ON THE VINEYARD

 

February 2012     Whilst the rain is not the best for the grapes.... what can we do!     Margi, our Vineyard Manager dosn't get any holidays at this time of the year.  Its the beginning of our busy season with massive growth in the vines which take a lot of looking after. Margi and the wwoofers have been out in the rows leaf plucking (thining out the leaves to keep airflow through the canopy and to let the sun in) and tucking.  Wire lifting also has to be done (you would have seen the many loose wires that  hang along the rows of vines.  These are hooked up to hold the growing canopy up so we can drive down the rows without damanging the plants).   Wayne and John have been out erecting our new "organic" fencing.  To help keep the weeds at bay and try to use the tractor less we are bringing in sheep. The whole vineyard will soon be fenced with plastic lined fence posts bought in from Australia.  Teddy, our Baby Doll Ram,  has been busy and we have 8 lambs, but rest up Teddy as in the next week  we are bringing in another 50 ewes to help battle those weeds. October 2011 Spring is here – we begin the growing cycle once again.  The sun is shining, soil temperatures are rising, the buds are bursting and we are hoping for a fruitful vintage. The biodynamic preps have been applied to the soil – plenty of stirring going on, with many hands making light work of it and much jibing about the rugby.  A continuous stream of wwoofers have been helping out with this,  gardening, and preparation of the new winebar (opening soon) Watch this space.....  Our baby doll ram has done his job and most of our ewes are in lamb – we are patiently awaiting the births and hope they all look like their dad – short and smiley! We were proud to win a silver medal at Romeo Bragato for our Malbec 2009 L’autre Terrior  - the last vintage of fruit to come from Arahua vineyard in the Ness Valley which we managed prior to the vines being removed.  The Mason family would be happy with this wonderful wine.  A limited release now available through the cellar door.     April 2011  Our fruit has held up reasonably well considering that we've had probably the highest rainfall and humidity in many years.  The Pinot Gris has been picked and has good flavor, we are at present picking the Viognier, and will follow with the Merlot, Syrah & then the botritised Viognier for our sticky wine.   The Syrah is showing major differences in berry and bunch formation and flavours, it will be an interesting vintage but one that has so far been challenging.   We have had lots of help this year putting on the nets & picking with our wwoofers  (World wide oppotunities on organic farms - folk from all over the world travelling NZ and working in lieu of board and food).  The nets went on without a hitch (which was amazing considering we were speaking 3 different languages!) We have met alot of amazing people, many laughs have been had by all and it's been a wonderful experience. We had a visit from a French Film crew who are making a film about "New World Wines".  They spent the day with us and also visited a few other wineries in Auckland. December 2010 What wonderful warm weather we have been having, along with the gentle breeze it has been perfect for fruit set.  With temperatures up to 33°C amoungst the vines and a sweltering 90% humidity our staff have been living on iceblocks on their breaks.  We really would like to hang out in the cellar door where it is temptingly cool. Leaf plucking, lateral thinning and fruit thinning is on our probably all the way through December/January.  We are all looking forward to a much need break at Christmas and on behalf of Turanga Creek we wish everyone a merry Christmas and Safe New Year, a perfect time to kick back and enjoy our wonderful wines.  About our Vineyard So far we have planted approx 3ha Pinot Gris (7,000 plants), 3ha Viognier (7,000 plants) in 2004, and more recently in 2007, 2ha of Syrah (4,000 plants). In 2008 we had 13 tonne of Pinot Gris and 1 tonne of Viognier cropped, with a target of 20 tonnes of Gris and 5 tonnes of Viognier. Viognier is proving to be a challenge but will be well worth the effort. You may also notice a change in site management as we go through the process of conversion to Organics and ultimately Bio-Dynamics. Don’t worry about how it works, but it definitely produces a better product. We're also working the soil under the vines to control weeds rather than spraying, and we have a flowering crop on every second row to attract beneficial insects and generally improve the Terroir. We have formed relationships with other local vineyards, namely Rimanui (a neighbouring Whitford property), Rannach and Arahura of Ness Valley, Clevedon and Te Marama of Mangatawhiri. These vineyards are all going through the Organic conversion process.     April 2011 Our fruit has held up reasonably well considering that we've had probably the highest rainfall and humidity in many years.  The Pinot Gris has been picked and has good flavor, we are at present picking the Viognier, and will follow with the Merlot, Syrah & then the botritised Viognier for our sticky wine.   The Syrah is showing major differences in berry and bunch formation and flavours, it will be an interesting vintage but one that has so far been challenging. We have had lots of help this year putting on the nets & picking with our wwoofers  (World wide oppotunities on organic farms - folk from all over the world travelling NZ and working in lieu of board and food).  The nets went on without a hitch (which was amazing considering we were speaking 3 different languages!)  We have met alot of amazing people, many laughs have been had by all and it's been a wonderful experience.

Our sheep in the vines with the new "organic" post in the foreground.  MORE FM Concert - View of the Stage  MORE FM Concert & Turanga Creek - What a crowd!    Enjoying a glass of wine at the "Down To Earth" Wine Bar          French Film crew interviewing Wayne   Laurie, one of our wwoofers helping pick On Go The Nets Flowers about to burst      Our Cellar door