Grape harvest gets an autumn reprieve (NZ)

A smaller harvest means consumers should expect to pay more for wine this year, say Nelson winemakers. But the quality of the local vintage should be among the best in the country after superb autumn weather rescued what was shaping up to be a difficult season. With just a few late red varieties and some riesling still to pick this week, the Nelson harvest is expected to be down 20 per cent on last year to under 6000 tonnes after downpours in December badly affected the flowering of some varieties, reports the Nelson Mail.