"The grapes are looking very good"
- John Drayton
Drayton’s Family Wines is among many Hunter Valley wineries expected to wrap up their annual harvests this week.
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With the last of the shiraz grapes being picked from the vine, general manager John Drayton said that all signs point to a stellar vintage.
“The grapes are looking very good,” he said.
“We are definitely pleased with them.”
In one of the earliest vintages for the Hunter in recent history, Drayton’s began picking their grapes on January 7 this year – a good two weeks earlier than in 2013.
An unseasonably hot winter followed by a cooler spring lead to the early harvest, with drier conditions also allowing for an increase in machine harvesting.
Mr. Drayton said that in recent years, heavy rain has left the soil too wet to rely on the machines but that the recent dry weather has led to ideal conditions for a machine harvest.
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