End of Harvest in sight

The End of Grape Harvest is called by a lunch. Only a week or so before the harvest teams depart and machines are back in the sheds so there is a menu to plan. The wineries will still shine at night with around the clock attention for the precious few days of fermentation before the Vale pauses for a post Harvest hush.

Ferments finishing

Green leaves turn red and brown under slate grey skies, Autumn has arrived.

Every day the Baume goes down and the alcohol goes up. Most of our ferments have finished and the wine ready to mature .... bucket by bucket shimmering sheets of purple wine go into the barrels. We've invested in some new French Oak barrels, after experimentation we are finding a mix of new and old French suits our taste. Some of the 07 reds are showing every sign of being ready to bottle.

Our Make Your Own Wine day was lovely, crisp day with a warm sun so the guests enjoyed hand picking the Cabernet grapes. After a morning of crushing, plunging, measuring and pouring wine into barrels their appetites were good for the best Roast Chicken you have ever tasted stuffed with preserved lemons, and herbs.

The heavenly scent of a ripe Quinces in the orchard tells you it is time for jelly making.

The lull between our Grape Harvest and Olive Harvest is more like taking a breath than a holiday. We have begun plans for the Oil, cleaning out the pickling tubs and ordering salt.

RAIN

Life Giving Thirst Quenching RAIN. After 3 months of dry, a heat wave and harvesting on the cracking earth. Now we have wet, sweet rain. Harvested the Cabernet, old vines with attitude, and then headed out to the grand old shiraz with a grey sky. Stopped harvest ... can't have the rain filling your bins or the wine would be watered down so we put away the machinery and opened a bottle of fizz or two just to welcome the wet wet rain. How good can rain on a tin roof sound? Never better.