Vintage Wrap-Up 2025
A NOTE FROM HEAD WINEMAKER, SAM BERKETA
I’m going to come out and say it early, 2025 might just be the best vintage for red wines that I’ve seen. In a vintage defined by an early start due to the warm and very, very dry conditions, the fact that the red wines are looking exceptional at this early stage is a blessing.
A hard and fast harvest, where the grapes started coming and they didn’t stop coming. The first pick was Trousseau on January 29, coming in a full 18 days earlier than last year. We finished picking last Friday on April 7, finishing off with Nebbiolo, as per the late-ripening variety’s penchant for hanging on the vine.
DRIEST JANUARY IN A VERY LONG TIME
Vintage began with one of the driest winters in recent memory—anywhere from 30 to 100 years, depending on who you ask! That dryness rolled through spring and summer, leaving next to no ground water for the vines. That said, vegetative growth was strong and the canopies looked healthy and full—a promising sign given the warm, sunny conditions that were predicted to come.
BACK-TO-BACK DAYS OF FRUIT INTAKES
Things felt slow to start, but coming back from the festive season hit us with a whole bunch of “oh F**K” moments—sugars had skyrocketed and the grapes were racing. I usually use Easter as a vintage barometer—early Easter, early harvest. It's a pagan festival set by the lunar cycle, and grapevines, like all plants, are tuned into that same rhythm. So, with such a late Easter this year, I was gearing up for a late harvest. Didn’t happen. The dry, warm weather pushed things forward by nearly a month. Once fruit started coming in, it was non-stop—back-to-back days of multiple fruit intakes and fermenters full to the brim from start to finish. Winemaking is an exercise in logistics, particularly during vintage, and this one has tested us to our limits.
DRIEST JANUARY IN A VERY LONG TIME
The season was dry, dry, dry. By the end of March, we’d only recorded 5.6mm of rain for the year—5.0mm of that in a single day back in January. Some of our dry-grown vineyards, like the Rayner Vineyard, saw minor yield drops, but most blocks had access to water and the early harvesting helped ease pressure. The lack of rainfall also meant that fungal disease pressure was virtually nonexistent. Yields were up, and the quality was exceptional in all regions—larger crops prevented over-ripening from being an issue.
SAM BERKETA
"I’m going to come out and say it early, 2025 might just be the best vintage for red wines that I’ve seen."
AN INCREDIBLE VINTAGE FOR RED WINES
As far as I can tell at this early stage, this is the best vintage for red wines—ever—in my time at Alpha Box and Dice. Sangiovese is epic, Shiraz is incredible, Cabernet is balanced, and the Nebb is looking the best it’s ever looked. We’ve picked up a bunch of Gamay that is hitting the sweet spot between vibrant and savoury, and Nero d’Avola is brooding and sultry and full of yummy delicious fruits. Malic acids were low across the board this year, but natural acids weren’t low considering the warm weather—this is probably due to the cooler nights we’ve seen throughout most of the harvest.
THE 2025 WHITES
Our white wine portfolio has really expanded this year, with a few new varieties such as Picpoul, Pecorino and Grillo that we’re all excited about. The Pecorino is a real favourite of the winery team, showing the elegance of Riesling with the complexing mouthfeel that a lot of Italian varieties have.
THE TEAM
Our team this year was, as always, our saving grace. Led by Rachel, who was across everything in her first vintage at AB&D, which was incredibly surprising given the complexity of what we do. An absolute rock this year, she steered the ship and made sure the wines weren’t just made, but made with integrity, reaching their absolute potential.
We had Nick as our vintage assistant winemaker and his knowledge and positivity was both a credit to him and a blessing to the team as the grapes came in thick and fast. Zoey was our international superstar this year, bringing with her a great palate and contributing interesting insights to our conversations over the lunch table.
SAM BERKETA
"It began with one of the driest winters in recent memory—anywhere from 30 to 100 years, depending on who you ask!"
THE WINERY IS FAR FROM QUIET
Although there’s only Nebbiolo still on skins, the winery is far from quiet, as we’re getting wines ready to send to bottle. Gamay, Riesling and Trousseau will be the first into bottle and I’m really excited to share them. We’ve increased our production this year, bucking the trend of most wineries as external pressures such as the cost of living, tariffs and the increasingly turbulent export market are all having their effect on the wine industry. This means we’ve got lots of great wine to sell, and I can’t wait to see them out in the wild.