A Post-Harvest update from Vineyard Manager, Rich Williams
It was great to see the young House Block produce some amazing fruit for the first time this year. The 198.19 Riesling Clone was a real jaw dropper as well as the Pinot Noir 114. I was even quite happy how the unusually fickle Clone 4 turned out in the end as it trailed the 114 by quite a bit at one stage and was very different in flavour comparison. I thought the Sauvignon Blanc turned out extraordinarily well this year providing nice grapefruit and mango tropical fruit flavours with a hint of red pepper.
Nets are finally off the vines. Always a tedious time dodging the wind and rain and the relative humidity has been high, meaning nets stayed wet. The workers got a little cold and wet in the process but battled on in the conditions. This now marks the end of a successful 2010/11 season. Many thanks to the team and all those that gave a helping hand in this year’s vintage.
Pruning is now underway in the vineyard. I am trying a different tact now that the majority of the vineyard is fully established with almost complete wire-fill. We are targeting the odd spots that still need a bit of TLC such as areas like the Horse’s Head in the Top Block and the Pinot Gris in the Dress Circle where wind has prevented the vines from developing a full wire.
Last year I trialled a disbudding technique through the cane-pruned Sauvignon Blanc and this made a real difference in vine strength. Because the younger House Block this year struggled with power early on in the season. I intend to carry this idea through and try to gain some strength on these young vines, establishing a strong and uniform cordon using this disbudding technique. It will also buy some time come Spring and will mean some of the shoot thinning will already be done.
Sadly we say goodbye to our Japanese friend Ken who has been with us since last November and plans to return back to Japan and start an online wine buyers site now that he has a good understanding how wine is made. Also we soon say goodbye to Ryan who has been with us for a complete year. Good luck to them both.