As the vines hinted in our First Glimpse at the 2026 Vintage, this season was shaping up to be something special. Now, with harvest well and truly underway, we’re delighted to share a closer look at how the 2026 vintage is unfolding here at Ivanhoe Wines.
Harvest underway
Harvest kicked off in mid-January, right on cue, with fruit reaching optimal ripeness and ready for picking. The growing conditions this season have been nothing short of outstanding. Well-timed rain over Christmas and early January refreshed the vineyard beautifully, followed by a run of clear, sunny summer days that allowed the fruit to develop slowly and evenly. The result has been pristine grapes across the board.
The quality of the red fruit has us really excited. The Shiraz grapes, in particular, are exceptionally dark, with intense colouration and rich, concentrated flavour profiles. It’s a promising sign for the wines to come and a standout for the 2026 vintage.
Our white grapes are equally impressive, showing remarkable purity and balance. These parcels are already hinting at wines that will be elegant, expressive and truly special. There’s a palpable sense of excitement across the Hunter Valley, and it’s clear we’re not alone in feeling optimistic about what 2026 will deliver.
Our harvest plan in action
Picking began over the Australia Day long weekend and will continue through to around Valentine’s Day. As always, we started with the whites. Verdelho and Chardonnay were picked in late January and are now safely in the winery, fermenting away and already looking delicious.
We followed with our Traminer and Semillon at the end of the month, including some night picking to capture the fruit at its freshest. These grapes looked exceptional in the vineyard and are now fermenting beautifully, with early tastings from the tank showing plenty of promise. With that, our white harvest is complete, and we’re already enjoying the first glimpses of the flavours to come.
This week, attention has turned to our hillside Shiraz vines. The spectacular fruit of the 2026 vintage has started being handpicked and machine harvested, showing phenomenal levels of sugar and flavour. Expectations for the 2026 Shiraz are high, and rightly so.
Next on the schedule is Cabernet, followed by Chambourcin, weather permitting, as we move through the final stages of harvest.
Visit during harvest
If you’re planning a trip to the Hunter Valley and have always wanted to see harvest in full swing, now is the perfect time. The vineyard is a hive of activity, with hand pickers moving through the vines, tractors and trucks transporting bins of freshly picked grapes, and wineries busy processing fruit.
Stay tuned as harvest wraps up and the wines begin their next chapter, settling into tanks and barrels. We look forward to sharing more updates as the 2026 vintage continues to take shape.
We invite you to book online and secure a seat on our beautiful verandah for a tasting. There’s nothing quite like enjoying a glass of Ivanhoe wine while watching the harvest action unfold on the hillside.
Book your tasting online now.