Harvesting the Tiers Vineyard

The Tiers Vineyard Chardonnay is hand harvested typically at the end of the first week of April in bright Autumn sunshine and cool air.

The typical analysis of Tiers Chardonnay at harvest is:

• 24 Brix of sugar;
• 8 gpl of acid; and a
• pH of 3.2.

The tiny bunches are selectively hand harvested into 0.5 tonne wooden bins with plastic liners and transported to the Petaluma winery at the bottom of the vineyard.

The Chardonnay fruit is de-stemmed, roller crushed and chilled to 5°C on its way into the 4 tonne air-bag press.

The juice is drained and gently pressed to about 0.8 bar after the press is filled and a small dose of sulphur dioxide is added on the way to the settling tank. No enzymes or other additions are made to the juice, which is allowed to settle for 4 to 7 days before racking.