Well, following on from my last post, the nets won the race but not after incurring a small amount of collateral damage.
Organising a netting contractor proved more difficult than usual.  Not because they were all busy applying nets but because they had’nt realised that things were going to get frantic, the birds would suddenly move in […]

The fact that it’s Australia Day (26th January) soon is my reminder that veraison is close, vines need to be prepared and bird nets have to be applied.
Closer inspection of the vineyard yesterday showed that since the weekend berry softening and colouring (veraison) has commenced.  What this means is that the early scouting birds are able to […]

I am sorry it has been a while since I last posted.  While the usual excuse could be that things have been rather hectic, I must say that I have been trying to get my head around the current season, what it has been dishing up and what it means for the 2008 vintage.
In a […]

When recently I was recommended to read a book on the wine industry scurge Phylloxera (a root eating louse), I was rather scepticle to put it mildly.  How interesting a read was this going to be? Why would I want to learn about the history of this vine pest and how it was introduced to the vineyards […]

Back in late August I posted explaining why it was important to wrap the canes in the Viognier block in an arched cinfiguration, that is not flat along the fruiting wire.  I will explain and show you the results - please read on.
Firstly bud burst occurred in early September and was accompanied by some very wet weather.  The […]