PROTECT
Covid-19 Harvest-20 A vintage like no other SOPHIE PREECE
MARLBOROUGH WINE companies have battened down the hatches to get through harvest, as Covid-19 shuts down the country. On March 23, wine operations were categorised as essential businesses, allowed to operate through the Government’s Level 3 and 4 Alerts, contingent on strict criteria being met. Companies that had not already done so sent many employees home, and instigated rigorous measures in vineyards, transport, accommodation and winery, says Wine Marlborough general manager Marcus Pickens. “We’ve been really impressed at how seriously people are taking it. There has been a been huge adoption of new ways and rapid change.” On March 25, hours before Alert Level 4 came into action, Framingham viticulturist James Bowskill said the company had split into shifts, with no contact in accommodation or at work. That was combined with “really rigorous” hygiene measures in all areas and scrupulous record-keeping of people’s movements to and from work. “We are trying to be as transparent and open with interns as we can. To keep them in the loop and emphasise how
12 / Winepress April 2020
Spy Valley’s morning meeting has moved outside, ensuring good physical distancing. Photo taken before Alert Level 4
serious it is, and how important it is to do all we can and keep everybody safe,” said James. Framingham’s vintage team is from overseas, so the company is supplying accommodation through the shutdown. “They were in flats around town and as of tonight they will be in accommodation close to the winery,” he said. James said machine harvest was relatively easy to do within the stringent Covid-19 rules, including a minimum separation of 2 metres between people. Handpicking is a different story, but he planned for pickers to exceed the 2m isolation gap, and to communicate more by phone, while ensuring gloves, masks and other personal protective gear is in place. “We are really trying to get it as close to perfect as we can, and we are willing to accept that it will make harvesting harder.” James’ own young family are in different accommodation from him over the harvest and lockdown period. He said Framingham’s crew recognise how fortunate they are. “That’s why we are really trying to do everything we can to keep everyone as safe as possible. We are not taking it for
granted at all.” Rose Family Estate has moved most of its winemakers and vintage crew into hotels or cottages for the duration of harvest. Anyone previously sharing accommodation with a worker or workers from other wine companies is now in isolated accommodation, and so are any staff who were cohabiting with people who could be vulnerable to Covid-19. “We went to the next level and removed them as well,” said chief executive Lindsay Parkinson on March 28. “What that has meant is they are a bit closer to the winery, and we have more control over them.” The company is doing all supermarket shopping for the crew, and vintage meals are being managed by Tane Malcolm, chef at Wairau River’s restaurant, which is closed. Operations in the winery have been adapted to meet government criteria, with the already stringent requirements of the company’s British Retail Consortium (BRC) certification “ramped up another few notches”, to protect the staff and stop the spread of Covid-19., said Lindsay. It had been an “unsettling” start to harvest, with many unknowns,
