Harvest 2026 Update

Harvest is just around the corner. We traditionally begin picking in late February or early March, depending on the season. As always, we start with our low-yielding sparkling fruit once it reaches 10–11 baumé.

This year has been an unusually cool season. Spring brought very little frost, but it was windy and showery. Summer so far has been cool and somewhat patchy, with a mix of overcast days with the occasional burst of warmth above 25°C.

Thankfully, frost impact across our vineyards has been minimal. As Stefano often says ‘site is everything’ and our Granton vineyard is a naturally safe site because it sits between 50 and 150 metres elevation, with a north facing aspect. In addition rocky, stony soils warm during the day and retain heat overnight. The Derwent River flows from the west and sweeps south, surrounding the vineyard on three sides. This allows cold air to drain away, while the river’s high flow rate, originating from Lake St Clair, helps carry cold air downstream and out the rivermouth to the sea.

Our Cradoc vineyard in the Huon Valley requires more active frost management. The Huon Valley is on average 2°C cooler than Granton and sits closer to sea level. While the vineyard fronts the Huon River at California Bay, it only has around 20% river frontage compared with Granton’s 90%. The gravelly soils act as a natural heat bank, but we also use portable frost fans positioned to push cold air towards the river, where the airflow carries it downstream.

Summer 2026 has been milder than last year, though somewhat inconsistent. One week we see mid-20°C temperatures, the next high teens with overcast skies and scattered showers. Growth has tracked slightly behind average, in other seasons we typically hedge before Christmas, but this season we began around 14th of January.

In early February, the weather has settled into a warmer, drier pattern, which is typical for this time of year. Our warmest days usually arrive through February and into March. Consequently these are some of the best months to visit Tasmania.

We have completed fruit thinning, a standard practice that ensures the crop level matches the season’s ripening capacity. This helps us achieve balanced yields and wines with concentration, flavour, natural acidity and structure.

Netting is underway, and in around four weeks we expect to pick the first grapes of the season. We have an experienced team and with harvest nearly here, we’re ready!