Wind

Wind

Now I know what the wind in a vineyard is really for.

Along with dryness associated with the wind.

Currently, mildews have gotten into the wines, I seem to have missed sprying in time to get rid of it.

I am about to wreck the portable vineyard because time, disease and fruitlessness has passed by in a way I am annoyed enough with myselfto get rid of it.

But the wind the last week has gotten rid of the dried and damaged leaves.

Leaving sight of damaged and useless bunches, bare branches.

The Pinot is the worst off, the Shiraz not so much.

Being away when spraying is due is another reason the end is nigh. Small yield another.

Another disaster like a few vintages ago, and lack of prevention activity, oh dear.

The summer growth is poor, and the same with my ambition and dedication.

There may be some fruit left to keep from the birds for a rum to be made only.

The foxey Grapes are fine, and so too the established Shiraz.

In fact the Foxey bushes are so full and healthy the vines are weighing down their supports.

Fingers crossed for a nice little yield in a month or two.

If I think it will be worth netting.

The start of the 2015 vintage in the Portable Vineyard

The start of the 2015 vintage in the Portable Vineyard

Ah there we go- budding time

Spring budding!

Looks like budding started mid August this year- Pinot was opening in the third week of August, below. Hmm.

The potted Shiraz, a few, started budding by first week of September.

The older six on the fence have not budded as yet though.

All the mobile vines moved 4 Sep, two lines- 48 pots of established and 9 babies of Shiraz.

Eleven of the Pinot.

Organising the irrigation now- small sprays to each pot. Still need a few more plumbing bits and pieces, and if I go away for a week or two, got an automatic irrigating thingamajig too.

Pinot

Shiraz

And- to recycle stuff- the still was fed a bunch of off old reds this last week to produce about 10l of spirit for port or sherry making. A few expensive Rockford Basket Press bottles that were Not Drinkable [2000, 2001!] and some other home mades that were also Not Drinkable - all emptied into the trusty spirit maker...

One of the old bottles that was actually okay and finished- on my own- over two nights- below. My friend Harry was also searching/making room in his cellar too- looks like another batch next week for the still.

Other wines that were tried lately- 

A Wine Society CabSav2000- into the still.
All of last year's wine made- into the still- 30 liters! Not good. Will try to make a fortified wine from what is left of the garage foxy grape wine this year [20l]- it does not taste too bad, but some syrup and spirit may perk it up heaps.
So- This years production- all but 20 of the 40l- INTO THE STILL, Bummer dudes- hopefully the brandy/rum at the end will be appreciated. No. It will be!
anyway

A 2013 Rockford Alicante- YUMMY!

A Rockford Pasket Press Shiraz- 2002- Yummy!

Well, that's all for the The start of the 2015 vintage in the Portable Vineyard during the start of the 2014 Spring Downunder.

The winemaking The vineyard 

Wine making.

 The Vintages

The Portable Vineyard

Update march 2014 there were 14 pots producing a crop. According to one book, for my own consumption, I need 50 100 vines.

Vintage 2014

Varieties Foxy Grapes, Pinot Noir, Shiraz

PProduction

This year I was going to be a little careful. Than previous years.
Well, that did not happen, I got a new job. Or two!

During the flowering period I was up at Innamincka- or was that the Strezlecki track- no Innamincka- and the pots were left to fend for themselves as far as watering regularly was up to a helper- not! So for 6 weeks, not much water- no spraying, no food.

This year the portable vineyard  had about ten pots with about 2 buckets of fruit, from the four at the back of the house block and from about ten pots of Shiraz, and three Pinot Noir pots- wow- not much- about 5L of must and skin

Like years 2011 2012 2013 I did not spray a lot, again some shiraz clusters were long but sparse, and some were easily rotted or insect affected. Again

Shiraz Yard 2011

   

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Vintage 2014

Foxy Garage GrapesOn 9 March 2014- brix approaching 25. These bushes of this grape variety are so productive, and somewhat sickly sweet as you walk by.
Ended up with six 9l buckets- so ended up crushing and pressing out about 17 litres of must

Currently 50 pots Shiraz, 7 pots Pinot with 2 foxey grapes vines next to the Alcoholery  may be just an ornamental as the grapes are not table or wine grapes and six plants in the ground at the rear- facing North, 4 one side and two in front of the Shed/Bungalow.

At pruning time endeavouring to propagate cuttings 3-6 pots plants per year.

The Alcoholery
Where some of the crafting of wine, beer and spirits is done, bottles and bins and tools stored.

Spring buds 2013

Spring buds 2013

Pinot- 24-Aug-13

Reading of a local winery's Spring Buds 2013, I thought I better check my collection of "Ragedy Annes" out in their pots, to see whether I had some spring buds.

Yep!
As of the 20th August, the Pinot and the Shiraz potted vines have wee little spring buds movements! Some have leaves out and all!

Not as well budded as the winery over the hills and vales to the northwest, but definitely erupting. Even the "bay" vinrs had slight Spring buds

Comparing Spring buds with last year- seem to be earlier by a week... I wrote in the first week of September- first week of the Southern Hemisphere's Spring- that the Portable Vineyard vines had budded. No! And- The vines budded by 20th August in 2011 too.

Maybe Global Warming aint happening...

Winter 2013

Winter 2013

Lined up 

All the bunch ready potted vines line up down along the side fence for winter now, ready for spring bud time- about to occur quite soon.
Over forty portable backyard vines now, with eleven or so one year olds re-potted.
Re-thought the irrigation- get that lined up down the fence line this year, maybe a timer of 2-4 liters per day- or enough to fill the cut down and nearly buried 2 liter containers

one and two year old cuttings

The Pinot, and cat 

Oh lala

2013 Vintage to start soon

Looking through the shrubbery, I was SURPRISED to see that verasion has been and gone in less than two weeks as far as the Shiraz and Pinot are concerned! I was going to post on that, but breen busy and lax.

Today I thought I better do a sugar level test and most of the varieties are at 15 Brix or about 8 Baum,  getting there, close to what I want in my Portable Vineyard Backyard Wines- that is 12% Alcohol or better; that is, I need 22 Brix or better!

Vintage should be in less than two weeks if this is the case, end of February.

Shiraz

Shiraz

Pinot

shiraz

Shiraz

Pinot

 Today a large Carrawong(?), a crow sized native bird, bigger than a magpie, was scouting the vines for morning tea.... Not happy, may have to re-organise the whole yard, net the lot of them in one go rather than this poor attempt to keep them away.

Summer starts in the Portable Vineyard

Summer preparations in the Portable Vineyard

Two Fruitful Shiraz rows to left [east] and Pinot at right, barren Shiraz center.

This week, the portable Vineyard has been rearranged, expanded even.

Last years cuttings, and older ones too, have been re-potted.

Pinot

The nine Pinot potted vines are fruitful, mostly, but I think there will only be a liter or two of wine to be made- added as usual to the Shiraz. The four three-year-old cuttings are to be re-potted as soon as new mix is found, at a cheaper price! There surviving year old cuttings have been re-potted into small nursery size plastic containers, and arranged under a potted vine [13].

The Shiraz.

It seems that the Shiraz, in the pots anyway, have not all produced fruit!

In fact, 18 are barren this year! A three year old cutting was found to bear a bunch, so that was re-potted this week, so there are now 16 fruiting, as well as the original 6 planted vines.

The pruning and re-arranging of the growth patterns of the potted vines- trellis wise- may have not been such a good idea now. By not leaving two older canes in place, there is instead a profusion of canes, and not all with fruit.

At least the orphans from Harry are going okay, some with bunches too.

The Shiraz vines have been sorted into fruiting and non-fruiting.

Garage Foxey Grapes

These are bountiful again, growing over the pathway, many bunches!

Portable Vines Pictured

Pinot and a profusion of growth

A Portable Vineyard!

3-yr old and 1-year old cuttings

Young Pinot

maybe...

Ideas of planting in the yard are stirring- not sure #2Son will like the idea of not being able to ride his quarter-pipe down the yard- but he does not use it that much anymore anyway.

So there are about forty six Shiraz now plus the new new ones [21], and thirteen Pinots [and13]

Flowers forming

Flowering time in TPV

I am a little confused about this. I thought there would be quite a few more branchlets forming before any flowers would arrive, because there may be less fruit from what I can see!
Maybe I am being a little pessimistic, as it is only the first week of October, and we have had plenty of rain as well as watering and feeding and spraying them...

Speaking of, there are a few degraded leaves, even a few yellowish ones today, so I will have to get the mildew sprays out so to avoid last years cockup!

Garage grapes

Shiraz

Pinot Noir

Shiraz

Shiraz

Last years cuttings Shiraz

Last years cuttings Shiraz

Last years cuttings Pinot Noir

Vintage 2006

Shiraz Vintage 2006 

Our Longford grapes Shiraz, the Hofford

My good friend Harry and I, made some red wine in 2006.
I have just opened a bottle of Vintage 2006 and it is ooh la la, beautiful!

The grapes were shiraz/syrah.

The vineyards are from across the river south of where I live, and grown in a  combination of sands, gravels and marl, basically a 'limey' situation. The area was used for a gravel pit once upon a time. The sheep farm where the vineyard is based is above the marshes or morass at Lake Wellington. Cheers Vintage 2006!
The growers- Lyn and Harry Stephenson.

Looking north over Lyn and Harry's old yards at left, square shape, and to the mid right, diamond shape, from Google Earth

The acreage is small, two yards 110x90m and 70x100m.

Wine made from these grapes have won awards for vintners who were capable of paying two dollars a kilo. Yep- 2 grand a tonne! Harry and I of course were only doing wine making at home, of 100 and 50 kilos respectively.

In the early 2000's, so a story goes, a vintner from west Gippsland was interested in some Gippsland limestone country grown shiraz grapes [?] and gave Lyn and Harry tips on what he wanted if he was to be a primary customer. The vines were carefully tended, and cropped back to avoid over-cropping and reduce disease favourable conditions. A second vineyard was created in the actual gravel extraction areas. This idea is similar to the French winemakers and grape growers idea of limestone country, the terroir for growing Pinot Noir- limestone or marl.

That vintner won an award one year, and my friend Bob of Tuckers Vineyard who I worked for 2004-2008 also won a medal for his 2004 Shiraz. But guess what? I think mine and Harry's is far better. Sorry Bob

We selected and harvested our own grapes from the old vines. We took them back to a backyard- Harry's or mine, and processed the grapes. The next day, yeast was added. A week or so later, the lot was pressed, and the waiting began...

So every year a few bottles were enjoyed.

I think I have opened my last one. But shit a brick, it is NICE!
Cheers to a few people, chin chin Tarn, Harry, Bob

Red Wine Vintage 2011 Bottling Time

Time to Bottle 2011 Vintage
Screwtops this year

From the recycling and hoarding instincts of a some what very diluted Scottish heritage(?), I decided that the 2011 Red Wine Vintage blend of Shiraz/Syrah and Pinot Noir will be bottled in recycled screw-tops.

Hmph! I hear you say. Well, being a Scrooge, I like to satisfy the independence and unconformity thing I have too you know! Well, if you don't, you will over time.

The screw-top type bottles are accruing faster than normal corked types these days. There is enough to satisfy 'demand' for at least three years at the moment. Not much use for corking if possible- laziness is the mother of invention?

Sunday- prepared and washed and scrubbed  and rinsed out and sanitised nine bottles. Yeah, I know. Nine. 

Racked over the 2011 vintage into a larger container and added PMS for future protection against vinegar and other nasties. Leave it overnight to settle out some lees that went in, slackarse.

This time of the year is probably the only time I can walk in and out of the Alcoholery without tripping over anything or everything. Press, crusher and de-stemmer moved out to the backyard. When used and filthy, easier to hose out!

Vintage 2012

Almost Vintage 2012... 
The Garage Foxey grapes: Are we ready?

The nice perfumey smell of the IMBY grape vines has deteriorated a little bit like a decaying smell around the garage grapes! Looks like the bees and butterflys are in there sucking that sweet syrup from MY grapes and leaving just husks behind. The birds have tried to get in under the netting to a small degree this year, but not a lot.


This is the usual time for harvest, going back to 1999 at least. The primary school has a Maypole and fete and my dad goes trout fishing at Eucumbene Dam with his brothers. I panic, worry and fumble around for the winery kit. Measure the sugar content, whinge about some diseases erupting in some bunches, scare off the ants.

Pinot Noir

Have to tidy the Alcoholery up, move "spare timber and stuff" A to B, and tools from B to C so I can move out the grape processing gear- crusher, press, SMS/PMS, buckets, vats and snippers...  And power tools from C to D...

Not ready, or excited.

Only because, I suppose, my Shiraz crop failed completely due to mildew.

Foxey 

Anyway, there looks like a nice crop of garage grapes and maybe some Pinot Noir to throw in it. If it turns out okay, great, otherwise... Brandy or rum. At least a couple of bottles.

Should have a home made wine made by this time next week.

Rain, heck yeah.

Ah. But the green house..
Too much confidence?

The other week, you will recall, there was a lot of rain IMBY, all over the Portable Vineyard vines.

But I did not think of the poor old cuttings! The collection I spent so much time cultivating: weeding, spraying, watering, feeding the last 6 or so months, has ended up in the toilet.

With so much water falling freely the greenhouse denizens were completely forgotten about. Not ignored- that means you you know about it, but Forgotten about.
Oh dear. When I realised, oh crap. Really disappointed in me.

The Pinot Noir may have ONE survivor.

The Shiraz/Syrah in the shallow trays are Dead, but the ones in the pots will be fine. I think.

The rest of the vines are fine, sort of. I think that the garage grapes are nearly ready for harvest this week or next, and the Pinot Noir is too. The Shiraz group looks like it has been attacked again by mildew.

There is a small consolation in the "cemetery", a few sprouts have arisen from buried old cast offs, as it were. Voila:

In the next fortnight- Harvest 2012, blow by blow.

Regrowth in the Shiraz

New leaves almost automatically appear!

After the new attendance to details- like removing bad leaves. the vines are all recovering well, sans fruit on the shiraz. The spraying of the commercial copper compound and a mix of some olive oil and bicarb-soda alternative weeks maybe doing the trick.

This weeks progress in the Portable Vineyard.

Below- regrowth on the deleafed Shiraz vines- pity the vines do not regrow the lost grape clusters.

Below- Garage Foxey grapes- almost marble size- no sign of the mould affecting these vines

The Pinot vines are doing okay- veraision seems to be on its way on some pots