Cheers to 15 Years of Learning!

On April 2nd, we picked our last two rows, for our fortified project, completing our 2025 harvest! Fifteen was the number this year so as a wrap, here are fifteen lessons we learnt about our craft:

1. Experience counts – not sure if we could have pulled this one off in 2011, it was a hard, intense, compressed 61 days on the loop.
2. Teamwork makes the dream work – appreciate our crew in the vineyard and winery, we still got to pick and crush when we wanted, on the moment.
3. Whites make the ideal start – our white grape blocks get us cracking early and help make space for reds later, testament to our planting diversity.
4. Chenin style – we are very happy with how our first chenin blanc is tasting, look out for the release later this year, adding suave to our white range.
5. Close, but not quite – we were hoping for our first table wine sangiovese but decided to pick for rosato, an exciting pink blend with aglianico.
6. Record crush – despite the drought like conditions and hot spells, we came up with a solid yield and with more varieties, we cracked our record.
7. Drink local – we do need to stay awake and refreshed, Mclaren Vale Coffee Co beans, & Goodieson's ginger beer to the rescue!
8. Staying cool – our cover crops all year round providing organic matter under vine and mid row was vital to keep soil temperatures down.
9. Irrigation control – water master Richard Leask planned meticulously for six months to eek out our water supply to keep vines fresh all the way.
10. We love golf – a couple of quick mid vintage hits released some tension but also added, but that’s golf and farming for you – risk & reward!
11. Hello April – normally we are picking solidly in April, but now it’s all in the shed, the focus is on finishing ferments and into barrels, have Easter off we hope!
12. Hills haul – the Hillenvale vineyard produced nicely this year with solid batches for pinot and syrah, along with outstanding cabernet.
13. Super shiraz – a full on flavour year for our classic, across four blocks we will make a bold, blue & black fruit rich style, still with that maritime edge.
14. Grenache groove – we picked all of our grenache across two days, to avoid the early mini heat wave and feel like we got it spot on for those pretty juicy tones.
15. Family first – at the end of the day family is all we are about, and it was cool to have three generations of Leask's pitching in this year to bring it home.

We hope you can enjoy our wines with yours this April, do a rain dance for us! Thank you for your support, allowing us the opportunity to do what we love for fifteen years of vintages as Hither & Yon, for our earth, to your table.