'If this report was written last week then the talk would have been about sunshine and perfect weather. However a slow moving High sitting west off Tasmania has brought on humid drizzly rain for the Australia Day week. La Nina is still at work. The winter of 2010 saw more consistent rain than previous years with each month from April 2010 getting above 60mm and June just on 120mm. Rain in the last 3 months was 310mm so quite a wet spring and start to the growing season. Unlike 2010 it was spread out and we were able to keep up the spray program. Warm, dry weather followed through Xmas and into the New Year but thankfully not the 40-45C days of 2011. All the Brokenwood vineyards are in excellent condition with the Graveyard Vineyard having at least two sweeps of fruit thinning. The Cricket Pitch Semillon has already been picked. Cowra has had a wet spring, ending with the same rainfall as the Hunter Valley and this has continued into January. Orange is up in rainfall and in both regions the vineyards are looking first class. In contrast the Indigo Vineyard at Beechworth for the last 3 months recorded 185mm, thankfully way down on the same period in 2010 when the vineyard had 470mm. Fruit thinning has been necessary on some blocks and the Indigo Vineyard guys have the place in perfect nick.' Iain Riggs
No comments:
Post a Comment