Scattered heavy showers of hail and rain in late January may have knocked a few vineyards on the Escort Way back a bit, but for Charlie Svenson at De Salis wines, the 60 millimetres they received at that time was a welcome boost for their vines.

“The depth of colour in the fruit is just fantastic,” he said.

“The fruit is genuinely AAA grade.”

Working 18 hour days, from 6am to well past midnight, is exhausting work, but with their sparkling varieties already picked, the emphasis is now on the table wines, and the timing is crucial.

“We’ve been irrigating for the last week to help keep the vines turgid, because if they dry out they will slow ripening,” he said.

Peter Hedberg at Hedberg Hill on Escort Way said he too was irrigating but as the region’s wineries were spread over a range of differing soil types, and the rain was so sporadic, that every vineyard is different.

“You really need to watch your soil moisture just before harvest because some soils hold water better than others.”

Mr Hedberg said usually he begins vintage in the first week of March, but this year he may need to go earlier.

“It will start in the next 10 days or so beginning with the sauvignon blanc and the chardonnay,” he said.

The continued warm weather that is forecast though means the rush is on to pick the vines.

“We would normally get about four to five days in between varieties and would work in the winery, but if it stays really hot we’ll have to pick even quicker than we already are,” Mr Svenson said.

Both agree this year, on balance, is going to be one of the finest in recent times.

“It will be a fabulous vintage, as long as you missed out on the hail and rain,” Mr Svenson said.