TAG | 2010
Well, Winter is continuing to be worryingly warm and dry this year, and many vineyards are starting to bud and grow in the Cape, almost a month early, and somewhat uneven. Early budding can obviously be a problem when we get a late cold, wet spell (which we usually do) in August/September, as the young growth can get frost or fungal damage.
More worrying though, is early budding is usually not very even, so on the same vine some shoots are several weeks ahead of other shoots and this causes problems with uneven ripening, and potentially green flavors in the wine.
Young Syrah Vineyards amongst some serious Organic covercropping!
The 3rd problem is the low rainfall we’ve had which, unless we have lots of late Winter and early Spring rainfall, means there will be low water reserves in the soil and bedrock, and the vines might struggle late in the season. Our neighbour Callie was super relieved at the rain last weekend, as the 50 000 young vines he’s just planted need as much moisture as possible right now to protect their young roots.
So, it looks like it could possibly be a tough vintage ahead. Unfortunately there’s not much we can do except prepare to work really hard in the vineyards this season, and hope it gets really cold and wet the next 4 to 6 weeks!
Drawing Samples of the 2010 White Wines for Blending Trials. Exciting!
In the cellar Andrea and I are starting to look at our 2010 wines in barrel to get and idea which parcels (and barrels within parcels) work well together, with an eye to blending in November. We make several passes through all the barrels, and get to know each one very well. In general we’re extremely happy with what 2010 has given us, and it looks like our best vintage so far, so it’s up to us not to stuff what looks like some incredible wines up!
With all the hard work that lies ahead though, we are off for a week to visit our notorious famous Cousin Neil on the banks of the Zambezi in the Caprivi. He’s celebrating quite a big birthday this month, and we’re looking forward to seeing the work he’s done on his Sekaseka Bush Camp!
We’ll be back in the beginning of September.
South Africa woke up to one of our biggest ever hangovers yesterday (spare a thought for how most Spanish must have felt though!), with the 2010 World Cup successfully completed, and the country having to go back to real life. It almost feels like the depression that hits winemakers at end of harvest, with most of the country not knowing what to do with ourselves!
The Italy vs Paraguay Match we Attended in Cape Town, 2010
Though the Swartland did not experience significantly more tourists during the World Cup, we have certainly benefitted from the added attention that hosting the event has brought to South Africa, and we in the Swartland and at Mullineux Wines have been fortunate with some great coverage in international media, and added business opportunities.
Lets hope we can make the most of it and keep up the momentum!
Back home the art exhibition we hosted in our cellar over the weekend went very well… here are a couple of pics:
Weekend Exhibition
But Is it Art?
A good crowd attended, and was treated to some interesting Performances!
Looking to the next couple of weeks… big news is going to be the launch of our new range of wines called Kloof Street… watch this space!!!
