HARVESTING grapes from 110-year-old vines in France is not an easy task but the finished product is certainly rewarding.
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Charles Sturt University technical officer and research winemaker Campbell Meeks has just returned to Wagga after spending four weeks in France.
He was able to draw parallels between the Australian industry and the age-old techniques used by some of the most reputable wine makers and growers in France.
In fact, the tour also gave him some inspiration to develop new blends from different varieties in a bid to come up with something similar to what he witnessed during the overseas trip.
Mr Meeks said he initially undertook the visit to gather more wine making knowledge.
But the experience provided so much more and allowed him to gain a perspective on the industry from the growing phase and harvesting in the vineyards through to the actual wine making aspect.
“We were picking grapes from bush vines and trellis vines,” he said.
And the fact that the grapes were being harvested during his trip was also an added bonus because it provided an in-depth look at the industry.
In addition to harvesting many of the well known red grape varieties he witnessed the harvest of some 13 different white varieties too.
In drawing comparisons between the Australian industry and the conditions in France he said it was hot.
And while the heat is usually a factor during he harvest of many Riverina wine grapes the situation in France was quite different because the night time temperature dropped substantially.
“The cooler nights mean that you don’t get that real acid development,” he said.