Port grapes high quality harvest

Riversands staff put in some big days last week to pick the balance of the wine grapes which were hung on the vine to achieve full ripeness.

Riversands owner David Blacket said “the hot dry summer meant some exhausting days but this also contributed to high sugars and intense flavours in the shiraz and cabernet used to make the famous St George port otherwise known as FGP. We have just finished picking 16 tonnes of port grapes which will make approximately 20,000 bottles which is where our market is at.”

“Altogether we have picked around 60 tonnes of wine grapes. I am happy with the quality of both white and red fruit which has been clean with no breakdown due to the dry weather.

The hot climate makes it a good region in which to grow fabulous fortified wines.

Our flagship Golden Liqueur Muscat has won many awards over the years including a gold medal and Best Qld Fortified wine at the 2018 Qld Wine Awards.”

“Our grapes are trucked to Ballandean Estate at Stanthorpe for processing and maturation. The 2019 vintage port will be bottled in 2020 and should be a cracker of a drop when it is released probably in 2021.”

“80% of the picking is done by our Tongan staff, but we sometimes top up with backpackers. Backpackers are mostly slower and generally don’t last long once the heat amps up especially the French!

Last week we had a visit from our ABC friends David Iliffe and Lydia Burton so they immediately got put to work with snips and a bucket! It was all in good fun.”