Hand Harvest by Clone: March 20-28 - Fruit is harvested by area rather than clone. This allows us to pick those areas that have similar soil profiles at the same time and with most of the clones they ripen at the same time given that they have a balanced crop load. We then co-ferment these clonal mixes. Our Hillside Reserve Pinot Noir is generally sourced from the best of these ferments.

To the winery: Harvested in small tubs to avoid early crushing of the berries the fruit is then de-stemmed. The fruit is then left to cold soak and wait for the indigenous or wild yeasts to begin their work of fermenting this sweet juice into the nectar we enjoy as wine.

M.L.F (Malolactic Fermentation): This wine is then put into selected barrels and M.L.F is allowed to go through over winter. During this time the wine barrels are topped and checked regularly to ensure there is no spoilage.

Blending: The day we all await is blending of all the batches to make the best wine available. Any barrels that are not required are on-sold to larger producers.