Harvest 2012

Despite a poor summer for flowering and sunshine, we managed to take our first (smaller than expected) harvest in late October.  3.8 tonnes of healthy grapes were picked over four mornings by our band of happy pickers.  Well done guys!  All this year's harvest is destined for sparkling wine (white and rose).

Lovely clean grapes

Max working hard

Crates waiting to be filled

Crates filled and loaded

Happy pickers! (l-r Andy, Gaynor, Ann, Ray, Izzy, Heather, Steve, Sam)

Max & Robert (supervised by Otto!)

Gaynor

Norman & Ray

Steve & Diogo

Heather

Trellising

End posts have been installed for the vines we planted last year.  We still have to install the metal intermediate posts and put up the wires. We have included one row of Geneva Double Curtain (GDC) trellising on the shortest row as an example of alternative systems for visitors to see.

The arms are used to turn shoots downwards and expose the fruiting area at the top.  The next row (also shorter than the others) will also be used to show alternative trellising systems.

Pruning - January 2012

I started pruning in early January.  This year's new plantings will be cut back to just two buds and the first year's plantings will be trained to the fruiting wires where possible. Any "failed" vines will be removed and burned along with the prunings in our new mobile prunings burner.  This reduces incidence of disease (and keeps me warm! now where are those sausages..?)

Drainage

We installed a French drain along the bottom of the vineyard to alleviate some of the waterlogging that area has suffered from.