Summer is always a busy time for the team in the vineyard who have been working hard to ensure the vines are healthy and produce great quality fruit for another year.
The team have been busy reducing weed pressure and making sure vines receive enough water. They also spend long hours trimming the canopy and leaf plucking the bunch zone to improve air circulation, and sun exposure to ensure plenty of sunlight hits the fruit for ripening.
We saw the grape bunches start to colour (veraison) across our vineyards from late January/early February which indicates that berries are beginning to accumulate sugars and ripen - Our Awatere Valley Tussocks Vineyard Pinot Noir pictured in late January.
Nets have been applied to some blocks to protect the ripening fruit from the birds in the nearby trees.
The sampling team have begun a full round of maturity sampling this week to give us an indication of where each block is in terms of ripeness in the lead up to harvest.
Our Beverley Hills Vineyard development (pictured right) in the Wairau Valley has had posts and irrigation installed, including some fully recyclable, steel Eco Trellis posts and some sub-surface irrigation trials. Sauvignon Blanc vines were planted late last year and the team are happy with their growth this summer.
