The wet growing season has encouraged lush canopies with vigorous growth. Our vineyard team has been dedicated and diligent, battling the effects of the wetter season and winning! The hard work in the vineyard continues as there is always added disease pressure with humid conditions. The milder temperatures, although warmer than last year, throughout December and January have meant that we will again begin picking towards the end of January.
Vintage 2023 is looking positive, although as I always say, time will tell.
My Dad Joss has been embarking on a personal shiraz project for the last 8 years. His mission is to preserve heritage clones on our family vineyard that are a true representation of the history of the Hunter. He has been taking care of these four rows, which equates to about ten acres, with hand-pruning, maintaining crop levels and using elements of biodynamic and sustainable farming principles. We are hoping that this vintage we will be able to pick these special heritage clones and I’ll turn them into wines worthy of their historic distinction.
On another note, we are planning an epic line-up of wine events throughout the year in Sydney, Newcastle, Brisbane, Noosa and Canberra plus our annual signature event Cork & Fork here at the winery on October 21st. You can check them out here.
We cannot wait to see you at one of those!
Cheers,
Mike