This time of year involves lots of time in our vineyards, monitoring grape ripeness and quality to make sure we harvest in just the right window.

Vintage officially kicked off overnight with our first block picked in the cool early hours, with delivery to the winery at sunrise this morning. We harvest white varieties overnight to keep the fruit as cool and pristine as possible before processing at the winery. Our first pick was from the 100-year-old Sauvignon Blanc vines grown at Lower Tintara in McLaren Vale. These intensely flavoured grapes marry perfectly with our fresh and lively Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc to create the Pertaringa Scarecrow, a crowd-favourite at Bec Hardy Wines.

From here on things will get very busy in the winery with Chardonnay harvest also happening later this week and our Rosé blocks to follow not long after.

The cool growing season, without any long stretches of significant heat, have been great for maintaining freshness and acidity in the fruit so I’m hopeful for another great season to follow the success of 2021!

Cheers,
Bec Swincer, BHW winemaker