2024 Vintage Report
The 2024 vintage at KAHIWI was marked by extreme weather events and the exciting progress of our onsite winemaking facilities. This season tested our resilience and adaptability, ultimately rewarding us with wines of defined vintage character and quality.
Early Season (September - November 2023): The growing season commenced with surprising warmth, leading to slightly early budburst. El Niño conditions brought persistent strong winds, with some extreme gusts in October. Most notably, on September 21st, these winds caused property damage, including the loss of a water tank and a chicken house, ripped from its moorings and cast asunder. The chickens themselves flung through the air like so much feathery tumbleweed. Presumed lost to the east, they all remarkably reappeared the following morning.
October and November saw cooler conditions with late frost events. We recorded -2°C on October 12th in Bannockburn, with further frost risks throughout the month and into November. Pisa temperatures ranged from 0°C to 30°C towards the end of this period, highlighting the extreme variability. After early November, rain events were few and far between with no single event over 10mm before March. Hail fell in Pisa on November 17th, though damage was minimal.
Mid-Season (December - February 2024): Summer brought hot days paired with cool nights, a return to classic Central Otago conditions, markedly more so than the preceding two vintages. December and January were exceptionally dry, with only sporadic light rainfall. Diurnal temperature swings at Pisa neared the fabled 30°C variance in some 24 hour periods. An unusual frost event occurred on January 24th, with temperatures dropping to 0.8°C at the vineyard in Bannockburn.
February 2nd saw another hail event, causing minimal damage in Pisa and sparing Bannockburn entirely. Despite the generally hot conditions, there were no extreme heat spikes, allowing for steady ripening. Wind remained a constant factor. A wind break (the ironically named fence) on the western boundary of our Pisa vineyard twice required repairs.
Late Season and Harvest (March - April 2024): Autumn arrived with warm days and cool nights, necessitating continued frost protection in Bannockburn. March saw temperatures ranging from 4°C to 35°C at Pisa. A significant rain event on March 4th provided timely moisture for the final ripening phase.
Harvest at Pisa began on March 19th, concluding in a swift five-day period under ideal conditions - calm, sunny days with cool mornings. While yields were lower than average, fruit quality was exceptional with small dense berries.
Bannockburn, with its cooler microclimate, was harvested over five days from March 26th to April 3rd, following the Penumbral Lunar Eclipse on March 25th. The site's water-retaining soils proved beneficial during the summer drought, resulting in less vigorous growth but a healthy crop of high-quality fruit.
Winemaking: The 2024 vintage allowed for some experimentation, particularly with the Bannockburn fruit. We explored different percentages of field-blend white grapes in co-fermentation with Pinot Noir and conducted painstaking whole bunch trials. With less scope for experimentation, the lower yields at Pisa will be largely devoted to our two cuvées, Madeline and Stella.
A significant milestone was reached with the near-completion of our new winery, allowing us to process the harvest indoors.
The 2024 vintage at KAHIWI speaks of resilience and adaptability of both our vines and our team. Roots dug deep mining soils for life giving moisture and nutrients, fruit clung to vines on exposed slopes, steeling itself against the winds. Pisa wines appear at once dense and reflective. At this early stage, we anticipate that these will benefit from much patience. Bannockburn is expressing gentle, cool tones. Transparent and restrained. As they mature, we anticipate they will offer a compelling narrative of a year that demanded much but gave even more in return.