Vintage 2016, through the eyes of Cobaw Ridge

The 2016 harvest in Australia came on a whole lot quicker than most people expected - a warm summer, with only intermittent rain, pushed ripeness levels forwards quickly in many regions. Multiple grape varieties and sites seemed to ready to pick all at once! Space within the winery became an issue, as fruit suddenly came flooding in.

Cobaw Ridge in Macedon were one such producer affected by this - having Chardonnay and Shiraz and Pinot Noir nearly simultaneously caused some logistical issues, but fruit quality was uniformly very good.

Below we share some photos from their harvest - thanks to Alan and Nelly Cooper for sharing some of their story with us, as well as their wines.

Chardonnay being harvested

Whole bunches of Pinot (MV6 and 115 clones) - small berries full of flavour this vintage!

Always was going to be tricky when the two batches of grapes shown above were perfectly ripe within 10 days of each other!
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New Qvevri, delivered just in time for the harvest, made in Canada by a Georgian craftsman

Before there were amphora, there were Georgian-made qvevri....clay vessels for fermentation and storage of wine. The Cooper's took delivery of theirs in time for #v16
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Alan Cooper, plunging and doing punch downs, in his 26th vintage at Cobaw Ridge!

Alan and Nelly Cooper live on the land where the grapes for Cobaw Ridge grow, and tend the vines by hand. The wines are then made and stored on-site.
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The return of an old favourite in #v16....il pinko rides again!