We couldn’t wait any longer
We have finally tasted the 2011 Pinot Noir just out of Oak. We are stoked, there is no-thing better than surpassing your expectations, and it certainly does that. The 2011 Pinot Noir Silver Label will be pre-released to our faithful Gala Wine Club Members exclusively. So the rest of you will just have to wait.
The cellar door has been closed over winter and re-opened on the 1st September for the new season. We look forward to meeting you there.
Spring Has Arrived
Spring has arrived and so too are those first woolley buds awaiting enough accumulated heat units to stimulate bud burst. It has been another wet winter with quite a few good frosts. These frosts have no effect upon the vines during the winter as they are in the dormant stage of their cycle. This is when we asses each vine and prune back to 2 arms and set up the vine for the coming season. Rather than pruning to a set number of buds, we choose to prune to the vines size and potential. This means that some vines that have struggled on rocky knolls are only left with 6 shoots / arm while the better vines will handle a full 10 buds / arm.
This year we are planting more Pinot Noir further up the hill. So we sort through the pruned material and retrieve the better canes off the desired clones to propagate for a January planting.
Spring offers the greatest challenge with frosts. Adam has set his frost alarms , alerting him to possible devastation. Once the temperature drops below 1 degree, it’s off to the vineyard for Adam to check the vines and start up the overhead frost protection. It’s a bit like having to get up to children in the middle of the night!
