Vendemmia all' improvviso!

In a momentary decision (on Sunday 15th March) that took all by suprise, the prosecco had to be picked by yesterday (Monday 16th) at the latest. Thanks to Silvio for his flexibility, and the picking crew (fielded mostly by the home team, thank you!) we managed to have the grapes off the vines by lunch time, and pressing finished by 9pm. The juice is clarifying in the cold night air at Anton's place in the Basket Ranges before being racked into tanks to begin fermentation. Once the base wine is fermented to dry, it'll be racked into pressure-tight kegs and dosed with a measured quantity of sugar solution to kick-off the secondary fermentation and give the wine its mousse.

Sunday: Prosecco looking spot-on. The rapid ripening in the two weeks since the last visit is incredible. Harvest cannot be held off any longer in order to hold any measure of delicacy in the finished wine.

Anton van Klopper and Silvio dal Cin

Sunday: Dry

Monday: Drizzle, all bloody day!
but harvest looked very healthy indeed. Prosecco is a vigorous yielder: big bunches, and plenty to each vine.

Anton and Jules

some buckets of harvested prosecco grapes showing the variation in ripeness between the east-facing and west-facing trellises. West for ripe fruit characters (apricots), and east for acidity and freshness (green tea).

Carozelli cucumbers! A secret of Silvio's. 'Eat them like an apple' - delicious.