Season Unfolds
Grape to Glass
Find out how the season is developing at Ash Ridge.
April 2009
And the Syrah is picked!
On a warm Hawke's Bay autumn day, the Syrah vines at Cardoness Vineyard were hand-harvested. The vines chosen for the Ash Ridge wine have cropped for the first time this year. First cropped vines are said to produce great wine so watch this space...
March 2009
Friday 13th is known as Black Friday for some..
but for Ash Ridge it was anything but black as we harvested 4 tonnes of first crop Chardonnay from Cardoness Vineyard. The sun was shining as the grapes were hanging golden in the sun. Within a couple of hours all of the grapes were picked and safely transported to the winery.
This wine has a lot of promise as the first year a vine is harvested is generally thought to produce pretty special wine and it’s often an indicator of the quality of fruit to come in future years. We are really excited about this wine and are looking forward to launching our first Ash Ridge Chardonnay for sale later in the year.
Our Sauvignon Blanc was harvested the previous week and is already fermenting in barrel. We tend to produce intense flavours in our wines from Ash Ridge vineyard due to the diurnal range of temperatures: from the intense heat of the day to the much cooler nights.
So, the whites are in! But we are still only half way through vintage with all our reds still to pick: Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Malbec. Let’s hope that the weather continues to be kind.
March 2008
A Good Year...So Far
The 2008 season is shaping up well so far, with continuous hot, dry days and very little rain. This time of year we rarely leave the vineyard as we nurture the grapes through the final stages of the season. One of the biggest problems we face as the grapes ripen is bird damage. To minimise the damage we lay out 40km of bird netting (using a tractor and our own legs!) and use 40,000 bread clips to clip the two sides together around each row. This time of year we do a lot of walking!
December 2007
Saving the Skylark
We know when summer is on her way because the vineyard strikes up a song! Birds start building nests in the trees surrounding the vineyard and one of our favourite birds; the skylark shares her tune with anyone who will listen. Skylarks nest on the ground - not a particularly safe place to lay eggs and make her home! We regularly ride the tractor and mow over her nest because it's important to expose the ground to sunlight and warmth to encourage the vines to grow. We set our mower at a safe distance off the ground - low enough to cut the grass but high enough to avoid the lovely skylark and her nest.
Why Grapegrowers Don't Rain Dance
Another reason we know that summer is nearly here is because the tiny grape florets have started flowering. This is a crucial few weeks for grapegrowers and despite the fact that Hawke's Bay farmers are rain dancing due to the drought we're experiencing, we don't want any rain during this time!
October 2007
Pruning
Hooray! Last month we finished pruning! We have mixed feelings of anticipation and excitement knowing that our pruning decisions will dictate so much of the growing season and ultimately, the fruit quality. Pruning can make us think, however briefly, that we are in charge of the vineyard. It is of course Mother Nature and not us who is in charge.
Jack Frost
Jack Frost has been quick to remind us of his part to play. Just as our first merlot grape buds were beginning to appear we experienced one of the coldest nights of the year and temperatures well below freezing.
Ash Ridge is surrounded by other vineyards and orchards and in the early hours of a frosty morning, the neighbourhood sounds like a war zone! The bigger vineyards will fight frosts with helicopters, others use diesel powered wind machines coupled with frost pots; fire-breathing machines pulled by tractors; and we use a water powered flipper system. The freezing action of the water actually keeps the vulnerable buds warm - science is indeed wonderful!!
Sheepish Excuses
We have been over-wintering 80 sheep and taken much pleasure in watching them graze amongst the vines. They have provided a natural source of fertiliser, enhanced the microbiology of the soil and in turn, added natural nutrients to the vines. This benefits the grapes and wines in the longer term.
Timekeeping isn't our forte and we recently gave a very sheepish excuse for arriving late at a dinner party. As we set-off down our drive on a cold, rainy evening we found one sheep, fondly named Chris, standing on the drive. Chris had decided that the grass was greener on the other side of the fence!
A 20 minute chase ensued in the rain, as we tried to encourage Chris back to the right side of the fence. To no avail. In the end we turned off the car engine and waited patiently for him to find his own way back. Eventually he did.
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