2015 Pinot Noir tonnages are down based on New Zealand Winegrowers statistics. Overall Pinot Noir is down 29% but some regions have been affected worse than this by the cool spring of 2014.
Total Pinot Noir production is down from 36,499 T to 25,763 T. With Marlborough accounting for around 50% of NZ Pinot Noir production it is not surprising its 31% drop is a large factor in the national drop of 29%.
Central Otago escaped relatively unscathed from the cool spring with Pinot Noir production only dropping 13% from 7,989 T to 6,923 T in 2015.
Unfortunately, Waipara and Wairarapa (incl Martinborough) were worst affected (based on NZ Winegrower stats), down 74% and 52% respectively. The quantities of 2015 Pinot Noir are down to only 482 T and 1,110 T in Waipara and Wairarapa respectively. Nelson was down 32% and Hawkes Bay 23%
Despite national quantities being down, I expect there is some excellent Pinot Noir coming out of 2015. The damage to harvest volumes was at fruit set not at the harvest end of the season.
At Grasshopper Rock we ended up on target with volume, although 2015 was one of the few years we did not deliberately reduced crop levels to maximise quality. Quality of our 2015 is looking outstanding at this stage.
The chart below shows the relative size of the regions in terms of total Pinot Noir tonnes harvested in 2015.
Total Pinot Noir production is down from 36,499 T to 25,763 T. With Marlborough accounting for around 50% of NZ Pinot Noir production it is not surprising its 31% drop is a large factor in the national drop of 29%.
Central Otago escaped relatively unscathed from the cool spring with Pinot Noir production only dropping 13% from 7,989 T to 6,923 T in 2015.
Unfortunately, Waipara and Wairarapa (incl Martinborough) were worst affected (based on NZ Winegrower stats), down 74% and 52% respectively. The quantities of 2015 Pinot Noir are down to only 482 T and 1,110 T in Waipara and Wairarapa respectively. Nelson was down 32% and Hawkes Bay 23%
Despite national quantities being down, I expect there is some excellent Pinot Noir coming out of 2015. The damage to harvest volumes was at fruit set not at the harvest end of the season.
At Grasshopper Rock we ended up on target with volume, although 2015 was one of the few years we did not deliberately reduced crop levels to maximise quality. Quality of our 2015 is looking outstanding at this stage.
The chart below shows the relative size of the regions in terms of total Pinot Noir tonnes harvested in 2015.
2015 NZ Pinot Noir tonnages
