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.

Laying mulch fabric and installing canes & rabbit guards

Using a borrowed mulch-laying machine we laid mulch over the recently planted vines.  The machine ploughs two furrows, lays the edges of the fabric in these furrows and then folds the soil back over the edges.  Simple!

Laying mulch fabric (lumpy soil here!)

  

Then I cut slits in the fabric to let the vines through (only 3000 of them!), buried the ends of the rows and the joins in the fabric, and started installing the plastic rabbit guards and supporting bamboo canes.

Planting in 2011

We started planting another 3300 vines in May - top-ups of Regent, Rondo, Phoenix, Seyval Blanc and Bacchus, plus 1600 Madeleine Angevine (white).

The first attempts were with a post hole borer, however this was not successful - time-consuming, arm-aching, and it struggled with the heavy clay we have here.  So I resorted to a mini-digger with power auger - much quicker and easier.

There were a few vines which did not grow from last year and these are being replaced by hand.  This year's vine order allowed for a few "spares" for replacements and for adorning the shop when it is built.

Budrubbing & Shoot Removal

All pruning finished and the vines started shooting with new buds in March.  Only two buds per vine were allowed to grow and then the strongest was selected and any others removed.

On some vines it was possible to remove the surplus buds/shoots with the New Zealand bud brush, but not easy with the rabbit guards on, so I had to resort to my hand in good glove! A little backbreaking too.

 

On the vines that had been pruned to the fruiting wires, I removed all but the two highest shoots (at the wire). As these grow they will be loosely taped to the fruiting wires and will provide the buds/shoots in 2012.