In the vineyard

Here they come – baby bunches!!  We’ve also had some rain, yayyyyy!

We’re singing in the rain, we’re happy again!

It took a while but, we finally received some decent winter rains and are far luckier than other farmers in areas of QLD and NSW who remain in severe drought. We have had 61 mls in one week this August, which was desperately needed. It is critical that the moisture in the soil penetrates to at least a 600 ml depth toward the end of winter, where the vines root zone is located. As the vines begin to come out of dormancy at the start of spring, they send out feeler roots that will detect the amount of moisture present in the soil. If they detect dry conditions, this can have a very detrimental effect on crop loading. So this recent rain was very welcome indeed!

Soil moisture profile checks will be taken and monitored on a weekly basis during the coming months  We do this by placing a ‘Neutron Probe’ down various test location tubes in our vineyards to a depth of 1.2m to take readings, which can then be downloaded and studied using moisture monitoring software. This helps us to ensure the right amount of moisture is maintained in the soil structure, and determine when to irrigate and for how long.

As of 13 August the last of the pruning was completed. Due to the previous dry conditions, we are starting our spring tasks early, one of which is mowing the cover crop, this stops the crop competing with the vines for water and mineral nutrients. It also imparts nitrogen into the soil, thus improving soil structure. We expect bud burst to be earlier this year, so from the first week of September we will start to see the vines springing forth with fresh green growth, a particularly beautiful time in the Barossa.

Once the vines have become fully dormant it is time to prune them.  Pruning the grape vine tells it how many bunches of grapes you want it to produce.  Because of the way grapevines grow and produce fruit, growers must prune annually. Fruit is only produced on shoots growing from one-year-old canes. Therefore, healthy new canes must be produced every year to maintain annual production of fruit, otherwise each year your yield would diminish.

After some very much needed rain, Evan and Glen are both out cultivating the soil in preparation for seeding the cover crop. Cover crops are sown for a number of reasons. A green manure cover crop usually from the legume family will be established and then plowed in before reaching maturity, this improves the soil’s fertility with the addition of the nitrogen. Cover crops also help manage erosion, as a dense cover crop slows the rate of rain hitting the ground and then running off and it also increases the soils permeability. Once cover crops have been plowed in they can also improve the soil composition itself by adding extra organic matter which in turn increases the ability of the soil to hold water and nutrients. Once the cover crop has been sown, we wait for the vines to become dormant, then pruning begins.

Vintage 2018 has run it’s course, the last grapes were picked on 29 March, just in time to be finished by Easter.  A years worth of work relying on the whims of the weather.  Now Evan can breathe a big sigh of relief, relax and have a well earned break before the next round of work begins. Autumn has begun, the colours of the vines are changing from green to gold, and some have already started to lose their leaves. The vines will be given a “big drink” before they “sleep” for the winter. Then, we wait for the rains and plant the cover crop early May. This is to maintain and improve the condition of the soil. Then at the start of June, pruning the vines will begin which takes several months of work, with much of it done by hand through rain, hail or shine!

At Stonewell Cottages and Vineyards, vintage began already a couple of weeks ago with Evan harvesting 14 tonne of Grenache for Turkey Flat’s Rose. We are now in full swing, last week was a big week, with hand picking of the old vine Shiraz block on Mattiske Road done on Wednesday for Chateau Tanunda. The harvester has been operating around the clock, another couple of blocks of Shiraz came off during the week, for Barossa Valley Estate, Torbreck and Soul Growers, the block of Tempranillo which is directly behind the Hideaway Cottage came off Friday morning. More Shiraz will come off this week for Langmeil Winery as well as some handpicking of Shiraz for Barossa Valley Estate. With much of the machine harvesting done during the cool of night, Evan used to think that this lack of sleep during vintage was hard, but he reckons he has been “re-calibrated” now that he has a 4 year old and an 8 month old baby at home, where a whole night’s sleep is a distant memory!

Several of our guests have been lucky enough to come out with Evan, ride on the harvester and see it all in action. If you are staying with us before the end of this month, please let us know if you are interested in coming out to the vineyard. We are scheduled to handpick our old vine Grenache next to Cupid’s Cottage next Thursday just before Easter, so we will happily give you a bucket and snips to help!! If you are really lucky, you might even get to take a ride in Evan’s “tough” 1974 Kenworth for one of the deliveries to the local wineries!

After a burst of hot weather the temperatures are now in the mid 20’s to early 30’s, perfect ripening weather. 2018 is shaping up to be a good vintage, great colour and flavour. Vintage is the busiest time of the year for us, and it’s when we finally get to reap the reward of a years work, day in day out, of tending the vines to bare their best quality. As long as the grapes hang out there, they are subjected to the many variables that the climate can throw up, so it is a relief and cause for celebration to get the grapes off and safely into the winery. Seeing their beautiful rich purple colour in the crusher always puts a smile on Evan’s face!

At Stonewell Cottages and Vineyards, Evan and Glenn have been spending time ensuring all the equipment is in flawless condition and will be running faultlessly the entire harvesting time. Vintage kicked off with the first pick Sunday night, the Grenache for Turkey Flat Rose. Evan was very pleased with a smooth run for the first pick and the great quality of the 14 tonnes he delivered bright and early Monday morning. Next to be picked will be Shiraz in less than 2 weeks time, which is the majority of the vineyard, followed by Tempranillo (behind the Hideaway), Old Vine Shiraz (next to the main entranceway) and Cabernet Franc (behind the Havens) and lastly the bush vine Grenache (next to Cupid’s). All the grapevines are machine harvested except for the 1970 Bush Vine Grenache and the 1960 Old Vine Shiraz, these are hand picked.  If you are staying with us during the picking season, we would love you to come and experience the harvest for yourselves. Depending on what we are picking, you could enjoy a sunrise view from on top of the harvester with Evan, a ride in his much admired 1974 Kenworth to one of the local wineries or grab yourself a bucket and snips and spend some time in the vineyard with our picking team.

Despite the cold and wintery weather, the work in the vineyard doesn’t stop!

We have started pruning which will continue for the months of June and July.The vines aren’t asleep for long though.

By mid September, bud burst sees the Barossa spring to life, with the bright fresh new green growth of the vines.