The Semillon/Tempranillo Block
But today we have extremely strong westerly winds which are causing some damage to the block.
Vineguards are being ripped from the wires and young shoots are being knocked off the vines. There is absolutely nothing that can be done to prevent this. Luckily I have retained some spare rootlings of both Semillon and Tempranillo in case of such an event. This would mean planting the replacements as "green tops" when the time comes ie. after the threat of strong Spring winds is over. There is some risk of vine mortality using this method but it can generally be done safely with a little care.
Now attention will turn to planting the Pinot Noir. As soon as the winds abate this will get done.
Almost all the Cabernet Sauvignon has been pruned. One row to go.
Pruned Cabernet Sauvignon Block
Have been able to begin to replace some of the cordons that succumbed to the last years of drought. Have also been a little ruthless cutting out old spurs, mainly those that are too high on the cordon and those that cause shoot crowding during the growing season. Hopefully this reduction in bud numbers won't cause a a lot of watershoot production during the season. I also hope that the fruit gets better exposure with resultant better colour and sugar levels. The vines are planted on a high potential site at a 1.5m spacing. Experience has shown that maybe 2.0m would have been better to allow the vines to be better balanced. A radical move would be to grub out every second vine but this is a little too traumatic for me to do after nursing this vineyard along for the last 10 years.
Spur Pruned Cabernet Sauvignon
The 2004 wine needs to be racked one last time and sulphur level adjusted. Then it will be ready for bottling.
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