After a few very wet months that signified a wet winter, it was bookended by 2 dry months that resulted in only marginally wetter than average soil moistures to start the season. (Such is the nature of the dry conditions of Central Otago that we often think our wet periods are significant, but taken in context, it is much less so.) Spring temperatures were normal with only a couple of mild frost events which were successfully fought. Normal spring rainfall aided vine growth and contributed to healthy interrow cover crops. While heat summation was slightly ahead of average, the wetter soils slowed development with flowering occurring at the normal time (although a week to 10 days later than 2021 and 2000 flowering). Flowering proceeded in warm and relatively stable weather and resulted in setting a normal sized crop across all three varieties.
December was warm and dry with these conditions further exacerbated over the next several weeks until a decent rain event on February 21. With the relatively dry conditions prevailing for the previous months, this event and the periodic rain throughout March (but still only 43mm recorded), did not present any disease pressure issues and provided welcome relief to the warm and somewhat previous stressful conditions. This, along with a return to more normal temperatures, and pleasingly cooler night temperatures, arrested the ripening for slow and steady development. Harvest started a week later than what was originally anticipated on March 23, and fears of an early, hot and fast harvest were fortunately not realised. Most interesting for wine quality was the dry and warm period during the critical phase of berry development throughout January, limiting berry size and concentrating phenolic material.