said.
Although this season's poor weather had presented a few problems for the industry, it depended where vineyards were located, and luckily most of Cloudy Bays' sites were in the warmer Wairau Valley, she said.
The Marlborough Express got an inside view of the winery's second to last day of harvest for its sparkling varieties on Friday.
- The Marlborough Express
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