Be afraid...weeds...

and rabbits, long grass, moulds and mildews too for that matter.

Skills for life...

Theres something wrong here. And Im not sure which is worse, that there is such a video or that nearly 25000 people have already watched it. Still, if you are buying a bottle of Sandihurst wine YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS...Stay tuned for for the legendary follow-up, 'Pouring your wine into a glass'.

Hello from Waipara...

Ive been in the vineyard (Georges Road-Waipara) for the last two days helping out with the winter tasks - namely pruning and weed spraying. Frosty starts but beautifully warm and sunny days that made me think that spring was only just around the corner. Soil temperatures are still around 6-7C at the moment but it wont be long before it warms up and the vine begins to wake from dormancy. Bud burst could be as little as 5 weeks away in some varieties.

In the winery its also warming up and this will mean that the barrels of our 2009 Pinot Noir will kick off Malolactic fermentation soon. Just another piece of fine wine jigsaw.

Peleton...

Just a reminder about what a great spectacle the Tour de France is. Even if you arent into cycling.

Beautiful barrels...

Just tasting through our 2009 Pinot Noir which is currently maturing in barrique in our cold cellar awaiting some warmer temperatures so that the malolactic fermentation can kick off. Some of our oak comes from the Burgundy cooper Gillet. Heres a look at how each barrel is made, courtesy of BKWine who also have a large number of other interesting wine videos available to view on Youtube.

Industry turmoil continues...

When a handful of companies control most of the industry (in NZ) then there is bound to be trouble when one of them decides to make a few changes. The region of Gisborne has really taken a hit in the wake of Pernod-Ricards (Montana) decision to terminate a large number of contracts with its growers. The impact on the region will be quite far-reaching.

Read more here from the Gisborne Herald today. Or here in the NBR. And here for some video footage from TV3's national news.

.

.

Ps - thanks Castro-Martin (i think) for the great photo

Bottle Shock...

A few shots from our recent bottling run, our biggest yet. Four days of folding, lifting, packing and stacking that left everyone feeling more than a little sore. On the plus side though, it is the final act in the making of our wonderful product and it is highly satisfying to see the end product.

Wine should learn from Beer...

Beer advertising, it seems, has always been much better than its Wine counterpart at appealing and attracting a wide and youthful audience - the sort of audience that Wine should be trying to appeal to.

Wineries (with money and an advertising budget) pay attention...

Sanity and Sanitization are two different things...

Winemaking, as you often hear, is 1% art, 2% science and 97% cleaning. And let me tell you that there are times when the 97% cleaning part just loses its appeal. Just like any job there are bits you never enjoy. Most people, who ask what I do for a job, always say 'great, do you get to drink wine every day'. I dont tell them its less than 1% of the time...

Postcard from New Zealand...

Having a brief holiday in Kaikoura, about 2 hours up the coast from Christchurch. There are plenty of seals on the rugged beaches along the coastline and from our house we can see dolphins leaping out of the water. The house is over the road from the beach and at the back the hills rise steeply to the snow covered mountains beyond. Its picture postcard stuff. And remote too, getting out of the city reminds us how sparsely populated rural New Zealand is.