October 2001
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Getting a routine established October was devoted to nurturing and protecting the new vines, trellising the second year's growth of last year's plantings and planning the cellar. John M also enjoyed a trip to his particular wine haven, but more of that later.
Manie customized a couple of trailers to cart the stuff around and the guys got to work. We reckoned it would take eight weeks to distribute a share to each vine. Weeding, tying strings and trellising all had to be done as well so it was a mad rush to keep on top of everything. The most important was making sure the new vines got off to a good start. In order to keep the regular work covered the guys were divided into three teams and rotated between the jobs. The other tasks included mowing, and unfortunately the bush cutter was too narrow to cover the job in one pass. We traded it in with the sprayer for a nice wide one which was much more efficient. The only problem was that it was on runners like a sledge and when it was towed through the old vineyard all the straw mulch kept getting caught in the runners. Manie welded a couple of strategically placed wheels to it which rolled over the straw and held it in place. We were generally delighted with the new vines and how they were coming on. There had been some losses though. Unlike last year when only one single vine failed to bud out of 12,000, we were looking at just under 2% either not budding or failing after budding. We were told this is normal when you plant a larger area. We are still convinced that the shale soils of our vineyard will yield the concentrated flavours that we are looking for. The shale is well in evidence on the soil surface and where the streams cut through the top soils you can see the shale clearly exposed. It was into this that our vines are working their roots. The new vines were doing so well in fact that we got some unwelcome nocturnal visitors. The wild buck from the surrounding mountains. They were coming in at night, having a great nibble and leaving before first light. Manie thought about shooting them but Jane was against it. Anyway we reckoned that if you took out one group it wouldn't be long before another came in to occupy the vacant territory. There was no shortage of alternative food sources for them, so the idea was to make it just too troublesome for them to come to our patch. A barbed wire fence was erected on the top boundary and we sprayed the new shoots with "Hot Sauce". This is made from a chili extract that should be unpalatable. So unless the local stag has the stomach of a Mexican bandit and the determination of an Albanian refugee we should be alright. The trellising of the old vines was underway, with the first Shiraz block up on the wire by mid month. This is painstaking work done by hand with a tool that clips the chosen shoots the horizontal wire. Two shoots, one each from either side of the stem are selected to form the horizontal arms of the vine. It is from these arms that vertical shoots about 10cm apart are led up each year to form the canopy and bear the bunches of fruit. Each year these vertical shoots are pruned away, but the horizontal ones are in position for the life of the vine. That is why this is a crucial step in the life of the young vine and the shoots must be selected carefully, and is all part of the "balancing" process. The unwanted shoots are then clipped off.
The growth this year was much more even than last. Most vineyards with chemical control push their vines up to the wire in the first year. Because our growth last year was more uneven some stems hadn't made the height so they were all cut back. This year we started again and as can be seen they look great.
We now had 4 guys trellising, five tying strings and four mulching. Once every two weeks we were doing an application of Bordeaux mix with the blower in order to prevent the dreaded downy mildew and other fungal diseases. As the weather got drier this would be needed less but it is still required and is the only preparation permitted under organic viticulture. It is basically just water copper sulphate and lime. As the weather got hotter and drier the winter grasses all died. The summer grass is lighter green and was mown back neatly. The dark green vines popping up in their rows with their beds of mulch against the light green looked awesome. Manie was brewing up the compost tea and popping panac pills on the old vines to keep them happy. The temperature was now reaching 30C on some days but showers were frequent and even hail (on the weekend of the Tulbagh Festival!). We also had a visit from the dreaded East wind which can whip down off the mountain like a mistral. Fortunately is was too cool to be really strong but we went back through the top Cabernet block to make sure the new shoots were securely fastened. This then was the routine we were getting into. Weeding was a constant theme. Mowing was a weekly event. Trellising and clipping, mulching, compost tea, organic applications, fencing, string tying, running repairs on the machinery and irrigation all part of the cycle of life on the farm. No rest for the wicked. John M on the other hand must have been very good in a previous life as he found himself once again able to take off for a week in his favourite wine area, Piedmont. He says it is all for research but we know better. Piedmont is the Northwest Frontier of modern winemaking in Italy, and the main aim of these trips is fact finding and making contact with the local wineries. The Piedmont wine making industry has changed massively in the last 10 years with the wider use of accepted modern wine making techniques, and the increased use of small oak barriques during the aging of the wines. John M's trips there have already encompassed a lot the famous producers, Conterno ,Ceretto ,Giacosa ,but for him to be in the area doing some 'research' during the main White Truffle season, was a little more than a coincidence. These pungent underground mushrooms are the stuff of legends, and only come from this corner of Italy. Ask at your
local Italian Restaurant. Manie keep an eye out for fog and keep your
nose to the ground for pungent fungi!! Copyright © 2000 Tulbagh Solutions. All rights reserved. |
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