Its winter time here of course in New Zealand, or at least the tail end of it, but without question this has been one of the wettest winters in recent times. In the last last two days we have had approximately 140mm of rain which, at this time of year, is about what we normally expect in two months. In fact as we approach the end of August we have already had the amountof rainfall that we normally receive in an entire year ! - about 600mm.This is a photo of a 'river' just north of Christchurch. Most of the year it is dry and during winter is usually only a small trickle at best.
But what is all of this doing to the grapes. Not much we hope. Replenishing local aquifers at best. The soils are quite saturated and I suspect when the decides to shine, the heat will push weed growth through the roof. Some vineyards in low lying areas on heavier soils have certainly been submerged but all in all it seems to be draining away quickly.
Perhaps more crucial could be the fact that local skifields still have a 3m base at present. Too much snow on the hills at this time of year could very well signal the prospect of damaging spring frosts. Bud burst is approximately 3-4 weeks away so unless we get some warm nor-west winds soon there could be trouble. Fingers crossed.
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