WINERIES around the region are nearing the next stage of vintage, with vineyards entering the halfway mark of picking.
Zema Estate is in the early stages of fermentation for its shiraz varieties, with almost half of its fruit already harvested.
Director Nick Zema said with favourable weather, the start of 2019 vintage had been promising.
“We have harvested about half of our shiraz fruit and have our first lot of grapes going through the fermentation process now,” he said.
“We are doing some small batch techniques, which means a lot of manual labour plunging them twice a day and monitoring the process in addition to our pump overs.
“Things are looking really positive at the moment and we’re hopeful for a great 2019.”
Although vintage is the busiest time of year in Coonawarra, wineries around the region will still take part in the upcoming Coonawarra After Dark weekend.
Celebrations kick off on Friday with the annual grape stomp at Di Giorgio’s Family Wines, homemade pizzas at Zema Estate and dancing at Brand’s Laira Coonawarra.
On Saturday, hungry punters can satisfy their appetite with a charcoal grill held at Raidis Estate.
Mr Zema said the weekend was a great way for people to get a inside look at what happens at the wineries.
“There is always heaps of action and excitement going on the night,” he said.
“I think it is a really interesting way for people to get a look at what goes into making the wines they love.
“There are some really great events on over the weekend so hopefully people come out and take a look.”
