There is always a quiet moment before vintage begins — when the winery is clean, the tanks are empty, and the anticipation of the season ahead hangs in the air.
Vintage Journal — Preparing for Vintage
Over the last few weeks we have been quietly preparing the winery for vintage.
This year feels different, as it is one of the latest start we have ever had. Our focus through January and early February has been bottling the Vin de Soif, Single Vineyard, and Limited Cuvée wines. While many wineries around us have already begun vintage, there is always that moment where you look around and feel like you should be starting too.
But here at Yelland & Papps, many of our varieties are later-ripening Rhône varieties. Shiraz will be the first fruit in, followed by Roussanne, Grenache, Cinsault and Mourvèdre. Patience is simply part of the rhythm.
As wines return from bottling we find ourselves playing a small game of warehouse Tetris, moving pallets and creating space. All wines are stored here at Yelland & Papps, so preparation also means finding room for what is about to arrive.
Inside the winery the work begins with the small but important details. Floors are washed, equipment cleaned and sterilised, barrels are steamed, and tanks, hoses and buckets are washed again and lined up ready for the first intake of fruit. Equipment is calibrated — scales, pumps and temperature probes — making sure everything is ready before the first grapes arrive.
Michael and I still love using our blackboards for vintage data, even though plenty of spreadsheets run quietly in the background. Notes are written during the day and later entered into the records. Everything is carefully documented.
And finally, an important piece of preparation — the drink fridge.
While Michael and I do not drink much during vintage, a cold beer at the end of the day, sitting amongst the vats and tanks, is a small reward after a long day.
Vintage for us is still just the two of us. Occasionally someone asks if they can come and spend a day seeing the process, and we are always happy to share that experience.
A typical day begins with a quick trip to the vineyards. Fruit arrives at the winery, and the rhythm begins — crushing, ferment management, cleaning and preparing for the next parcel. After the reds ferment dry and sit on skins for around ten days or more, we basket press, sending the wine through a settling tank and then straight to barrel.
Whites follow a completely different rhythm. We often say we hardly talk while making whites — it is focused and precise work.
Fruit is first cold soaked in the cool room so we can process it nice and cool before going straight to the press. Because we basket press, we achieve a gentle level of skin contact, which gives the wines phenolics, texture and depth.
Once pressed, the juice moves to tank where cooling allows a slow fermentation to retain freshness and preserve the natural aromatics of the fruit.
While many of our white varieties are not traditionally aromatic, they carry an expression all their own. These wines are driven by texture and palate, which is perhaps why we are seeing more red wine drinkers now discovering whites. Many producers today are making textural whites that deliver the structure and interest people often seek in red wines.
Last Friday we brought in our first parcel of fruit — Greenock Shiraz from David Materne’s Greenock home block.
This week we expect Roussanne from two separate parcels, Shiraz two seperate parcels (Old Bamboo) also from David Materne’s vineyards in Greenock, along with the first picking of Vine Vale Grenache. This fruit will fill the winery and, once pressed later in the week, it will allow space for the next parcels arriving the following week.
Meanwhile, the Limited Cuvée wines are heading down the bottling line. We are also introducing a slight transformation with a new label for this range.
The 2025 Roussanne and Grenache are looking beautiful, and we look forward to sharing these wines with you soon.
Vintage has only just begun, but already the winery is alive again — with the quiet rhythm of fermenting fruit and the promise of the season ahead.
Susan Yelland & Michael Papps
Proprietors & Winemakers