Welcome to the next in our series of snippets straight from Chief Winemaker Tim Shand, revealing all the magic and momentum of our first certified organic vintage...

"As the winery fills up, week four of harvest has been all about Semillon and Chenin Blanc.

This has been my first extensive experience with Semillon. As delicious as it is, it presents challenges to vigneron and winemaker alike. In the vineyard it ripens a bit slower than Sauvignon Blanc, and loves to get botrytis at the merest whiff of rain. We really don’t want to rush and pick it underripe though, and are searching for a lemon barley character that indicates the vine has peaked.

In the winery, Semillon grapes tend to ‘slip out of their skin’ when pressed, leaving a little jelly blob behind that is very difficult to press the juice out of! Grapes that keep their flesh on the skin give the press some purchase to squeeze out the juice.

Semillon grapes do not afford us this opportunity and those jelly blobs block up the screens of the press, stopping juice from draining out. So it’s a long, painful process extracting juice from Semillon. But it’s worth it, absolutely the most delicious juice to drink fresh during vintage!

Our main block of Semillon is U10; adjacent to our best Shiraz and Cabernet sites this may be the best dirt on the property. The block carries a bigger crop in the eastern side, probably due to a heavier and more generous soil profile. As a result, the two halves of the block ripen at a different pace.

We grabbed the west prior to the rain on Friday, but were forced to wait it out four long days and nights to go in and pick the east. The birds had a party in the meantime, but we were able to pick around this and the second harvest came in with a similar fruit profile to the first and we're happy with that.

We have one more pick of Chenin and Semillon to come, from small blocks adjacent to the cellar door car park. These will be picked Thursday, followed by a quiet celebration marking the end of the white grape harvest. We’ll be into Shiraz and Merlot by the weekend."