Harvest wrapped up on April 15 with our final pick of MV6 Pinot Noir from Swallowfield Vineyard, Gembrook more than a month later than 2025, closing a long, challenging season that ultimately delivered fragrant wines with supple tannins. The vines are as tired as we are, and this post harvest window is the moment we give back to them. Crisp mornings and still, mild afternoons make this the most beautiful time to work in the Yarra Valley. Right after picking, we applied a suite of vital nutrients, a kind of grapevine multivitamin, helping the vines store energy in trunks and roots for next year. With every season shaping the next, sustainability and respect for the vines guide everything we do. The same goes for our soils: the extended season allowed us to sow winter cover crops that feed soil biology, improve structure, and fix nitrogen for spring. Building biodiversity and supporting healthy fungal systems remain central to our approach.
Compost is another key focus. We’ve been constructing compost rings using waste from the winery, farm, and kitchen, closing the loop on these waste streams, while creating rich food for the soil. These rings are turned and slowly cooked to preserve fungal activity through the winter, forming the base for compost teas that boost microbial life later in the year. Alongside the winery team, we’ll critically assess the unfinished 2026 wines to understand what the season taught us and refine our viticulture for 2027. Perhaps most exciting is our new Southern Slope vineyard expansion. The east–southeast facing site will be planted with 95 clone Chardonnay this spring, complementing the fine, acid driven GinGin fruit already grown nearby. With luck, we’ll see a first crop in 2029 or 2030. All of this happens before pruning begins at the end of May, the quiet start to the 2027 season, when the whole cycle begins again. Chris Beard, Viticulturalist
