No two vintages are ever the same and every harvest has its own stories to tell. That’s why it’s always fascinating to chat to different members of the Creation team, gathering an exciting kaleidoscope of perspectives on the harvest.
“It’s early days yet but so far we are very pleased with the overall quality of the grapes.” This positive take coming from Creation Cellarmaster Jean-Claude (JC) Martin, is echoed by the rest of the team.
The harvest started 10 days earlier than last year with the first Pinot Noir grapes picked for our Elation Cap Classique on the 31st of January. Last year the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay had more bunches per vine, but they were loose bunches, in other words there were many gaps between the berries. This year the bunches are more compact, making them heavier and therefore compensating on the tonnage. We had a challenging start on the weather side, with 60 mm of rain middle February. Luckily the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay blocks were picked before these rains. The quality so far is very good on both these cultivars, with the Pinot Noir crop 10% less than last year and the Chardonnay crop 10% more. – Viticulturist Gerhard Bruwer
This year’s harvest started earlier than last year. We harvested through two weekends anticpating rain as we were determined to maintain the quality of our grapes. – Vineyard Manager Catherine Deez
So far it has been quite challenging with a cooler start to harvest and a few rain events to keep things interesting. We are grateful that we managed to get the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay off before the rain and are very happy with the quality so far. – Winemaker Gerhard Smith
So ver was daar nie veel komplikasies nie. Die reën het wel ‘n rol gespeel maar ons het koelkop gebly en kon pluk wat ons moes pluk. Ons was darem nie onder druk nie en ons nuwe press maak ‘n verskil om die lewe vir ons makliker te maak. En dan laastens, die druiwe wat so ver ingekom het, is baie mooi. – Cellar Assistant Kirsten Myburgh
I have to say the new press makes life easy, and the new slide that I built for whole bunch fermentation has come in handy and will continue to do so when we pick the Syrah later on. I’m especially pleased with the Chardonnay, the crop size is excellent, and I can’t wait to see how the wines turn out. – Cellar Assistant Urle Hansen
Creation is a living, thinking wine estate pulsing with collective energy. And every year this energy gets a boost when we welcome a number of interns to assist us during the hectic months of harvest.
This year two international interns have joined the team. Laura Poli from Burgundy finds the harvest to be very different from that in her hometown. “The volumes are much bigger, and this winery seems so advanced.”
Lars Schull from Lucerne brings to our team his knowledge of the Swiss wine industry. He is always ready to lend a hand with any task and lightens up the hard work with his bubbly personality and bizarre Swiss comments.
The two South African interns are Chloe Nagle and Heinrich van der Watt. “Overall, everyone is still strong in spirit for the long harvest ahead. Thankfully, we have a warm braai to keep us going on those long nights,” says Chloe. To which Heinrich adds.. “I am loving the harvest and learning so much. Creation fuels and reinforces my passion for winemaking.” – Heinrich van der Watt.
