FROM THE GRAPEVINEVintage 2010Time marches onward and here we are full circle back at the beginning with all the vines resting in the cold winter air.Drifts of mist fill the morning slopes and gullies while the air is filled with the screeching wild galahs. Soft mouthed kangaroos now inhabit the vineyard and can sometimes be seen play boxing with one another or having a leisurely scratch in the afternoon winter sun. The hills are green and the vines are brown in direct contrast of the summer just passed when the vines are all showing their full leaf and the hills have dried off with the summer heat. Smoke rises from the Cellar Door chimney and indoors the warmth starts to fill the old converted Dairy and it all seems so surreal to think back to the vintage that was. Back in November when all the buds were bursting forth a very unusual weather occurrence happened and we had about ten days of above average temperature range of 38 degrees plus. The month was about 3-4 degrees warmer than the monthly average and this culminated in an unusually dry spring period. Following this came the long hot summer with those cool afternoon south easterly sea breezes cooling the fruit and allowed for good ripening conditions. With an adequate supply of pristine spring water in our dam we were able to manage the soil moisture levels to take advantage of the hotter day time temperatures. The birds are good for eating the bugs but they also eat the grapes. You can see the birds in the vineyard all summer long as they listen to the booming noisemakers and watch the fluttering scarers, while they chatter to their mates perched atop the arms of the scarecrows. There are other ways to deal with them but the only way you could get the dog, Jackie, to chase them off, is to tie a tennis ball to each and every bird! Harvest time was straight forward with the picking teams working throughout the nights to get the grapes in and loaded on to the trucks to be sent off and crushed. It is a times like these that we can all take a breather, take stock of the vintage just passed and look forward to sampling the beautiful wines produced from the Southern Fleurieu wine district. Cheers |
IN OTHER NEWS.. Australian Medals:
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