Illawarra grape harvest off to good start

Coolangatta Estate cellar door manager Ben Wallis said the first day went well despite the threat of rain.

Forty-five local grape pickers from the Shoalhaven Heads, Berry and Nowra area were involved  and the harvest would probably take about six weeks depending on how the weather behaves. 

‘‘There was rain to the north and south of us but luckily, we stayed dry,’’ Mr Wallis said.

‘‘It was a great first day of harvest, cool weather made picking conditions very comfortable. 

‘‘The great condition of the fruit meant the picking was finished earlier than normal. 

‘‘We look to pick savagnin late next week at this stage. The warm weather forecast between now and then will help a lot.’’

Mr Wallis said the early signs about the likely quality of the 2015 vintage was also good.

‘‘The grapes are fantastic with our winemaker [at Tyrrells] excited by the quality when he saw them last night [Thursday]. There is some great looking fruit around the vineyard at the moment.

‘‘It has been a lot of work this year getting it to this stage with the humidity and rain around over the season. 

‘‘Now we take things a week at a time and hope that the weather can hold off long enough to get it all in. It has definitely been an exciting start.’’

The 2014 harvest produced the 25th anniversary vintage for Coolangatta Estate and resulted in the introduction of a frizzante to the range for the first time.

It proved so popular, Mr Wallis did not rule out that happening again for the 26th vintage.

‘‘While we have missed the opportunity for a sparkling base this year, other wines like the frizzante are definitely on the cards,’’ he said. 

‘‘Last year’s trial with the new wine style has been a great success for us and we are planning on another for this year. 

‘‘Fingers crossed we get the opportunity.’’

The promising start to the 2015 harvest comes on the back of some other good news for the region’s most awarded winery.

Coolangatta Estate’s 2011 Wollstonecraft Semillon has just been named among Huon Hooke’s star line-up of the 16 best wines in NSW.