Quartz Reef winemaker Rudi Bauer said workers at the Bendigo vineyard began picking 12ha of pinot noir grapes, which would be blended with chardonnay to make the sparkling wine.
"From what I've seen today, I'm very happy with the quality of the fruit and I think we're going to make some excellent wines," Mr Bauer said.
The vineyard has 30ha of grapes, with 12ha set aside for sparkling wine fruit. The pinot noir grapes are a different clone to those used for still wine and the crop is picked early, as it is bottle-fermented and cannot be too ripe and sweet when picked.
"It needs to have good, crisp acidity to get lots of bubbles in the wine," Mr Bauer said.
The main harvest of the district's grape crop was expected to begin around Easter (about April 11), Central Otago Winegrowers Association president Nick Mills, of Wanaka, said.
"I'm hesitant to estimate the volume that will be harvested but I can say it's looking much better than it did earlier in the season. A lot can happen between now and the main harvest, so until it's in the bottle, we can't really say how it'll turn out."
Grapegrowers seemed generally happy with how the season was shaping up, although there had been some challenges early on, with frosts in November and cold, blustery conditions during summer.
"It's too early to say if the harvest will be early or late. It depends on what the weather does from now on in."
Mr Mills said a long lead-in, late harvest and cool weather could be benefit the grapes in concentrating flavours.
Alexandra's Black Ridge Vineyard expected to start harvesting at Easter, co-owner Sue Edwards said.
"No matter when Easter is, that's when we usually harvest," she said. "It's all to do with the phases of the moon."
Black Ridge lost about a third of its crop because of severe frosts in early November, she said - "the worst frost we've had in the years we've been here".
The first vines were planted at Black Ridge in 1981.
The deputy chairman of New Zealand Winegrowers , Steve Green, of Carrick Winery, said growers appeared confident there were plenty of workers around to harvest the crop.
Seasonal Solutions, which organised seasonal staff for the district's orchards and vineyards, was doing a good job, he said.
