We have had an eventful few weeks. The white veil of netting covers the ripening fruit only to be disturbed by the fickle winds and willie willies that give the birds occasional access to what is rather a small crop. Harvesting the chardonnay and pinot noir appears to be about five weeks away (2011 was […]
The summer has finally emerged from another very wet spring. This growing season we have moved straight from a wet, warm spring to a cold, unstable early summer and now to the typical January weather we expect. Quite a change to last summer which had staggeringly high rainfall. December, our important period requiring stable, warm […]
The vines are exiting their winter dormancy and we are joining them at the beginning of a new season’s journey. The story of the 2012 season begins to be written. The pruning was successfully completed in good time and the new canes wrapped down well before any sign of bud swell. Despite the difficulties of […]
Amongst ourselves, and to some winemaking colleagues, we said we might not make it. Many didn’t make it this year. There were a myriad of different challenges and anxieties to overcome and the feeling from November to April was that at any point the crop could be lost. This season more than any other we […]
The vineyard is patient. The vignerons must be also. We have entered a period of nostalgia as we amble through a March that seems more like 1993 than 2011. The fruit is finally veraised. The nets are on. The vines are green. The fruit is exposed and healthy. The crop was thinned by 30% and […]
Since when was the sub tropics moved to southern Victoria? The cool, elevated Macedon ranges felt like central Victoria for a decade and now we feel like grape growers in Byron Bay. Without the beach, sadly. Dams that did not fill for a decade have continually overflowed from December to now. Long term, great for […]
And then the rains came. After a decade of well below average rainfall we are about to break the 1000mm mark. The decade prior to the long running drought we were used to totals around 750mm. What a remarkable surprise this spring has been. Dams that had not filled since the late 1990s have overflowed […]
The winter was so cold my fingers froze and I was unable to key any blog entries. Well almost, but not quite. Hybernation aside, we have had a brilliant traditional winter of cold and rain. Our dams are nearly full and the vineyard has superb soil moisture to begin the season. The 2010 wines are […]
The vines are dormant and pruning has commenced. The ferments are done and the 2010 wines are peacefully resting in their barrels. It is a tranquil, if freezing, time of the year. The 2010 Summer was characterised by slightly higher than average temperatures of which the feature was 120 days where the Melbourne maximum did […]
The contrast between February 2009 and 2010 could not be more dramatic. Last year we experienced four days over 40 degree whereas this year we have barely had a day over 30 degrees. A welcome added bonus has been over 70mm of rainfall which has help put the vines in excellent condition as we progress […]