This week: 28th. March 2008

Weather Report Week Ending 28/3/08
Maximum Temperature for the week 28.7C (84F) on Sun. & Mon. 2 readings above our monthly average of 25.5C.
Minimum Temperature for the week 0.9C (33F) on Fri. 1 reading above our monthly average of 11.2C.
Rainfall for the Week 4.4mm (12 points) 2 days of rainfall recorded.
Weather data thanks to BOM & Nuriootpa Viticulture Research Centre.

Our summer of extremes is continuing. This week has been much cooler. It is starting to feel a lot more like autumn here in the Barossa. We have gone very close to a record for a minimum temperature for March (0.9C on Friday). At last we have also recorded some rain, although it has hardly been enough to settle the dust.

This week in the vineyard:
We have started on our winter work, yes, even though we only finished picking last week. I have started spreading poultry manure in every second row of our vineyard. I plan to start working this in as soon as we get some rain. We will then start to plant our cover crop, once we get a reasonable amount of rain. As you can see a lot now hinges on when we get our opening rain. We can get some jobs done before it rains, however once it starts raining we have to work as quickly as possible to get the cover crop in before our soil cools too much. We want to plant as early as we can to get as much vegetative growth as we can before winter. We grow a cover crop to provide as much vegetable matter as we can, to act as a mulch over summer.

This week’s photo shows the Barossa ranges still looking very dry despite the rain of this week.

This week: 21st. March 2008

Weather Report Week Ending 21/3/08
Maximum Temperature for the week 39.2C (102F) on Sun. 5 readings above our monthly average of 25.5C.
Minimum Temperature for the week 3.4C (38F) on Fri. 5 readings above our monthly average of 11.2C.
Rainfall for the Week 0mm (0 points) 0 days of rainfall recorded.
Weather data thanks to BOM & Nuriootpa Viticulture Research Centre.

The heat wave is now over. We set a number of new records during the last fortnight, including 15 consecutive days of extreme heat (previous record for an Australian capital city was held by Perth at 10 days). We also had the warmest overnight minimum temp for March (24C for the Barossa Valley). We are now looking forward to much cooler conditions. All we need now is for it to rain, still no rain recorded.

This week in the vineyard:
All our grapes have now been picked. We picked the last block of Grenache this week, it was showing some signs of the heat, however did come up quite nicely. Overall the vintage has been quite satisfying for us, we have picked just below average tonnages of grapes, but this is more than double what we picked last year. The cool ripening conditions during January should mean very good wine from the earlier varieties. The heat that started on the 3rd of Feb. had a severe impact on any fruit that was still on the vine. Most of our grapes (about 90%) were picked prior to the heat. Any grapes that were delivered after the heat, returned very high Baume’s (we had one load of Merlot that went 17.9). I have heard reports of fruit being delivered as high as 23. Most Barossa Valley grapes were picked before the hot spell, and so on balance I am looking forward to some superb wines being produced from this vintage. The photo this week shows some of our vines with the Barossa ranges in the background hanging out for some rain (we have only recorded 3.6mm so far this year, we normally average 71mm to the end of March).

This week: 14th. March 2008

Weather Report Week Ending 14/3/08
Maximum Temperature for the week 39.1C (102F) on Thur. All 7 readings above our monthly average of 25.5C.
Minimum Temperature for the week 14.8C (59F) on Sat. All 7 readings above our monthly average of 11.2C.
Rainfall for the Week 0mm (0 points) 0 days of rainfall recorded.
Weather data thanks to BOM & Nuriootpa Viticulture Research Centre.

Our record breaking heat wave has continued this week. We have now had 11 days in a row of temperatures over 36C. All maximum and minimum readings this week have been above average. Our average maximum temperature for this month currently stands at 35.7C, that is 10.2C above our long term average of 25.5C. We have not recorded any rainfall in the last week.


This week in the vineyard:
The heat of the last almost 2 weeks has had a severe impact on any grapes that were still on the vines. Luckily virtually all of our crop was picked prior to the heat. We only have one block of Grenache left to pick (it will be coming off this coming Tues.). Last week we finished picking all of our Cabernet and Merlot. The Merlot block was very ripe, it tested 17.9 Baume at the winery, this was probably a fair bit higher than they would have liked, however the heat and very dry conditions has had the effect of drying the berries on the vine. The photo tonight shows the last grapes we have still on our vines. This is a bunch of Grenache due to be picked on Tuesday, showing the bagginess of the berries as they have started to raisin on the vine.

This week: 7th. March 2008

Weather Report Week Ending 7/3/08
Maximum Temperature for the week 37.6C (100F) on Thur. 6 readings above our monthly average of 25.5C.
Minimum Temperature for the week 6.4C (43F) on Sun. 4 readings above our monthly average of 11.2C.
Rainfall for the Week 0mm (0 points) 0 days of rainfall recorded.
Weather data thanks to BOM & Nuriootpa Viticulture Research Centre.

Well it seems Summer is not finished with us yet. We are in the middle of another heat wave. There is no relief in sight for us in the forecast for the coming week.

This week in the vineyard:
I have not been able to spend much time in the vineyard this week, as I have had a case of Bronchitis. I am pleased to say that I am finally starting to improve.
We have only picked 2 blocks of grapes this week. However all of our Shiraz is now gone. The Mad dog Sangiovase is also safely tucked away in a tank. I have started to think about cover cropping and our winter work. Some rain would be nice anytime from now on!

This week: 29nd. Febuary 2008

Weather Report Week Ending 29/2/08
Maximum Temperature for the week 28.5C (83F) on Tue. 0 readings above our monthly average of 29.4C.
Minimum Temperature for the week 7.2C (45F) on Fri. 0 readings above our monthly average of 14.5C.
Rainfall for the Week 0mm (0 points) 0 days of rainfall recorded.
Weather data thanks to BOM & Nuriootpa Viticulture Research Centre.

Much cooler again this week. This weather is superb for ripening our grapes. Still no rain, just what we want to be able to finish our grapepicking.

This week in the vineyard:
I have spent all of the last week at a nuffield international scholars conference in Victoria. It has been very refreshing to spend a week with enthusiastic young farmers from all over the world. I have met farmers from Canada, UK, Ireland and New Zealand, from all sorts of farming enterprises. While in Victoria we visited a large number of very successful farming operations and listened to some amazing speakers.
In the vineyard we have picked the Mad Dog Shiraz. Vintage is beginning to wind up, we have now only got a few odds and ends still to pick. I am hoping to have all of grapes picked by Easter, even though it is quite early this year. The photo this week shows us just starting to pick one of our last blocks of Shiraz.