We are in the home stretch for harvest 2010!! I am just in from walking the vineyard with Julian and I can only echo his comments about the great health of the vineyard under an organic management regime and the anticipation we feel for the potential quality of vintage 2010, given how good the grapes look.

The winery team is busy completing our blending tasting for the 2009 Pinot Noir and preparing to rack the wine from barrel prior to the first grapes being picked. As always there are the other house keeping jobs to be completed before harvest like bottling the last of our 2009 wines and giving everything in the winery a thorough clean. It is a fun time of year to be in the winery - there is the satisfaction of completing last year's winemaking and the excitement of the coming harvest…. and the opportunity to do it all over again. We have 2 cellar hands coming to assist in the winery this year; Thibaud Liénard from Burgundy (France) and Karl Ross, a Kiwi. We look forward to the international culture and winemaking experience they will bring with them as well as having the extra hands to load the press at midnight and shovel out Pinot Noir ferments!

From 2010 we will employ organic winemaking practices for all of our wines (to compliment what we have been doing in the vineyard). Sitting on the desk beside me is the application paper work for gaining BioGro accreditation for the winery which I anticipate will see us audited and accredited as an Organic winery before or just after this harvest. Although this completes the journey for us to full organic grape growing winemaking we won't be able to make the claim on our label until 2011 when our vineyards will have completed the 3 full years of organic operation (a requirement of BioGro's rules for transitioning from conventional to full organic farming recognition).

Well I had better get back to tasting another line of Pinot Noir barrels – we are already excited at what quality the 2009 Pinot will show when released in almost a years time.

Andrew Sutherland, Winemaker

The 2009-2010 season has been memorable for many reasons.

It is our third year of organic management and our second year in conversion under BioGro New Zealand, whose audit we passed with flying colours back in October. Under organic management the increasing vine and soil health is evident, combined with an increased insect life and biodiversity. By avoiding the use of artificial fertilizer, any herbicides or non BioGro certified fungicides the vines natural strength and resistance is starting to show through. This has made for a rewarding season and confirmed my belief that this is the best possible way to produce grapes of the highest quality.

We embarked on the new season full of confidence and with high expectations, but no season is without its dramas and issues and Nature likes to make you work for your results! Unseasonably cool weather both spring and summer and high humidity have made for some challenging conditions and a mid season hail storm followed by 19mm of rain in 15 minutes caught us by surprise. Although dramatic and some cause for concern at the time, fruit damage on our Mahana vineyard was minimal and it doesn’t appear to have had any long term impact.

So as we begin the process of covering the vineyards in netting I am very excited about the crop out there as it begins to soften and change colour. The canopy is the healthiest it has ever looked, the fruit is clean and free of disease, and today the sun is shining and a gentle breeze blowing. Another 50 or 60 days of the same and we can all relax!

Julian Coakley, Vineyard Manager

Summer is the perfect time to visit The Cellar Door at Woollaston Estates. With stunning views over the vineyards to Tasman Bay and the Mount Arthur mountain range, this is Nelson's most scenic winery. Sit under the shade of the silk trees on the lawn or at tables in the courtyard and enjoy a glass of wine and tasting platter of local produce.

Enjoy our free wine tastings and browse the latest exhibition at the Gallery at Woollaston adjoining the Cellar Door.

The Cellar Door is open 7 days a week from 11am - 4.30pm.