VINEYARD UPDATE

This year will be our first growing season at Lot 94 BSR that Richard and I purchased earlier this year. This vineyard is significantly larger than Tipsy Hill and has Chardonnay, Tempranillo, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon growing on it. This season will be a learning experience for Bec Swincer and I to get to know the new vineyard - it's especially interesting as it is dry grown, although it doesn’t look like the vines will be lacking water this year! As I think everyone in Australia knows, this year is another La Niña year, but we're lucky so far in McLaren Vale to have a lot less rain than many other parts of South Australia and much less than the east coast – we're wishing you all the very best over there!

The wet spring has allowed the soil to get to full water holding capacity, which has set it up for good spring growth. Because of the overcast weather, we are regularly monitoring the vineyards due to the higher disease pressure and we'll be taking extra care to open up the canopies to allow good airflow and reduce the chances of downy and powdery mildew. The ground cover in the mid rows of the vineyard are certainly loving the conditions so we are currently mowing these grasses, which provide great mulch for the vines.

The inflorescences (future bunches) are now appearing, and we are hoping for dry and not too windy weather during flowering as these conditions can greatly reduce fruit set. So we're all watching the weather over the next few weeks and playing the waiting game to see what Mother Nature has in store for us – it certainly makes life (and the wine industry) interesting!

Cheers,

Bec Hardy

WINERY UPDATE

We've bottled a few wines over the last month or so, but at the moment we are working through lots of admin jobs in the winery - assessing barrel trials and wines, and making production decisions for the next vintage.  It's also the time of the year when we assess the technical aspects of our production with the intention of continual process improvement.

For now, the 2022 reds are safely tucked away in barrels and maturing beautifully - and these wines are shaping up to be sensational!

The new growing season has kicked off in the vineyards so Bec and I are monitoring the Tipsy Hill vineyard and the new Lot 94 BSR vineyard. I'm also keeping in touch with our other growers to discuss crops for next year and how things are going generally in McLaren Vale. As always, everyone is keen to see how the season will shape up - so there are exciting months ahead!

Cheers,

Bec Swincer
Winemaker