As we head into the weekend and as vintage draws to a close I’d like to thank our local wine industry for successfully handling the 2020 vintage under the extreme circumstances created by COVID-19. Vintage is always an intense time for our wineries with everything dependent on the weather, but this year the wineries have faced extra pressure. Wineries had to adopt stringent health and hygiene regimes particularly as they were managing local and overseas vintage workers, harvest crews in the field and transport operators. Some local staff have been isolated from their families for the duration of vintage. It's to the industry’s credit that harvest is drawing to a close without incident and, by all accounts, it's a highly successful vintage. Wine is a very substantial contributor to the overall prosperity of Marlborough so I'm relieved that this is one COVID bullet that we've managed to dodge. I hope you all have a safe and happy weekend. John Leggett
Mayor of Marlborough
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