Chardonnay Vines on Hunting Hill
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On the press
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This week was the start of the Chardonnay harvest that will see grapes for all the Kumeu River labels picked, pressed and put into barrels ready for fermentation. I spent the start of the week working with Nigel Tibbits (cellar master here for 37 years), helping him to load and clean the two presses. As grapes enter the winery, they are forklifted into the metal cylindrical press which is lined with a bag and has sieves along the outside for the juice to pass through. Once full, air is forced inside, squeezing the bag.
Each press can contain between 3-4 tonnes of grapes. However, in order to get that much, we had to jump in and stomp on the grapes, forcing them into the corners to create more space for the next 500kg bucket load.
Ben Browett tries the first juice
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Once the press has started, Michael and Nigel taste the juice at different stages as it runs off into steel tanks. The juice starts off very acidic with a tartness that reminds me of Bramley apples. Towards the end of the press however, more Potassium from the skins is extracted which increases the alkaline content and the juice gains a rounder, creamier flavour.
Kumeu River aim to get 720 litres per tonne of grapes so around 2500 litres per press. Once this amount is in the stainless steel tanks, it sits here for 1-2 days which allows the solids to fall to the bottom.
Chardonnay grapes
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On Tuesday, I got to spend half the day picking Chardonnay up at Hunting Hill. This vineyard, that produces the grapes for Kumeu River's most elegant wine, is on a steep hill opposite the winery and sits just above Mate's Vineyard. Unlike Bordeaux, the space between vines is wide and each vine has two branches with large bunches which benefit from the increased minerality in the soil. Over fifty pickers work in groups with small buckets being emptied into a large bin at the end of the row.
In the latter half of the week (and at any points when there were no grapes arriving) I was downstairs in the barrel cellar. All the old barrels have to be washed in order to get rid of the sulphur which had been used to clean them. In addition, all the new oak barrels have to be washed to clear dust and then soaked so that the oak absorbs water and doesn't leak when full.
Newly filled barrels ready for fermentation to begin
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Each batch of juice requires a certain number of barrels and these will all be different ages depending on how much new/old oak is needed. Michael also takes into account barrels with different strengths (stronger oak being saved for single vineyard wines). My job therefore was to locate barrels, clean them and then take them to the next room where they are racked. During the journey from vine to barrel, the juice encounters nine species of wild yeast so the fermentation starts naturally once barrels are filled up with Chardonnay juice.
I did get to have a small break from barrel cleaning during the week as Professor Jim Shaw popped to the winery to pick up his case of Kumeu River for winning the Farr Vintners Christmas Quiz. The prize giving was followed by a picture in front of the winery with Marijana Brajkovich before Jim had to rush back to surgery in Auckland.
Ben Browett presents Professor Shaw with his prize
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A huge thank you to all the Brajkovich family who made me feel very welcome and helped with any questions I had while allowing me to see all sides of the wine making process at this busy time. My time at Kumeu River has reinforced the fact that this family winery is consistently creating New Zealand's best Chardonnay with new and old world influences reflected in the wine-making and the wine itself.
Michael Brajkovich MW sports shorts and wellies – the “in” look for New Zealand wine-makers.
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