2009 harvest notes:
December 2009
With Christmas around the corner its all hands on deck to get the
vineyard work finished before the staff take a well earned break. It’s
been a tricky season up till now with the 420 mm rain we have had. There
have been a lot less thunderstorms and more days of constant drizzle
which reminds me of the Cape winters.
All of the cultivars have finished flowering which is great because the
thunderstorms with gusting winds will no longer have much effect on
berry set. Next up for the red grapes is veraison. Red grapes initially
start out green and veraison is the phase where it turns to red.
A tough decision that will need to be made in the new year is how many
leaves to break away in the berry zone. Leaves are broken away on the
morning side where the sun is less harsh and the leaves are left on the
afternoon sun.
This has many benefits:
• exposes the grapes to more sunlight which is good for sugar
accumulation
• the fungicide spray is more effective
• harvesting is easier and quicker
The main reason we cannot break open the canopy as we please is that
hail is a major threat this time of year. So we will make a call closer
to the time what percentage we are going to break open.
Adding to this the vineyard actions are going on as per normal. Spraying
is being done at the right times keeping the vineyards disease free and
a last round of tipping is being done to control the growth vigour.
At the moment all is looking good for a very good harvest and once the
people get back from there few days off it will almost be that time.
Let’s hold thumbs for some nice hot days to go with Christmas.
November
2009
To say that the Natal
Midlands is still very much in spring would be an understatement. With
only a handful of days reaching close to the 30 degree Celsius mark the
remainder has been cold with plenty of rain.
As much as we encourage a slow ripening season, these cold conditions
are not ideal for the vineyards. The pressure on diseases is greater
than normal as it is when sunshine usually following the rain but with
the vines staying wet in the colder weather this disease pressure
increases. There have been a few vines here and there that were showing
symptoms of Downy Mildew but that was snuffed out quickly.
Weed control is certainly a high priority this time of the year with a
mixture between the use of herbicides and physical brush cutting.
Having said this, the vineyards in general are looking fantastic. The
second round of *suckering has almost been completed in Greytown and all
the vineyards have been tipped at least once, this meaning that they
have grown 30cm past the top poles.
The vines in Nottingham road are slightly behind due to the cooler
climate which is good for our Pinot Noir because this will give us a
very concentrated fruit. This will also lend itself to wines with a
little higher acidity and less of the harsh tannins.
Overall this will lend itself to being a more complex wine, which will
not require much barrel ageing to reach its full potential.
The vineyard is in full flowering motion at the moment and thus far the
weather has been kind as we have yet to experience any stormy weather.
Lets hope this continues which will give us a good fruit set.
*summer
pruning
October
2009
The vines are now in
full flight as the summer is certainly here with the mercury regularly
climbing over 30 degrees Celsius. The Pinot Noir on The Stables Wine
Estate has know completely budded with the Shiraz and Roobernet to
follow shortly. This is quite some time after the vines in Greytown but
this is to be expected as a result of the warmer climate in Greytown.
As for the work being done at the moment. Spraying the vineyards is our
number one priority because with the rains we been having this makes the
young shoots very susceptible to diseases. There is a ge
neral
rule that can be followed – 10mm rain and 10cm shoot length with an
average temperature of 10 degrees is considered to be high pressure for
disease development. The most important diseases to inspect for are Downy and Powdery
Mildew. So it is important to keep an eye on the weather and spray
accordingly.
We are also midway through summer pruning by which we remove all the
unwanted shoots which makes the fungicide spray more effective and also
allows for better wind movement through the vine. The shoots that are
removed are usually non bearing or water shoots.
In general the staff have there hands full keeping the grounds,
vineyards and gardens in check since the first real summer rains. But to
there credit the both farms are looking in immaculate condition.
So far all is on track and looking good for a great harvest!
September 2009
Spring has started to set in leaving us wondering what ever happened to
winter. The break from the intensive and ongoing vineyard tasks
certainly was welcome for myself and the staff but after just a few
millimetres of rain the lawns have transformed from brown to green in
just a few days. This is usually a sure sign that the vines will follow
not long after.
Overall it was a very good winter for the vines with temperatures
regularly hovering below freezing. I do recall seeing the temperature
gauge outside my house reading – 13 degrees in the early hours of the
morning but that may have been due to too much wine at the time so that
is questionable at best. The more cold units we can get in winter the
better. In winter the vines go into dormancy and this is the vines
survival technique for the colder months. Levels of water in tissues
decrease and enzymes adjust their make up to withstand temperature
changes.
Vines are not completely inactive when dormant. They might not be
photosynthesizing because they have no leaves but they still breathe in
order to maintain basic metabolic functions. Their energy source for
this is carbohydrates. The vines ability to break dormancy also depends
on the carbohydrates that are stored; this is why the treatment of the
vines the previous season must not be forgotten.
The vine will begin to break dormancy when the average daily
temperatures fall between 10 – 15 degrees for consecutive days. The
temperature required varies from cultivar to cultivar. This is where we
are finding ourselves with our Chardonnay vineyard at the moment in
Greytown. Bud break has taken place in more than 50% of that block. We
are always hoping for an even bud break but this does not always happen.
Using the Chardonnay as an example: the block has now budded around 50%
but if we get cooler temperatures in the next few days this will delay
budding in the rest of the block which will result in those vines and
shoots having to play catch up, which is not ideal.
Final pruning was started at the end of August and now that the blisters
that used to form have now turned into callus the pruning is in full
flight. As painful as this may sound the callus brings welcome relief as
it takes away the pain completely.
Why do we prune?
1) to develop the vine with the desired formation
2) to get a good balance between production and growth vigour
3) to position bearers at the desired spacing
4) remove all old wood to prevent build up, also know as “candlesticks”
Pruning is one of the most important factors in determining the upcoming
crop. If this is done incorrectly it make cost you very dearly 6 months
down the line. Luckily the women I have working in Greytown prune with
the utmost care with my supervisor Walter Qwala always keeping a
watchful eye …..
So as the vineyard starts to come to life, myself and the rest of The
Stables team look forward to the challenges that lay ahead this season.
Always interesting to see what the climate is going to dish up for us
over the next 10 months, snow late September perhaps …
March 2009
Despite all the rain, we’ve had a good season.
The grapes are looking and tasting promising as the harvest process
continues, with the team of pickers almost half way to completion. On
average each person can pick about 150kg of grapes a day and, again on
average, each vine produces about 2,5kg of grapes.
A section of the Pinotage and Merlot lots has been picked. The balance
will be ready in a short while.
Apart from
picking grapes we are vigilant regarding spotting and dealing with sour
rot - caused from any damage to the grape, as well as rain - as this
could spoil the remaining crop.
Cabernet Franc will be the next cultivar to come in.
February 2009
In
February and March the primary focus is on harvesting and, despite the
long hours, enjoying the results of the year’s work as the harvested
grapes roll in.
To date we have picked Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc and now there is a
short break before the reds start to come in.
We are
pleased with the quality of the whites we have harvested and we are
hoping the rain stays away. Hot days with plenty of sunshine are
favourable for sugar accumulation and general ripening.
We take grape samples regularly to monitor the sugar levels and to see
what affect, if any, the rain is having.
Incessant rain and warm days create ideal conditions for the development
of Downy Mildew. This causes leaves to fall while the grapes are
ripening and would be disastrous because the leaves are essential to the
ripening process. Should this situation arise we’d be left in a Catch 22
situation because, for health reasons, it is essential to withhold
harvesting for a certain period after spraying. We have been fortunate
in this regard.
January 2009
I am working closely with the wine-making team to ensure we’re well
prepared for the harvest. Planning is essential.
We have completed working through the vineyard and we’ve removed all the
lateral shoots that were growing into the working rows.
We are monitoring the sugar levels in the early cultivars such as the
Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinotage as these will be the first grapes to
be harvested. Weed control is still critical. With the heavy summer
rains the weeds grow into the vines before you know it – pests and
diseases enjoy these conditions.
We’ve experienced the occasional light hail storm which, at this time of
development, doesn’t affects the grapes as the vine canopy is thick
enough to give the grape bunches adequate protection.
Later this month we will break out leaves around bunch zone on the
blocks where they have become too dense. This will improve:
• wind movement through the vine
• exposure of the bunches to sunlight
• the effect of the fungicide spray
• ease and speed of harvesting.
We may conduct crop thinning at 80% veraison to remove any bunches that
have coloured poorly. We do this to ensure the highest possible quality.
Orders have been placed for the 15 hectares of vines we are planning to
plant in June. These include Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
We are also considering planting Semillion, Pinotage, Riesling and
Gewurztraminer.
Previous season
notes:
