This week: 28th. September

Weather Report Week Ending 28/9/07

Maximum Temperature for the week 29.0C (84F) on Tue. 5 readings above our monthly average of 17.5C.

Minimum Temperature for the week 6.2C (43F) on Mon. 6 readings above our monthly average of 7.0C.

Rainfall for the Week 8.6mm (25 points) 2 days of rain.

Weather data thanks to BOM & Nuriootpa Viticulture Research Centre.

A fairly warm and very windy week this week. Two days this week we recorded wind gusts of around 80km/h. Tue. we recorded a Max. of 29C this was 11.5C above our September average, but that was still 3C short of setting a record. We have also received another useful fall of rain this week - but still only about as much as we are evaporating each week.

This week in the vineyard:

The wind this week has not done any damage to our vines, the shoots are not yet long enough for them to break off. We will not want wind like that during flowering, as this would severely limit fruit set. My staff have been doing general maintenance work this week prior to them taking a couple of weeks holiday. They have also been training young vines. I have had a very busy week, I have now finished spraying the midrow, to preserve as much moisture in the soil as we can. I have also started applying our first fungicide for the season, when the wind has eased up enough for me to get out there. I will be in Perth this week, after which I will have some very exciting (for me personally, and for the Barossa Valley) news to announce. Stay tuned for my big announcement next weekend. Today's Photo shows a young Chardonnay shoot with 2 inflorescences on it (this seems to be fairly normal this year). The potential is there for quite a good crop - if only we had enough water available to see it through to maturity.

This week: 21st. September

Weather Report Week Ending 21/9/07

Maximum Temperature for the week 24.3C (76F) on Tue. 5 readings above our monthly average of 17.5C.

Minimum Temperature for the week 1.8C (35F) on Fri. 3 readings above our monthly average of 7.0C.

Rainfall for the Week 6.4mm (18 points) 2 days of rain.

Weather data thanks to BOM & Nuriootpa Viticulture Research Centre.

A damp start to the week however the end finished warm and windy. The rain of last week has all but been evaporated (some of it will have made it into the subsoil). We still need about 140mm of rain before the end of the year, if we are going to get an average rainfall year.

This week in the vineyard:

We have now finished planting 2 of the 3 small blocks that we have planned for this year. The final block is some Sangiovase vines that have been grafted this year and will only be ready for planting in Nov/Dec. The vines we have planted are now safely tucked away in growgards and have had their first irrigation.

I am now 3/4 finished spraying off the cover crop. The first of what I sprayed is now just starting to brown off. We are spraying the cover crop a lot earlier than usual this year to try to preserve as much moisture as we possibly can. The risk with this policy is that we may have to spray again if we get a wet spring and another flush of weeds germinate. I am planning in the next week to start our first Fungicide spray, as I will be going on holiday for a while in Oct.

This weeks photo shows two rows of Sangiovese with Chardonnay behind it.

This week: 14th. September

Weather Report Week Ending 14/9/07

Maximum Temperature for the week 24.3C (76F) on Sat. 5 readings above our monthly average of 17.5C.

Minimum Temperature for the week 3.8C (39F) on Wed. 6 readings above our monthly average of 7.0C.

Rainfall for the Week 22.4mm (64 points) 4 days of rain.

Weather data thanks to BOM & Nuriootpa Viticulture Research Centre.

At last we have had some reasonable rainfall. We have had 2 fronts this week that gave us a couple of good rain gaugings (14 mm on Tue. and followed up with 7.4mm on Fri.). Much warmer nights this week, the increased moisture in our system should also give us some protection from any frost we may still get.

This week in the vineyard:

We have started planting the few vines we are going to put in this year. We have planted a small trial of Albarino and some Chardonnay replants in a block we planted last year. I have finished all the mowing I am planning to do this year. I will be starting to spray off our cover crop this coming week, to conserve as much of this lovely moisture in our soil as we can. This weeks photo shows some Shiraz at about 2nd leaf stage.

Newest Member of the Mad Dog team

Mad Dog wines has a new team member. Patrick Charles Holmes came into the world a little early, but safely on 5th of Sept at just after 1:30pm in the Calvary hospital North Adelaide. He is Jeremy and Heidi Holme's second child and a baby brother for Lily. He is also my 2nd nephew. I suspect it will be a few years before we can let him loose on any of our premium Shiraz, but there is now another potential wine maker in the family.

This week: 7th. September

Weather Report Week Ending 7/9/07

Maximum Temperature for the week 21.1C (70F) on Thur. 4 readings above our monthly average of 17.5C.

Minimum Temperature for the week -1.0C (30F) on Sat. 2 readings above our monthly average of 7.0C.

Rainfall for the Week 0.2mm (1 point) 1 day of rain.

Weather data thanks to BOM & Nuriootpa Viticulture Research Centre.

Another warm week here in the Barossa. We are beginning to get very desperate for some reasonable rainfall. If we had some water available to us we would probably be considering giving our vines a drink. We don't normally water before Christmas, hopefully we will still get some of that natural irrigation from the sky.

This week in the vineyard:

All of our winter work is now finished. We are now getting ready to do a small area of replants, we are only planting a few vines this year because we will not have much water available to us. All of our cover crop has been mowed for the second time. I will need to start killing the cover crop shortly if we don't get some rain (it is using up what could be very valuable subsoil moisture).

I have been in Melbourne this week. I have applied for a Nuffield scholarship and went to Melbourne for the final round of interviews. The winners will be announced in Perth in Oct. I found the whole process very interesting and I think it is useful to spend some time with other enthusiastic farmers, to give you a different perspective on your own operation.

This weeks Photo shows our 40 year old Genache just starting to shoot. We are now at great risk from frost, however I am not expecting problems for another couple of weeks (closer to the next full moon). Some rain would also be useful to reduce our risk.

This week: 31st. August

Weather Report Week Ending 31/8/07

Maximum Temperature for the week 27.8C (82F) on Thur. 6 readings above our monthly average of 14.6C. (This was the highest August temperature recorded in the Barossa since 1977, 13.2C above our average)

Minimum Temperature for the week 0.9C (34F) on Wed. 4 readings above our monthly average of 5.0C.

Rainfall for the Week 1.6mm (5 points) 1 day of rain.

Weather data thanks to BOM & Nuriootpa Viticulture Research Centre.

A very warm week here this week with strong Northerly winds causing a lot of drying. We are still waiting for some more good rainfall, the 1.6mm we had on Friday will need to be followed up with further rain early this coming week, to be any use at all.

This week in the vineyard:

I have seen the first signs of bud burst. This means we are now at the mercy of frosts. We have had two near frosts this week. The cover crop has all been mown down now, to minimise our risk of frost. I have started mowing a second time, to keep the cover crop as low as possible, to promote as much air movement as possible in and around the vines.
We have now completely finished our pruning with the last block of young Sauv. Blanc. now taken out of their grow guards and mostly trained onto the wire. Those that do not have enough growth to reach the wire yet will be left in their tubes for a bit longer to give them the chance to get stronger before they are also trained up to the wire. I will be in Melbourne for some of this coming week so I will not be getting much done in the vineyard, but I might let you know what I was doing there in a few weeks.

The Photos this week show some of our Mad Dog Sangiovese vines with the first signs of life for the year.