WE received 22 millimetres of rain last week and another 5mm on the weekend, which was very welcome, as the grapevines need to be wet even when they are dormant.
The frosts are clobbering the last of the leaves on the vines and I have been doing some contract machine pruning and will get started on our blocks soon/eventually.
The oversupply of red wine is still a continuing challenge hanging over the industry and leaving many growers understandably reluctant to remove more vines.
The one thing which will quicken the turnaround is if the high water price continues into next season, because if it does then it will become unviable to irrigate vines with the continuing low prices for red grapes.
Wineries are doing their best to move what red wine they can, but it’s at prices which are clearly unsustainable.
Those about to embark on dry July, it doesn’t assist the wine industry much – but for the converted, try a few of the no-or-low-alcohol wine alternatives or buy some normal alcohol wine and hang onto it for August.
Pinot Grigio is popular, or you could also try a warm region Fiano, which won’t taste as acidic as the cooler climate ones, also try a red or two.
For those new to reds, start with a sweet or rosé style, then over time move to a Merlot/Cabernet blend – but don’t go straight to a Shiraz or Durif.
One of my irrigation pumps was found to have a heap of black plastic stuck in it.
The plastic had somehow gotten into the district water supply system.
Speaking of which, I have been accepted onto a new water services committee, and I am keen to find out the ins and outs of a viability inquiry which is being conducted into our ageing pipeline district.
The salt, mud – and plastic – that’s in our expensive water, along with a neglected drainage system and the overall viability of the local pipeline districts, are important issues for the committee to address. And that’s what I will be focusing on.
There is a bit going on over in the Middle East, and there’s almost as much taking place close to the Middle of the Eastern side of a patch of our Chardonnay where there are two feuding groups of combatants – the fruit flies and the grasshoppers are going hard at each other.
The fruit flies have their iron dome defence system (which has been disguised as a boxthorn bush) which also contains damaging munitions (red berries) that can be propelled against the brigade of grasshoppers.
So stay tuned for updates.
Away from the conflict zone, the recent rains have seen the snails becoming very active, with some of them being seen zipping around on puddles doing the fancy foil speed yachting stuff, where they hardly have anything touching the water.
They have zip tied a mast (aka a stick) onto their shell and attached Mintie wrappers to use as sails, and zoom, away they go.
Talk to your mates.
