Blooming vineyards in spring

With spring upon us the start of a new growing season in the vineyards is near. Soon the dormant buds will awake and new shoots will a merge. Before all that happens we will have to finish our pruning of the vineyards and as the new shoots emerge we will start with suckering and shoot spacing to create a suitable micro-climate and bunch exposure for the bunches.

Rain during the budding and growing season can bring diseases but it is surely welcome at this stage as the rain we had from May up to August was not sufficient. This year seems as one of the driest years up till now, but there is still a lot of time to pass before we can make any conclusions about  the 2012’s harvest.

Until next time, Warren Ellis

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Posted on 31 August 2011

Winter in the Vineyards

Winter has rolled over the Cape Peninsula and the month of May we attended to cover cropping, applying compost and weed and erotion control. The vines are resting at this stage, says viticulturist Warren Ellis, with enough cold units to break the dormancy of the buds for next year’s vintage. It’s been a good start to the rainy season, with some sunny days in between extremely cold and rainy spells, resulting in good cover growth. Good rain will supply our Groenekloof andPiekenierskloof vineyards, both dry land bush vines, with some much needed moisture for next years harvest.

At the moment, we are tasting and discussing the current vintage (2011) wines and incorporating our discussions into our vineyard management for the 2012 season.

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Posted on 30 June 2011

Neil Ellis Winemaker’s Diary

Coming Soon!

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Posted on 8 November 2010