We have just finished the classifications and blending of our 2026 whites, rosé and Grenache components and ranges.
It has been a long day.
I feel physically and mentally spent yet completely elated.
The wine industry is hurting. Business is tougher than I can ever remember, and some days it feels as though we are working harder than ever just to keep moving forward.
Yet, increasingly, I feel I am doing exactly what I was always meant to do.
For those outside the wine industry, it can be difficult to understand what we do each day. And I get that. Most days I am looking at spreadsheets, writing content, answering emails, working through allocations and selling wine.
Then a day like today comes along.
This is the dream—the creative side of winemaking. The moment when you put all the parcels from a vintage in front of you and begin to work out what they can become.
Some wines make the cut. Some don’t.
There are decisions about what belongs where, what a wine needs, what happens when something doesn’t fit the plan, and whether there is an opportunity to pivot and create something completely different.
Sometimes that new idea puts a fire in your belly that is difficult to describe.
Blending is one of those rare moments when both sides of your brain seem to be working at full capacity. Creatively, you are trying to build a picture of a wine you can already imagine but that doesn’t quite exist yet. At the same time, you are thinking in litres and numbers. How much do we need? How much can we make? Where does this parcel have the greatest impact? What happens if we take 10% from here and put it there?
There are a million tabs open in your mind.
What does this wine need? Who will love it? Does it have enough structure? Does it need more freshness? Is this parcel better on its own?
By the end of the day Michael and I look down at spreadsheets, a large sheet of brown paper covered in scribble, and dozens of glasses containing different blend components and combinations.
The language becomes its own kind of shorthand.
Structure. Zingy. Rounded. Herbal. Herbaceous. Cranberry. Freshness. Tannin. Length.
Each component is a puzzle piece. On its own it might not make complete sense but put the right pieces together in exactly the right proportions and suddenly there it is.
Magic.
There is a satisfaction in that moment that is hard to describe—and probably a little addictive.
Because this isn’t simply throwing wines together and saying, “that will do.” There is heart in it. Conversation. Discussion. Re-tasting. Questioning. Sometimes disagreement. Then going back and trying again.
It can be challenging, but when the wine finally comes together, every bit of it is worth it.
You can spend weeks consumed by the nuts and bolts of running a wine business, particularly in times like these. Then one day comes along that reignites something in you and reminds you why you keep doing it.
Today was one of those days.
The 2026 wines are beginning to find their place.
And now we just hope our customers will join us for the next part of the journey.
– Susan Papps