Promising start to '22 Hunter vintage

Day one: Winemaker Andrew Margan in a block of chardonnay at his Saxonvale vineyard being harvested just outside Broke in the Hunter Valley on Monday morning. "What we are picking today is brilliant," he said. Pictures: Peter Lorimer

Picking your grapes at the right time is one of the most important decisions in winemaking.

For Andrew Margan, his 2022 vintage began before daybreak on Monday as a machine harvester began taking an anticipated 20 tonnes of chardonnay grapes and a smaller amount of verdelho grapes from Margan's Saxonvale vineyard blocks.