How is it?

20th December 2014. Bottling time as it's raining outside.
Have a few test Demijohns of this years Merlot. So today is as good as time as possible to bottle one off. Got 6 newish bottles, washed and ready to go.
Racked into these a good looking Merlot 14.

Had a little taste with some of the remaining ... Nice.
Cant wait for next year.
Very nice with some stinky blue vein cheese on soft crackers.

Grafting day has arrived for Apples.
A wet weekend so have decided to do some grafting between the showers of heavy rain.

Got 15 root stock from the stool bed this year. The pine sawdust has done its job well.

 Northern Spy root stock

A close-up of the root system

Grafted onto these cuttings of some of my apple trees from the home orchard.

Pricilla (American)

Royal Gala

Monthys Surprise (Kiwi cancer fighter supreme)

Peas Good Non Such (Pommy)

Granny Smith (Ozzy)

Used some new grafting tape, white in colour. Seems to hold up OK. Will see how good it works on the grafts in a few months. Used a splice graft.

Spring 2014 in the Vineyard

September 21st 2014
 Spring is happening in the vineyard!
Merlot vines are starting to come to life.

The buds have turned into leaves and small bunches of yet to be grapes

 The day light hours are getting longer 

The spring rain is slow to drain away as the soil is very wet!

 The grass is starting to go into rapid growth mode.

Looking along the rows things are getting green. Come on summer.

Fish for lunch

How is it?

Put the net out today.
Only was after a couple for fresh fish for a lunch time meal.

Got a few more. Had the net out for only a few minutes. As I was bringing
it in a few more hit it and got caught.
Cat is my best friend!
Jazz also likes the fresh bits.

Fish for lunch

How is it?

Hey the tides coming in and I'm hungry.
Down to the beach, and bail out the Dory. A quick row out and drop the net into the water.
Jazz the wonder dog loves coming out with me. He shakes heaps as the weather is a bit cool at the moment.
After about half an hour of waiting, time to bring in the net and have a look at the catch.
Got seven in total, prepared two for smoking (lunch) and the rest scaled for bait, I feel a fish coming on very soon.
Up the path back to the house and set up the smoker.
40 minutes later, hot freshly smoked fish for lunch, yum, between two fresh bits of bread.
Jazz got the fish livers, he loves them.

Plums and Lemons

How is it?
The home orchard is starting to fire up.

 Also did some preserved lemons, great in Tagines

The Christmass plums are ready, too many at once. So have picked a few bucket fills and will be making a bit of wine. All good in a few years when ready to drink.

Heavy rain and strong winds

How is it?
Well after about a week of heavy rain and strong winds the weather is getting better!
Moira went for a walk to see what damage happened in the home orchard. She came back with a bucket full of Limes.

Great stuff.
After a quick roll on the bench for each one, then a few strokes with a lemon zester, a cut in half with the sharp knife.

Then the hard work and onto the squeezer, out comes the Lime juice.
Then into the ice cube containers and into the freezer they all go.

Looking forward to having a few quite Rum and Lime drinks in summer.

2014 Merlot vintage

How is it?

Well this year has been our best yet.
It started out at the end of last year in many ways, with us deciding to splash out and purchase some commercial bird netting, and with the finding that we need to spray boron.  So with several applications of boron at flowering and some timely pruning, leaf plucking and under vine clearing, the vines looked in tip top condition.

 300 meters in each bail of bird netting. They are heavy when packed like this!

 I decided prior to putting on the bird netting that I would cut the grass between the rows really short. Bad move as we had no rain for close to 4 months, so no grass growth, so I was expecting the grass to grow up and through the netting, so holding this down. No way. So tied the netting to the next row with green twisty ties. Worked a treat. The few rows that I left without joining, blew the netting all over the place, in the strong, dry winds. Lesson learnt about cutting the grass too low.

The boron spraying has allowed the flowering grapes to set. So nearly all the bunches developed fully. In the past we got 12 buckets from 3 rows, this year we got 18 from each row!



The brix reading was 22 degrees with a few bunches as high as 25. No wasp attack, no bird attack.

We picked all the rows after taking the netting off one side. Leaving one row covered as Gregory and Debbie and Jason were coming up to help pick. We picked all the other fruit a day earlier as the weather forecast was for rain. It came the next day late in the day, so we had a fantastic harvest.
120+ buckets.

Bought the buckets of grapes up to the house in the back of the car.

 Had to make room in the dinning-room, by shifting the table out. Laid down a plastic tarp, and on this we started the job of fruit stripping the bunches of grapes.... two days later all done... thanks to the whole team.

The stripped grapes were then crushed by foot stomping, Gregory and Tim excelled at this job.

 Then the crushed fruit went into the fermentation buckets and yeast was added, Lalvin EC 1118.
All good and working hard out the next day. Stirred twice a day. After a week, onto pressing.

The new wine press was finished only one week ago. So this is the first pressing for it. The must was put into cheese cloth, made the clean up after pressing an easy job.

Vintage grapes 2014

How is it?

Well this year has been our best yet.
It started out at the end of last year in many ways, with us deciding to splash out and purchase some commercial bird netting, and with the finding that we need to spray boron.  So with several applications of boron at flowering and some timely pruning, leaf plucking and under vine clearing, the vines looked in tip top condition.

 300 meters in each bail of bird netting. They are heavy when packed like this!

 I decided prior to putting on the bird netting that I would cut the grass between the rows really short. Bad move as we had no rain for close to 4 months, so no grass growth, so I was expecting the grass to grow up and through the netting, so holding this down. No way. So tied the netting to the next row with green twisty ties. Worked a treat. The few rows that I left without joining, blew the netting all over the place, in the strong, dry winds. Lesson learnt about cutting the grass too low.

The boron spraying has allowed the flowering grapes to set. So nearly all the bunches developed fully. In the past we got 12 buckets from 3 rows, this year we got 18 from each row!



The brix reading was 22 degrees with a few bunches as high as 25. No wasp attack, no bird attack.

We picked all the rows after taking the netting off one side. Leaving one row covered as Gregory and Debbie and Jason were coming up to help pick. We picked all the other fruit a day earlier as the weather forecast was for rain. It came the next day late in the day, so we had a fantastic harvest.
120+ buckets.

Bought the buckets of grapes up to the house in the back of the car.

 Had to make room in the dinning-room, by shifting the table out. Laid down a plastic tarp, and on this we started the job of fruit stripping the bunches of grapes.... two days later all done... thanks to the whole team.

The stripped grapes were then crushed by foot stomping, Gregory and Tim excelled at this job.

 Then the crushed fruit went into the fermentation buckets and yeast was added, Lalvin EC 1118.
All good and working hard out the next day. Stirred twice a day. After a week, onto pressing.

The new wine press was finished only one week ago. So this is the first pressing for it. The must was put into cheese cloth, made the clean up after pressing an easy job.