Vintage 2022 - One out of the Bag

The Burn cottage winery has been a busy hive of activity, grapes have been hand sorted, fermented, pressed, and transferred to barrel, however, things have settled down now, and the team are taking a well-earned break after the 2022 vintage. 

At this time of year the vineyards and surrounds are ablaze with all the autumnal colours associated with Central Otago, and the vineyard crew have been busy applying biodynamic preparations, prior to starting winter pruning.

With vintage over, we can now step back, breath, and reflect, on what we believe, is one of the greatest harvests we have had at Burn Cottage. The warm dry conditions at the end of the growing season and the fantastic stable weather throughout the region, really played into our hands.
 
Claire & Shane have penned their thought below and we also have a visual snapshot taken during the excitement of Harvest….

Harvest 2022 Video

A Winemakers Perspective:
“We had an amazing bunch of people picking and running the logistics smoothly in the vineyard, and one of the best winery teams we have had the pleasure of working with. The early indications of the new wines are very good, they are balanced, bright, elegant, and with fine tannins. We look forward to watching their character and layers progress throughout their time in barrel”.
Claire Mulholland – Winemaker/GM.

A View From the Vineyard:
“A warm and wetter winter lead to a great growing start with little frosts and the warmth continued but growth grew well but at a measured level filling out the trellis nicely. December was cooler and a little wetter, but we managed to get through flowering with good bunch set. January was warm and dry, and February was cooler which help to slow down and preserve freshness before entering a long drawn out warm dry settled autumn and harvest with certainly no need to panic about approaching storms or frost nights and harvest was done and dusted in ideal conditions”.
Shane Livingstone – Viticulturist.

Wrapping up on vintage 2022 also has a slight bittersweet edge, as we say farewell to Rachel Bradley, our assistant winemaker, who heads back home to Australia after finishing her fourth vintage with Burn Cottage. We cannot say a big enough thank you to the amazing work she has done in the winery & vineyards over the last four years. The whole team wishes her the best, for a well-deserved break back in OZ with her Family and Friends, before heading off to her next vintage adventure in the Northern Hemisphere. She is a young winemaker to keep on your radar.

Cheers

Marquis, Dianne & the Burn Cottage Crew

P.S. The Burn Cottage Sauvage Vineyard Pinot Noir 2019 & Burn Cottage Moonlight Race Pinot Noir 2020 release is coming soon....