As autumn kicks off in Marlborough turning vibrant green leaves to a royal yellow, so does the 2024 grape harvest season.
The second week of March marked the first day of harvesting for Delta Estate Wines, bringing in handpicked fruit destined for our flagship Hatters Hill Pinot Noir. A combination of clones 115 and 777 rolled through our winery doors showcasing extraordinary flavour and fruit quality amongst whole bunches. Clones 115, which traditionally contributes delicious, spiced characters and 777 consisting of smaller more concentrated berries, were eagerly delivered to the winery in the early morning, and into the hands of our cellar team.
The parcels of fruit were individually cold soaked for a few days after they arrived at the winery, to begin gentle extraction, and now sit in warm temperature-controlled tanks, preparing for fermentation. This is a busy time when our team hand plunge the fruit up to eight times daily for the next few days.
The following weeks will see numerous varieties coming through our winery doors including Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Grüner Veltliner and of course, Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.
The team here at Delta are eager to see the outcome of another exceptional Marlborough harvest season and look forward to keeping you updated as we follow the grape to glass cycle right through.
