Harvest

Hurley Vineyard Pinot Noir is harvested by hand.  The selection of the harvest day is all-important.   The fruit must be picked at optimum flavour and ripeness.  This requires expert tasting of berries on the vine and careful testing of sugar levels.   Once the day is selected, harvest begins close to first light in the cool of the morning.  The fruit is triaged on the vine and picked into shallow picking trays of about 10 kg capacity.  This is done to minimise the risk of the fruit being damaged during harvest and to ensure it can be cooled down with the berries intact. The picking trays are then cooled down in the overnight air in the winery. In the very early morning the fruit is destemmed. We experience harvest as a celebration that evolves peacefully over the days.