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Hi from Jeff,

There has been much conjecture surrounding the 2012 NZ wine vintage; we’re all amateur weather experts and a little information as we all know is a dangerous thing. As I do annually around this time I have spoken to leading winemakers/viticulturists from the bottom to the top of the country covering nine key regions and secured a balanced and expert body of opinion on the overall quality of the 2012 vintage by region. As a result FWDC customers will be the most accurately informed wine lovers in NZ; empowered to make quality wine buying decisions and to not miss out on some excellent wines lost in vintage translation. Cheers Jeff

Auckland: Alastair Mailing, Master of Wine. General Manager, Winemaking & Viticulture, Villa Maria

Like the rest of the North Island, Auckland was challenged by the season that was presented throughout early spring and summer. Overall the season was cooler than normal along with a number of heavy rain events. The Auckland region had 116mms of rain in December and 113mm in January, well above the average. This necessitated prudent vineyard management especially leaf plucking around the fruiting zone to open up the canopy.
 
Flowering was good with a good fruit set across all varieties resulting in some crop thinning to bring yields back in line with target yields.The good flowering was followed by with an excellent spell of hot weather in the later part of January but this didn’t carry through and February, March and April would be considered cooler than average. Harvest started for the early varieties in mid March – perhaps a week to ten days later than normal. The majority of fruit was picked through March and into early April.

Many of the picking decisions were dictated by the cyclones coming in from the North which meant winemakers and the viticulture teams needed to constantly assess and visit vineyard blocks to ensure fruit was picked in the best possible condition.

While the vintage proved challenging the early indications of fruit quality are surprisingly good. The Chardonnay’s will have more citrus and stonefruit characters along with a nice tight structure and good acidity. Over time these wines will fill out nicely. Gewurztraminer was a strong performer in 2012.

Cheers Alastair

Waiheke Island: Duncan McTavish, Winemaker, Man O’ War Vineyards

The season on Waiheke probably felt very similar to most regions around New Zealand, a cool rain affected summer which was followed by a near perfect autumn of hot days and cool nights. Although there were some major rainfall events early in the vintage we were able to sit them out and fortunately, the majority of the rainfall late in the season skirted around Waiheke, leaving us with a rather benign harvest period throughout April and May. The overall effect of the weather conditions was very low disease pressure due to the relative cool conditions in February, and a very long growing season which in the end, gave rise to tremendous flavour development matched with richness and concentration.  The success of the vintage was in no doubt a result of careful and considered vineyard management and the determination to leave the grape on the vine through periods of unsettled weather and as a result attain wonderful physiological ripeness.

At Man O’ War we believe 2012 could be one of our best vintages yet with an extremely high standard of quality across the entire range.

Cheers Duncan

Gisborne: Steve Voysey – Gisborne Regional winemaker Pernod Ricard

Weather: A very Challenging vintage once again,  on the back of a strong la Nina weather pattern. Fortunately this is forecast to change to El Nino for v13. The Vintage started 2 weeks late and low sunshine hours increased pressure on late varieties. Wet march and April with 90- 150 % more rainfall than long-term average depending on where you were in the valley. 19th and 20th march saw 200-180 mm 4th April another 100 mm, Growing Degree Days were also down on average leading into vintage March was however slightly warmer than average
 
Vintage results:
Yield slightly down on forecast about 10% down on an average year. Good, Ripe, clean, Flavours and aromatics, good acidities, Harvest brix for later varieties lower than desired berry size on reds higher than desired. Sparkling Chard , Pinot Noir and  value Chardonnay exceptionally good and all in before the rain at  well above average quality.
Sparkling and Table wine Pinot Gris also above average quality. Table wine Gewurztraminer above average Quality. Table wine Chardonnay harvested clean with good ripe flavours but brix is down on average. This will effect concentration and longevity of wines. (The Ultra premium wines will be a challenge though some nice parcels were picked the  premium wines are aromatically and technically very sound however lack the above average fruit concentration we are used to , value wines are also acceptable.) Muscat, Viognier and BDX were the most challenged with the vintage and compromised picking decisions needing to be made. Some changes to winemaking required to maximise potential i.e.  (Aromatic varieties stop fermentation at 2 G/L higher, Viognier selective harvest sunny side, BDX short maceration with some. pasteurisation and heating on skins)
No rejection in Gisborne.

Cheers Steve

Hawkes Bay: John Hancock, President and founder of Trinity Hill Wines

Hi Jeff, I would say it was probably the most challenging/difficult season since my first one in NZ 1979!!

Cold summer with only a couple of days reaching the 30o mark, followed by a wet autumn. It will be one of those years where the most astute buyers will follow producers who have a track record. Those with good vineyard sites and the staff who know what they are doing, both in vineyard and in the winery and did not cut corners, will obviously make the best wine. In a year like this it is very important to be right in touch with what is happening hour by hour and if it is necessary to act immediately, then you must be able to do that. The most flexible companies will win out.

There is no doubt that it wasn’t a good vintage in Hawkes Bay, but there will be some excellent wines made by those people.
Crop level is down quite a bit, from our experience about 15%. I don’t have a handle on the whole region as yet.

One thing in Trinity Hill’s favour this year was that we are looking to keep alcohols down on previous years, so that worked in our favour.
We picked quite a lot of Chardonnay before rain became an issue and early ripening reds like Tempranillo and Merlot look good.
Surprisingly, we also have some excellent Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. There will be no Homage and we would say it was a difficult vintage but will have some excellent wines.
We have a wide spread of vineyard sites which certainly helps.

Cheers, John Hancock

Martinborough: Helen Masters, Winemaker, Ata Rangi

2012 was a season like no other.  A cool spring resulted in a lower than average fruit set and vines one to two weeks behind in growth very similar to 2010.  The marked difference of 2012 to 2010 was the lower level of sunshine hours which meant that a 1 – 2 week delay became more of 2 -3 weeks behind average at picking.  Morale was low in February where the Growing Degree Days (GDD) was as low as 164 compared to more normal figures of 200 – 270.  Soil moisture levels where high due to regular rain occurrences, suffice to say we put in a lot of hard work expecting average wine quality.

This may start to read like a marketing blurb – but in actual fact April pulled one out of the bag so to speak.  Not hot days, but sunshine and cool nights, flavour began to accumulate and the tannins and phenolics to shifted from hard and edgy to more round.  Slowly without a rush the brix (how we measure sugar) began to increase. 

Picking started on 2nd of April with Chardonnay and a few days later the first of the Dijon Pinot Noir, flavours where vivid with a real core of acid and at low sugar, resulting in wines with an alcohol around 13%.  Fruit continued to come in and surprise – green characters were expected but they just weren’t there.  The last of the Pinot Noir came in on the 4th of May and by this time we knew we had very elegant interesting wines in barrel.

It had been decided early on that this was not a year to make our much beloved Celebre (blend of Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet) so we used this fruit instead to make a very serious Rose.  But being like all winemakers could not resist the urge to see what a little Syrah would be like from this cool year.  One tonne was picked from the warmest blocks and it looks a sensational.  Not at all like what I expected. 
2012 is a harvest that I have been glad to witness – it seals for me the fact that Martinborough is a very special place to make wine.

Marlborough: Hamish Clark, Senior Winemaker, Saint Clair

Marlborough:  from the outset it was never going to be an “average year”.   After a brief period of warm days at the start of flowering, (early Dec) that saw a relatively rapid onset and completion of flowering in some vineyards, by in large there were only a handful of sites that fell into this category,  as the district went into a prolonged period of cold weather having the effect of drawing out the flowering period for the respective varieties.

The’ fruit set’ across all varieties was some of the worst experienced in the brief history of growing here in Marlborough,  early estimates of how much the district was going to be down in volume  percentage wise stood at a conservative 20%;  those that did their homework quickly realised it was going to be more significant. 
As fruit sizing progressed and then into verasion it became readily apparent to all involved that crops were indeed going to be well and truly lighter than average.

Mother Nature has a way of balancing things though and these lighter than average crops in this a significantly cooler than average year proved to be the key.  The vines with strong healthy canopies were able to fully take advantage of the sunnier, warmer weather when it eventually did arrive in mid – late March converting the suns energy into flavour and sugar.  A long harvest with a compression of blocks ripening in the latter part of the vintage window summarises the physical harvest.

From a quality point of view this is looking to be an exceptional harvest – Why? Lower crops and extended hang time while the fruit was ripening have both contributed outstanding purity, depth and intensity. 

Pinot Noir is looking especially strong at this early stage showing all the potential (and some) of the highlight 2010 and 2007 vintages;  Sauvignon Blanc will be exceptional good from entry level to reserve, all blocks have performed well above expectation, albeit significantly lighter in crop .

Cheers Hame

Nelson: Tim Finn, Owner, Neudorf Wines

Hi Jeff, Nelson region had a very wet and rather cool start to the season with high rainfalls causing localised flooding, and extreme disease pressure for both powdery and downy mildew. For the three months leading up to Christmas the Moutere Hills had 541mm of rain and the Waimea Plains had 701mm. This of course affected flowering right throughout the region with most vineyards expecting to lose 15-20% of their crops depending on the variety. The importance of great canopy management came to the fore with conscientious growers removing leaves earlier than normal and being particularly attentive to their spray programs.

Then came Christmas. The rain came to an end, and the sun came out. The Stoke weather station reported only 283mm of rain from the start of January to the end of April which is only 72% of average. This extended dry period resulted in reduced lateral growth, lower than normal disease pressure and reduced rate of sugar accumulation. The month of April was the sunniest on record and Nelson was treated to one of the best Indian summers in memory.

As a result growers were able to extent the hang time where desirable and pick at their leisure.  While overall production was probably down about 25-30%, berries were small and in great condition, and flavours were intense.
From a very average start to the season, vintage 2012 in Nelson has turned out to be one of the great years, and we look forward to the release of a number of wines of exceptional quality. 

Cheers Tim

Waipara: Lynette Hudson, Winemaker, Pegasus Bay

As always the Waipara Valley has the most amazing autumn where the weather is very calm, mild and settled and it has come true again this year.  The summer was cooler than average, with slightly higher rainfall, however we fared well compared with most other regions, with perhaps the exception of Central Otago. 

Around the middle of March we were a little behind in sugar levels, however there was no disease and we felt confident that the sun would shine and indeed it did.  We have had the most amazing weather for the last 8 weeks, very little rain, warm sunny days and cool nights.  Perfect to allow us to hang the fruit out to achieve ripe flavours.  The Pinot came in with great colour, perfect acid levels and excellent flavours.

For once the sugar levels were lower than normal, hence potential alcohols are lower meaning that this could be a year to rival Burgundy.  The very long hang time has resulted in ripe flavours and the cool temperatures have given incredible colour, so all in all an excellent year.  Crop levels for all varieties have come in lighter than all estimates, for Pegasus Bay Vineyard and all contract vineyards and this speaks for the Valley as a whole.  The low crops levels have enabled us to produce ripe, concentrated grapes in this cooler season.  However as Matt and I say, the best vintages in Waipara for the white varieties and Pinot Noir are always the cooler years. 

We are still harvesting Riesling as I type and this variety is looking great as well.  There is some botrytis, only around 10-15%, so not excessive.  Flavours are great with excellent acidity levels and hence looks very promising.  The botrytis came very late in the season, not early so we are seeing concentrated ripe flavours with clean noble rot.  Sauvignon Blanc has intense fresh gooseberry flavours, which are not green.  We think this is due to the very long hang time. 

Chardonnay has ripe flavours free from botrytis and with lower potential alcohols, so again great potential to produce a more elegant style which has concentration and balance.  The Cab has incredible colour, but probably more herbal than most vintages, but luckily our CS is usually fruiter in cooler seasons, rather than overtly green. 

Overall summary:   slightly lower crop levels with very long hang time resulting in great flavours, perfect acid levels with lower potential alcohols.  All the reason to celebrate.
 
Cheers, Lynnette Hudson

Central Otago: Greg Hay, Co-owner & Brand Ambassador and Nadine Cross, Winemaker, Peregrine Wines

Greg:  The regional overview of Central Otago would be something like this .
Budburst in Central Otago was about 5-10 days later than what would be deemed normal with the first signs of movement of the buds occurring during the 4th week of September in the Bendigo vineyards. The Gibbston vineyards followed suit about 2 weeks later.

This was followed by an unusually wet spring, well wet by CO standards which possibly isn’t that wet at all, but as mother nature often does, it was the perfect tonic for what was about to follow. The December to end of February weather has gone down as the driest on record since 1947 with at least 6 weeks continuous of this being absolutely cloudless. I think that without the spring rains soaking to the layers where the feeder roots of the vine cohabit, I think we may have seen a lot of vineyards under stress throughout the region, but in fact I don’t recall seeing them with such vibrancy and health.

March bought with it a couple  of weeks of gentle rain at intervals which after the prior months of heat was greatly appreciated by the vines before the final push of sugars to harvest.

The first grapes, apart from those designated for sparkling wines , started coming into the wineries around the 1st April. This is again about 5-10 days later than “normal”,  so despite the amazing summer weather they never really caught up the delayed start. The weather over the 6 weeks of harvest couldn’t have been better with only about 2 hours of picking time lost due to light drizzle. Overall  I would say it was a very kind vintage for both viticulturists and winemakers , one in which the wine loving public  will be looking forward to trying.  

Nadine: We’ve had a great harvest, with a bit of a later start there wasn’t a gap between sub regions for us, so straight from Cromwell Basin fruit (Bendigo and Pisa areas that we source from) to Gibbston. Just drained and pressed the last Pinot Noir tank yesterday! Ready for some rest now!

Pinot Noir looks stunning from all sub-regions for us. I thought we saw some beautiful flavours at lower brix’s this year, and some lovely tannin ripeness. I’m really impressed with the concentration and texture of the wines we have. It will be exciting to see how they progress in barrel for the next year.

The other highlight for me this year is some stunning Riesling from our Bendigo sites. Some beautiful minerality, structure, and purity. It really was the summer of Riesling!
Cheers, Nadine