Getting the Vines (and Trees) Ready

Today’s guest blogger is Robert “Fred” Strachan, who is taking time out from the vineyards to tell us what’s happening out there.

Fred Strachan

Today is my turn to write a blog for Jane whilst she is hopefully enjoying a well-deserved rest. I’m not really sure what you are meant to include in a blog, but I can tell you that my grandfather nicknamed my brother Phillip “blog” 40 years ago. I think it was short for “bullfrog”. Anyway that’s just some useless information for you.

Life at the Oxford Landing vineyard has been hectic lately. This is our busy time of the year in the vineyards as we set things up for vintage. We are working hard to ensure that every block achieves its optimum quality potential. When you have 120 five-acre blocks, this requires time and commitment from everyone on the vineyard.

Flowering has just finished. Now the vines are growing rapidly, and we must ensure that appropriate water and fertiliser are applied to achieve the desired canopies to shade the fruit and protect the delicate flavours during the summer heat. We also have been training our young Vermentino and Pinot Gris vines onto trellis systems in preparation for mechanical harvesting in future vintages.

The past week we have seen a record heat wave for November with temperatures well above average, but funnily this is not a huge concern as we can manage this through the use of irrigation. The crops have just set so it should not have an impact. In fact, it may be a blessing in disguise if it makes the vines more tolerant to heat throughout the summer.

Picture this in 10 years

The young mallee trees that we planted (see Jane’s earlier entry about this) in Pietches Block (Gilbert and Yvonnne Pietch use to own this land) are also holding up extremely well in the hot weather and appear to almost be enjoying it. We planted 150 hectares this year – which is a lot of bloody trees - and I’m nervous as everyone is watching to see how they perform. Our experience in tree planting is minimal compared to vines, so our decisions are not made with the same confidence as they are on the vineyard. We actually sent a water cart out there to water trees manually at the beginning of the week once we saw the heat wave coming. Being a mallee tree they should be able to survive without water, and our trial work over the past two seasons had suggested that this is the case. But then again we have never had heat like this so early in the year. Every season is different.

Today is also a sad but at the same time rewarding and exciting day. The people who work at Oxford Landing are the soul of this vineyard, and they make it the wonderful place that it is. Today Damian Crowe is leaving the vineyard to start a new job as the manager at a local olive nursery. We are sad to see a man with the capabilities and qualities that Damian has leave, but we are rewarded by knowing that we played a role in the development of a young man who joined the vineyard as a late teenager and now at the age of 30 is moving on to a new challenge in his life. To see one of our employees chosen for this challenging role is very humbling.

Winemaking Is Still a Great Place to Be

Our guest blogger today is winemaker Peter Gambetta, writing from the road in Napa Valley.

Peter Gambetta

When Jane invited me to do a guest spot on her blog, I thought, “It’s a quiet time of the year, no problem.” As it has turned out, the last few weeks have been a whirlwind, and I’m writing this from the Napa Valley. I was lucky enough to undertake a study program in Napa visiting Cabernet Sauvignon specialists and have visited such luminaries as Montelena, Duckhorn Vineyards, Opus One and St. Supery. I will also be taking a side trip to the Willamette Valley in Oregon to chat about Pinot Noir.

Before I hit the skies, the team had a big effort putting the finishing touches on some of our Limestone Coast wines and getting blends together. We finalised the 2008 blends of The Menzies and The Cigar, and we put together most of the 2009 Smith & Hooper Cabernet Merlot and Merlot as foundation blends, though there are still a couple of wines we have to decide which way they go. The 2008 Coonawarra wines are shaping up really well with lots of rich berry and dark chocolate and long velvety tannins. The 2009 Wrattonbully wines came together very easily as we were spoiled for choice; at present they are adolescent wines and, like all doting parents, we believe they show a lot of promise.

The Menzies wines have a lot to live up to as on the Thursday night before I left (29th), the 2006 The Cigar took out 4 trophies at the Limestone Coast Wine Show. This included Best Wine of Show, pipping its big brother Menzies for the prize (it took a gold). James Freckleton as the viticulturist of the winning wine received a major award of a travel scholarship to whatever grape growing region he chooses. This is a unique award as wine shows go and it’s excellent for James and his team to get this recognition in their region.

Wherever James chooses to travel, I’m sure he will enjoy the international fellowship of wine as I am now. Vintage has just finished in the Napa Valley and the weather has been difficult for the winemakers. I’ve been very impressed with hospitality shown by the winemakers I’ve visited with the time they’ve taken to show me their wines and the candid discussions on how they do things. Times may be a little tough at present, but wine is still a great craft to be involved in.

Italian Passion and the Soulless Market

Today’s guest blogger is Andrew Parkinson, who works with Negociants New Zealand.

Non Solo

Sitting in a discreet corner of the bar at Non Solo Pizza in Parnell. I have just had an hour with Vivienne Farnell and Ronnie Singh, the owner and sommelier respectively of what may be the most authentic Italian experience in New Zealand. Authentic meaning hectic and passionate. Somehow out of a three-way conversation that was going at least four ways, I came out with some good listings. These are true restaurant people. Vivienne and husband Antonio Crisci have hospitality in their blood. Charming, hard working and smart. With Ronnie every pull of the cork comes with a story.

Accounts like this make Auckland a better place to live and work.

Andrew Parkinson

So as the sole New Zealand correspondent filling Ferrari’s shoes, I thought it apt that I should let you all know what’s going on over here re the wine trade. The recession is apparently in recession, but we are now being affected just as much by the oversupply of cheap Marlborough juice and low-cost imports as we are by the economic doom and gloom. Local labels that didn’t exist last year and won’t exist next year are filling the shop shelves at prices never seen before in this country. Labels with no stories,  no history and no soul are being snapped up by a thirsty bargain hunting public – and who can blame them. It’s war out there in the marketplace. Champagne has dipped below $40 per bottle. South African swill at two for $10. Thank whatever higher power you converse with that we work for a company representing wines with integrity and a story to tell.

I actually had a close encounter of the Ferrari kind just last night.

I was subtly blending in to the tasting crowd at First Glass Wines and Spirits working my way through a selection of Champagnes and Pinot Noirs when Kingsley Wood, the owner and host for the evening, called me front and centre: “Tell the gathered throng about this Bollinger we are about to taste.” Now as I am usually escorting Ms Ferrari to these events and not taking the stage myself I thought to myself, “what would Jane say?” Before I realised what I was doing I had filled the group in on all of the latest from William Peterson since he left CSI and had gained a solid lead on a damn fine cupcake sold somewhere at the top of Queen street.

Jane Gets Her Kicks on Route 66

6.32pm, Pontiac, Old Route 66 South, Illinois, USA

Gemini Giant outside The Launching Pad, courtesy of i66assoc.org

Hi all – just thought I’d check in and let you know I’m still trundling along – but this time on the Illinois section of Route 66 – which, as the song says “well it winds from Chicago to LA, more than two thousand miles all the way, get your kicks”… and you know the rest.

It actually starts near a diner in downtown Chicago called Lou Mitchell’s on West Jackson Street – great pan omlettes – and where I’m at tonight is about 150 miles south. My plan is to do the complete Illinois section, and a bit of the Missouri leg, breaking off at St Louis and heading down the Great River Road which shadows the Mississippi to catch up with some mates in Memphis, Tennessee. I just had a bowl of home made beef chilli at the Baby Bull Family Restaurant (you can tell which one it is by the life size Poll hereford parked outside!) and now it’s a large load of washing and “Castle” on the telly.

Saw some great stuff today – The Launching Pad Drive-In, the Polka Dot Diner, and the old Al Capone speakeasy just across the Mazona River near Gardner. There’s enough of the old road left to get an idea of what it’s all about, and I’m sure tomorrow will bring more of the same good Americana stuff. See ya from the Mother Road, or on Old Man River!

PS I’ve just read the guest bloggers posts – how good are they! I’ll bet a lot of folks never realised what literary talent we have lurking in all corners of the winery. Good O!

It’s All About the Love

Today’s guest bloggers are Darren Broadbent and Ricky Hockshold, from Oxford Landing. They’ll be posting through a “typical” day at the winery.

On this warm spring morning, Ricky “Ricardo” Huckshold (cellar supervisor) is sipping on an instant coffee whilst chatting to Darren “Broady” Broadbent (cellar manager), about today’s work plan. The plan is to put a neat parcel of 2009 Oxford Landing Estate Viognier through final filtration with the next step being bottling and distribution. This wine, as with all our wines, has been lovingly put together. Each step is critical, and with each step we take care to bring our customers the wines they have grown to love. Besides, the boys back at the Oxford Landing Estate Vineyards would get real dark (read: angry) if we stuff up all their hard work in the vineyard. So our minds are on the job.

Here at the Oxford landing winery, we love what we do, we work hard, and we’re a crack team made up of characters that have love for all kinds of different things.

I, Broady, love fishing and can’t help thinking back two weeks ago fishing with some of the Yalumba crew over the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia. This passionate crew of fishermen, known locally as the MFC, who love a good drop of wine as much as a good catch, enjoyed great weather and a feed of Blue Swimmer Crabs, but that’s another story.

I, Ricardo, love my 2-door 1976 Mercedes Benz that I acquired through a dodgy deal with my brother in-law, but that’s also another story.

8:00 am
This wine isn’t going to filter itself.

Young Meredith, “Mary” as we like to call her, whilst setting up and sterilizing tanks with gusto and a smile was all too keen to tell us about the new love in her life and how everything was cool. Young Timmy Greening bails us up and tells of his love for his beautiful car as he prepares hoses and equipment for the Viognier filtration. As Ricardo made the final call to Broady regarding the status of the wine, Shane “Bowling Shane” Brassil quickly leapt into conversation and told us of his love of the Moroccan Lamb he had for dinner last night. Bowling Shane loves sport and loves food. His nickname, “Bowling Shane”, has derived from the call of Ian Healy as Shane Warne – the greatest bowler ever – sends one down the pitch.

9:15 am
PIE LADY! Last week we heard about the Melbourne Cup and the race that stops the nation. This is the pie van that stops a winery. As she drives through the gate in her white van, the words “PIE LADY” echo around the tanks on every cellar hand’s two-way radio. The pies aren’t exactly a gourmet delight, but everyone loves a pie (read: this is not your sweet pumpkin pie kind of pie; these are savoury meat pies).

10:00 am
All systems are go with Sir Digby greeting the Viognier by the flick of a couple valves and into the receival tank. Sir Digby has been here since our beloved winery was built. He was part of the construction team and refused to leave when the first load of grapes arrived. Ah, what do you do?

11:00 am
The filter is purring along and the boys are loving it. Mathew Pick, the Oxford Landing winemaker, pops up to see how things are going. Has a taste of the Viognier straight out of the filter into a glass. Matt is quite often a man of few words but you can see it in his eyes: bloody lovely.

4:00 pm
Robert “Lofty” Bondfield and his crew turn up for the afternoon shift and will now take the reins.  Lofty is a great golfer and loves his music. He plays in a local Barossa band called Wild Flower, but sorry folks that’s another story.

The love story doesn’t end there. At midnight the next crew walks through the door. Generally made up of 2 blokes who keep an eye on things while the rest of us sleep.  On shift is always Adam “El-Ray” Ellery, he loves the nightshift. I’m sure his eyes are getting larger and more owl-like by the day.

This Viognier is bound for overseas. At this end we really don’t know who’s dinner table, picnic or barbeque the bottle will be opened. We only trust that any bottle of Oxford Landing you open you only love it like we do.

Cold and Dreary? Not for an Aussie in London

Today’s guest blogger is Louisa Rose, head of winemaking, and she’s posting from London.

Well the Aussies won the Rugby – and that’s good news – even for a lone Aussie girl currently in London.  Luckily for me, the game was played about the same time as I was in Vinopolis (under London Bridge) tasting a selection of over 500 wines from around the world.  The Christmas Fair tasting was organised by The Wine Gang.  I don’t think the news of the game came through to anyone in the building so I was able to make an escape before things got ugly!

The tasting though was a good opportunity for me to look at wines from countries other than Oz, and to see firsthand the competition we are up against, some of the newer varieties that are only just coming into Australia as well as some very good wine.  This was, of course, an interlude – the real reason for me being in this country is to help the team here to spread the word about our wines. 

I’ve been north to Yorkshire; Leeds, Harrogate, Pately Bridge and surrounds and west to Wiltshire – right by the Vale of Pewsey where Joseph Gilbert came from, and the place for which he named his new Eden Valley property in the 1840s.  Then it was back to London for the end of the week and weekend, and finally I’ll take on Bristol on Monday before returning home via Dubai.  I’m sure the NUK team who are also up for guest blog positions this week will cover off some of the events we have hosted, so I will stick to other things.

I hear that home in the Eden Valley they have been getting their first taste of summer weather, my winter vegetables are sizzling off and the summer ones (I hope) are flourishing.  Meanwhile here on the other side of the world the most talked about topic of conversation is how cold it is and how bad the weather is. Well I came armed for bad weather, and I have only had to use an umbrella once; it’s not a heatwave, but I did have to get out my Yalumba cap to take a walk in Kew Gardens Saturday morning.  Do these pictures look like I’m in a cold and dreary place?

Kew Gardens are always worth a visit.  They are celebrating their 250th year in 2009, and there certainly is history in the trees, gardens and glass houses
  

It is strange to see a temperate Australian exhibit under glass.

You would think you were a hundred miles from civilisation, until every two minutes a jumbo flies low overhead on the final approach to Heathrow!  The locals don’t seem to mind this though.

Signing off from London,
Louisa

The Hottest 1: Chardy’s Day

Today’s guest blogger is winemaker Sam Wigan, or as Jane refers to him, Captain Colourscheme.

Well, it has been a good week for Yalumba, and it all started last Thursday at the Adelaide Review Hot 100 South Australian Wines. The Hot 100 Wine competition is open to any South Australian wine. Wines from the Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, McLaren Vale, Eden Valley, Coonawarra and Adelaide Hills are all eligible, and with more than 700 wines entered there is stiff competition to get into the top 100, let alone the top 10.

Sam and Teresa

Teresa Heuzenroeder and I got the call up that we had two wines (2004 Pewsey Vale Contours Riesling and the 2008 FDW7c Adelaide Hills Chardonnay) in the top 10 and that we would be required to pour and talk about the wines on the night. The news that we had two wines in the top 10 was very exciting, but we were unaware of what would unfold at the presentations at the Hilton that night.

The awards for the top 10 wines were announced 10th to 1st to build suspense. The first Yalumba entry was announced at number 8 (Pewsey Vale Contours) and with great jubilation I went up and accepted the award. At number 6 the presenter explained how excited he was to see a chardonnay in the top 10. Teresa and I assumed it was the FDW 7c, but alas it was the Norton Summit Vineyards 2007 Chardonnay (another Adelaide Hills Chardy).

With only five wines remaining, the tension was building.

As they read out the 2nd place wine it became apparent to Teresa and I that the FDW 7c was the top wine. Great success, Teresa was grinning from ear to ear and why wouldn’t you be – as the winemaker of the number one wine and prize winner of two return tickets to Paris care of Singapore Airlines. We spent the remainder of the evening talking and tasting with the punters who were very complimentary about the quality of our two top 10 wines.

The photo of Teresa and I was actually taken on Tuesda,y 3rd of November, Melbourne Cup day. We don’t usually dress like this, but to help celebrate we had an ’80s day at the races’ theme dress up (although I look more like a ’50s horse trainer!).

To cap off our winning week we also collected four trophies at the Limestone Coast wine show for the 2006 The Cigar - Best Cabernet Sauvignon, Best Red of Show, Best Wine of Show and Viticulturalist of Best Wine of Show – on Thursday night and a trophy for the 2007 Heggies Botrytis Riesling at the Melbourne wine show the following morning. All in all, a good couple of days for the Yalumba stables!

That’s all the news from me (Captain Colourscheme) here at Yalumba.

From Dry to Overflowing Dams in 8 Weeks

Today’s guest blogger is Amanda Mader, who keeps her eye on the Pewsey Vale and Heggies vineyards.

Noel, David and Kellie and a full dam

For the first time since 2005, the dam at Pewsey Vale began to overflow on 29 August, a beautiful sight for our Eden Valley/Barossa vineyard guys and gals!

After conducting many rain dances and drinking lots of beer to get those clouds working again, the July and August rainfall exceeded the average significantly, with July’s rainfall exceeding the average by 70mm, which is a monster cloud to earth dumping. (Total July rainfall 180mm, 7.2 inches).

A dry Pewsey Vale dam

The last thee years, we’ve had an extreme lack of winter  rain, resulting in insufficient runoff in 2006, 2007 and 2008. We emptied Pewsey Vale dam each March to keep the vineyards alive and to maintain a vine canopy to shade high-quality Riesling, Traminer, Pinot Gris.

At the end of June 2009, the Pewsey Vale dam was only 10% full. By the end of July 2009, dam volumes were looking splendid at 64% and overflowing by the end of August. At full capacity this dam holds approximately 2.5 growing seasons worth of water supply for irrigating all Pewsey Vale vineyards. All this happened in a short space of eight weeks.

Kellie, Noel and Amanda - rain dancing

The Bureau of Meteorology predicted that an El Nino was going to dominate again in spring of 2009, indicating below average rainfall. But to our surprise – who believes the weatherman anyway – we still received ample rainfall in September and October, indicating that our rain dancing technique and beer consumption episodes have worked a treat!

Bits and Bytes and Biodiversity

That's me - Tony Bogar

Today’s guest blogger is — me, Tony Bogar, e-marketing manager here in Angaston, and today is the day after the Melbourne Cup. Meaning, we’re all getting back to work, catching up after yesterday’s long lunches and time out to watch the race.

As well as catching up on deadlines, I’ll be attending the meeting of our Environmental Committee. Usually I play with a computer all day long, managing websites, posting on Facebook and Twitter, and generally thinking up new electronic ways to tell folks about the good work we’re doing here. Funny how — as technology gets fancier — it gets easier to have conversations with Yalumba fans around the world. We can find out what they like, what they don’t like, and get to know our friends a bit better, even if it is through bits and bytes. (And we learn how much they miss Jane!) Nothing replaces good, old-fashioned grassroots work, meeting people face-to-face, tasting wines, making lasting friendships. But at least we can stay in touch when we can’t be there in person.

Back to the Environmental Committee (geez, I think I’m channelling Jane and her digressions).

One reason I like working at Yalumba is our long record of doing the right thing. I’ve been involved with farmers markets, small growers, water conservation, and sustainable practices for years now. So I understand how Yalumba have been leading the way on so many of these issues. The Environmental Committee gathers to make sure we all understand best practices around the winery as well as work up better, more “eco” ways of doing our everyday tasks.

I get to sit in because, aside from my actual job, I have been allowed to start up a newsletter for all the Yalumba team, explaining in plain English why those buzzwords — sustainability, biodiversity, integrated pest management, etc — matter. All those practices help make better vineyards and better wine, I reckon.

So I get to play with computers and play with environmental issues. That’s a fun day’s work.

Melbourne Cup: A Punter’s Woe

Peter Sawrey

Today’s guest blogger is Peter Sawrey of Angaston, and today is, of course, Melbourne Cup day.

The Melbourne Cup is truly the race that stops this nation. Everyone, be they horse lovers or not, watches the race and everyone has a bet on a horse, in the most “difficult to pick a winner” race of the year.

I have many fond memories of the Cup.

My first visit to the track was in 1970, the year Baghdad Note won. I did not back ‘Baggers’; I was having a very pleasant time standing around my old Holden ute brimming with beverage and ice. It was definitely the days of boys behaving badly back then. In 1976, I returned to see Van der Hum win on one of the wettest Cup days. I didn’t back Van der Hum; I was a special guest at the Flemington Police Station at the time of running.

I was married in 1979 and no longer attended the track with the boys but continued to have a bet. I can honestly say I did not back Hyperno in 1979 all the way through to Rogan Josh in 1999. But in 2000 I got very, very close.

At 49 kgs Brew was an omen ridden by young Kerrin McEvoy. I had also been watching with interest the Waterhouse horse, Yippiyio, and a mate slipped me Second Coming as a sure thing to run a place. That is exactly how they finished 1,2,3 and the trifecta paid a tad over $2800 for ONE dollar. I did not have the trifecta. I was preoccupied and only realised my fate when I heard those immortal words, “they are off in the 2000 Melbourne Cup.”

No way can Ethereal win the Caulfield AND the Melbourne Cups in the same year, I said. It did. No way can an international horse win the Melbourne Cup, I said. Media Puzzle in 2002. No way can Makybe Diva carry that weight and win three in row, I said. She did it easily in 2005.

And my selection for 2009 is Daffodil. My trifecta will be Daffodil, Viewed, Alcopops and Efficient. I am confident THIS is the year and THIS is the day!