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Vintage 2012. 90% picked. first judgements

thestory — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 11:27:25 +0000

We are now almost picked out, with only 2 tonnes of Grenache for Rose and 2 tonnes of Henty Shiraz left out there. The weather has been very kind, warm and almost rain free (save a couple of mm today) and we should be all done by Wednesday, much earlier than usual. The reasons for this (and I’m pinching from viticulturist Kym Ludvigsen here) are a warm summer, a very dry growing season, previous season [...continue this story]

Vintage 2012 the Potential for Greatness.

thestory — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 00:24:42 +0000

Vintage 2012 looked for all the world like being an amazing vintage. All the signs I look for were there. Dry weather but enough soil moisture. Generous but manageable canopy growth. A modest set of small bunches with small berries. A dry but not excessively hot february, avoiding sunburn and loss of aromatic development. Indeed perhaps it was too good. Just perfect weather for growing plants, and the vines responded with rapid ripening such that [...continue this story]

distribution is everything.

thestory — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:27:34 +0000

I have been thinking a lot about the wine distribution business, and how it is so critical to wine brands. The first advice I give anyone considering making wine is 1. Quality. Always strive for it, but quality is expected, and not much of a differentiator. 2. Make sure you know in advance where you are going to sell it. If you don’t have a market, you’ve just got a lot of expensive bottles in [...continue this story]

December Vineyard Notes

thestory — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 23:03:20 +0000

I’ve just been out to have a look at some of our vineyard blocks pre-Christmas, and post 70mm downpour, to see how they’re fairing, how flowering and fruit set ended up, and check on disease pressure, given 2011 was such a high disease year and there is likely to be residual spores hanging around. Here’s how they’re looking as at 20/12/11:

Westgate Vineyard, Armstrong

Old block shiraz is through flowering and it seems like [...continue this story]