Peregrine winery co-owner Lindsay McLachlan told the Otago Daily Times the harvest was complete at its Bendigo and Lowburn vineyards, reaping about 360 tonnes of grapes.
Another 140 tonnes was expected from its Gibbston vineyard, where hand-picking began yesterday. So far, the harvest had been ''excellent''.
''It was very, very clean and excellent quality.
''The fruit is really sound ... no botrytis [a fungal disease], no powdery mildew - there are no concerns in relation to the weather ... we can see the finish line without any great, huge clouds on the horizon.''
Mr McLachlan said the late summer had aided the crop, with the dry weather providing ''perfect conditions'' for bringing grapes through.
''It's just absolutely brilliant.
''We've dodged those really tropical rains from the north ... we're very happy.''
Amisfield winemaker Stephanie Lambert said the vineyard's harvest was about two weeks earlier than usual. She described it as ''fast, furious and emotional''.
''It was a logistical nightmare for a while there.
''It was fantastic getting everything in, but it was also very fortunate, because we got all our best stuff in before the rain came.''
Dr Lambert said about 440 tonnes of grapes had been harvested. The pinot noir, sauvignon blanc and pinot gris looked promising.
Gibbston Valley Wines winemaker Christopher Keys said the winery was about 80% through its harvest and it was likely to be up by about 15% on last year's yield.
The harvest was about 10 days ahead of schedule.
The Bendigo vineyard was the first to ripen.
''It seemed to all happen at once - it was a pretty rapid spurt of picking. It's like giving birth - painful at the time but worth it.
''It's looking good; we're very pleased.
''It's exciting for Central Otago - we're backing up a couple of really good vintages ... it's been a wee bit of a challenge around certain parts of the country, but ... we've dodged the rain and we're blessed to make wine here.''
Central Otago Winegrowers Association president James Dicey, of Bannockburn, remains ''more than cautiously optimistic'' about the district's grape harvest.
Conditions were ideal for picking and the skiff of rain which fell overnight on Monday was ''next to nothing, and had no impact on the crop'', he said.
There was the least amount of botrytis he had seen in a decade of growing grapes.
He was three-quarters of the way through the harvest on his blocks and said some growers in the district were at the same stage while others, mostly smaller vineyard owners, had completed their harvest.
The fruit was clean, with a good flavour, and he expected a good vintage.
In North Otago, Ostler Vineyards co-owner Jim Jerram said despite ''poor conditions'' a block of pinot noir grapes in the Waitaki Valley was being picked yesterday.
It was too soon to tell how the rain over Easter had affected the ripening of good-quality pinot noir grapes.
''We're waiting to see how it all dries out before we make any further decisions,'' Dr Jerram said.
