GROW
Seasonal Update Fruitful flowering a relief to industry
SOPHIE PREECE
MARLBOROUGH GROWERS are welcoming more abundant crop counts this summer, following the 21% drop in yields last vintage. Lawson’s Dry Hills general manager Sion Barnsley says crops have bounced back after the “dreadful” 2021 harvest, with Sauvignon Blanc slightly above the long-term average. “So, we’re certainly in a good position to fulfil the shortfall of the last vintage. Whether we can do that in just this vintage we will wait and see, but certainly the potential is there.” Sion says the changing climate has increased disease pressure, and while Lawson’s vines are in good health, the risk of tropical cyclones bringing a weather bomb is on growers’ minds this season. However, “prudent” pruning means they are comfortable with the “sensible yields” on their vineyards. The labour situation is okay for the winery this vintage, if all remains on an even keel. “But not if we are faced with any staff having to go into self isolation, whether it be seven days or 10 days.” Despite best efforts with rostering, separate shifts and hygiene protocols, Omicron poses a major threat, given how contagious it is, he says. Reports that it may peak mid-March are alarming, he adds. “That’s the real concern and dread hanging over us at the moment. But everything else is looking very positive.” Accolade Wines New Zealand viticulture manager Tracy Taylor says flowering was good in Marlborough, with no rain, and warm and consistent temperatures. She is seeing light to average crops in Sauvignon Blanc, with bunches that “aren’t that big”, but has had reports of more
fruitful yields in some subregions. Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris are laden in comparison, she adds. “They will be the heavy croppers this year.” Looking beyond the 2022 vintage, Tracy says conditions for the 2023 fruit initiation were “perfect”, with “super-hot dry days and warm nights”. When it comes to the rest of this season, the La Niña weather pattern brings tropical cyclones this way “and predictions are for us to expect more than usual”, says Tracy. “So, we need to prepare as much as we can for wet and humid conditions around harvest time.” The season’s challenges include “extreme powdery mildew and downy mildew conditions leading up to Christmas”, says Tracy. “Everything we do in the early part of the season dictates what we will get at the end, so if people have cut corners it will show … especially if the prediction around cyclones becomes a reality.” When it comes to labour, Accolade has long and loyal relationships with its contractors, “so we have been well looked after in these trying times”, she says. “We all have to be flexible and go with the flow to a large extent. There is always more than one way of doing things, so you just have to be a bit lateral in your thinking and ‘cut your cloth to fit’, to achieve the same end result.” Mahi’s Brian Bicknell expects to start harvest around March 10, and believes his crop is normal to 5% above normal, with bunches, and “especially Sauvignon bunches”, very consistent. There was some rain over flowering, but it doesn’t seem to have affected fruit set greatly, says Brian. “The growing season has been phenomenal and I think the
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14 / Winepress February 2022
