In the vineyard

Reggie, the little Jack Russel with big attitude loves to be part of the action.  Here he is investigating the mulch.

Vintage was very short this year, with many varieties ripening at the same time. On average crops throughout the Barossa were less than previous years due to frost when the buds were first developing, a lack of spring and winter rains in 2018 and some hot spikes of temperatures in summer. However, that is the vagaries of agriculture, it doesn’t always work out the way you had planned! With a shorter vintage than other years, it’s a relatively quiet time in the vineyard this month, but it means we can get some other jobs done and Dan as been running out foliage wires on some of our new blocks of Shiraz, to support the vine canes as the vine grows during spring. This stops the vine canopy rolling on the main wire which can mean the grapes can become too exposed to hot sun in summer. Once we have had some rain (fingers crossed for that to happen soon!), deep ripping of the vineyard rows will commence and then in late May, early June pruning will begin. Then it will be all hands on deck for a couple of solid months with all of the vineyard hand-prunned.

Shortly, harvesting the grapes will commence and then they will be processed at a winery. One of the wineries that the grapes from Stonewell Cottages and Vineyards go to is Soul Growers. Our friends from Soul Growers – Barossa Valley Winemakers are the providers of this months complimentary wine, the Equilibrium GSM. They are in the midst of their pre-vintage preparation, emptying last years barrels of wine for blending, then cleaning them ready for Vintage 2019. If you are staying at the Cottages during this time and would like to follow the process from ‘vine to wine’, let us know. You can ride on the harvester, hand pick some grapes, or, go on a delivery of grapes with Evan in his truck. You can also visit Soul Growers Winery and cellar door for a behind the scenes tour and an informative chat about the fermentation process and what else may be happening in the winery at the time of your visit. Let us know if you would like to be a part of Vintage 2019!! 

It’s all about sampling in the vineyard. Dan has been selecting bunches from both sides of the vines (sunny and shady) to get a representative sample of the crop. He then crushes the bunches by hand and uses a refractometer to measure the amount of available sugar in the juice. The sugar roughly equates to the amount of alcohol a wine will have once the juice has been fermented. Grape estimates are also reviewed at the same time, these are calculated by using the average bunch weight x average bunches per vine x vines per hectare x area.
Phew, glad I’m not working any of that out!!

In the vineyard Evan and Dan are putting the finishing touches on the harvest equipment. Dan has finished painting the inside of the truck tray with food safe paint.
Grape sampling has commenced to ascertain the sugar content (Baume) and gauge when picking may start.
We envisage it will commence about the third week of February, so not long now.
If you are staying with us during the harvest period, let us know if you would like to take part in the harvest process. You can ride on the harvester, travel along with Evan in his 1974 Kenworth truck to deliver grapes, or hand pick a bucket of grapes (or more), depending on what’s happening with the vintage schedule. To let us know use the ‘send message’ button below.

Now that the new year has started, we are only about 5 weeks from the start of vintage 2019! In about a weeks time, we will see the start of ‘veraison’. This term describes the photosynthetic process of sugar development. The berries will begin to swell in size and start to develop the deep purple colour as they ripen. Hydration of the vines remains critically important during the hotter months to ensure they do not defoliate, and to maintain the canopy. As we pass through veraison, the irrigation times will be shorter in duration, but interval times will be closer together, as deep moisture from (lack of!) winter rain drys out. This is to ensure the vines are not over stressed, while at the same time safeguarding that the fruit does not take up too much moisture, which can dilute flavour and colour. Typical target size for Shiraz berries is about 13mm diameter, which gives a good ratio between skin and flesh. What some people may not realise is that the juice from red grapes is actually white! The colour comes from the skin! Hence, if the berries are too large from too much irrigation, colour (and flavour) will be diluted.

After a dry winter, irrigating of the vineyards continues to maintain soil moisture. In the younger blocks canopy management has been ongoing, with green shoots wrapped onto wires so winds do not damage the foliage. Now that all the vines have finished flowering and the fruit has set, crop estimates can commence. We do this by counting bunch numbers per vine through a cross section of the vineyards.

In the next few weeks before Christmas, all the heavy machinery will be coming out of the sheds for pre-harvest maintenance, the harvester, truck and trailer, and both tractors will be given thorough checks.

These little guys were found near The Hideaway Cottage.

Dan is running out foliage wires in the young blocks of vines to prevent the foliage from rolling over.
Evan is about to commence another round of nutrient spraying and they are both keeping the vineyard mowed to prevent weed growth and encourage vine growth.
Irrigation checks (of the drippers and dripper lines) are continuing and irrigation is being rotated throughout the vineyard.