Hawkshead happy with wine interest

The Gibbston Harvest Festival on Saturday was the best yet for exposure, interest and sales, according to one of the Gibbston vintners who set up a stall.

Hawkshead Vineyard co-owner Denis Marshall said festival-goers had expressed much interest in the independent, family-owned company's Gibbston Single Estate Hawkshead Pinot Gris 2009.

Word had got around it had won double Blue/Gold and Top 100 medals at the recent 2010 Sydney International Wine Competition, he said.

The Royal Easter Show Wine Awards 2010 produced three medals for Hawkshead, including another gold medal for the Pinot Gris, a silver for the Hawkshead Riesling 2009, and a silver for the Hawkshead Pinot Noir Bannockburn 2008.

"It was a good day and I thought the event was well organised and the location was excellent," Mr Marshall said.

Hawkshead was was one of many Gibbston vineyards netting their crops last week, a sign the grape harvest in the sub-region was fast approaching.

"Most people in the wine industry are cautious about making predictions [about the quality of the next vintage] because we are so susceptible to the climate.

"The season has been kind to us so far, after a cool start.

Weather in February and early March has been excellent and the crop at this point is looking good, but we have some way to go before harvest."

The standard of the crop had been "more even" than previous years, due to the fine weather at flowering time and fruit set, he said.

"We always crop lightly and we would produce between four and five tonnes per hectare of pinot noir in any year. with pinot noir, the importance is in the quality of the crop, not the quantity."

Mr Marshall and co-owner and partner Ulrike Kurenbach distribute Hawkshead Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris throughout New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Sweden, Germany and the United Kingdom.

The vineyard employs one full-time worker.

A French viticulturist worked with the team over summer and this year the vineyard converted to organic production .

"We make about 21,000 [bottles], or 1750 cases, of pinot noir per year, which is quite small compared to a lot of the bigger operations around here," Mr Marshall said.

"Between netting and harvesting, we manage the crop to ensure the fruit is of even quality and remove any green shoulders from the bunches.

"After harvest, grapes go to Gibbston Valley Wines down the highway where the wine is made and stored in French oak barrels for 11 months.

"The 2009 pinot noir vintage has now been bottled in Cromwell, but it won't be released until later in the year, after the wine has aged in the bottle."

Mr Marshall said there had been "excellent" feedback from the trade about Hawkshead's 2008 Pinot Noir, since its release after Christmas.

"It's ageing beautifully."