Vintage vittles - Wednesday 1st April: Sauvignon, sunshine and salad

Another bright morning marked the beginning of a new month, and - while we avoided too much April-Fool related humiliation - today was a busy and exciting day, with Sauvignon and Pinot Noir coming through the winery doors and vintage gaining a sense of pace.

On arrival this morning, I found Clive hard at work processing some of our Sauvignon and his hard work was justly rewarded with some of Marcia's rich, sticky ginger cake - made with plenty of fresh ginger. Sweet and finger-staining as it is, I'm sure it does us good, warding off the first of those winter colds - that's certainly what I'm telling myself anyway!

While the Sauvignon was processed and pressed, Clive and Colin headed to our Raupo Creek vineyard to visit the Osip hill - the slope where most of our best Pinot is grown. The fruit from the very top of this slope is always amongst the first to be picked in any vintage, but there is always a waiting game to be played. Tasting across the rows and down the slopes, checking for sugar, acidity, seed maturity and flavour, they decided on the areas that are to be picked this afternoon.

Meanwhile, Marcia had been busy in the kitchen preparing a healthy and wholesome lunch for vintage staff who need to keep their strength up and their vitamin levels high, as they face early morning punch-downs and the digging out of sundry tanks and presses! Tuna salad and plenty of fresh-baked bread was on the menu, washed down with a well-deserved glass of Seresin Pinot Noir.