Vintage 2014 Reports
2014 Vineyard Vintage Report
Colin Ross, Viticulturist and Farmer
Weather
Minimal frost in Spring 2013. Excellent early season canopy
growth with minimal inputs required. Perfect flowering conditions in 2013 and
2014, resulting in good bunch numbers and berry set. The season by the summer
solstice was 7-10 days ahead of average.
Cool conditions post berry set and up to veraison. Dry and warm ripening
with rapid veraison. Welcome sunshine
with mild and stable ripening conditions until the end of the first week in
April. Heavy rain mid April.
Growing
Observant and considered viticulture practices have
delivered fruit suitable for all our wine-making and market requirements.
Considerable attention was paid to cropping levels from all blocks. Fruit was
disease free plus very close to planned and forecast yields. 2014 has been a
great testimony to quality biodynamic agriculture. Thick skins on berries, well
-spaced and open bunches, moderate open canopies, under-vine cover-crops, low
bird pressure all had a part to play in delivering some tasty fruit in 2014.
Harvest
Harvest began with a small pick for sparkling base from the
Leopold block at Raupo on the 18th of March. Vintage began in
earnest from the 25th of March with Pinots from Osip. Balanced, ripe
fruit at lower brix has been our goal for many years and is gradually becoming
the norm. Challenging conditions from
the 8th of April with persistent rainfall. The majority of fruit had been harvested by
this time. Taking advantage of clear weather windows we were able to have all
of our fruit harvested by the 15th of April. Due to frenetic
activity in the region towards the end of harvest we opted to handpick a
portion of the MOMO Sauvignon Blanc this year. The region was hit by a deluge
of 50mm+ beginning on the 16th. Around 150mm of rain falling regionally in April,
against a long term average of 47mm. , with 129mm at Raupo and 187mm at Home.
With the majority of fruit coming from Raupo, this was a real blessing.
Highlights
All in all, a year where we have had a very pleasing result
at Seresin. After five years of training and experimentation using working
horses for applying compost teas and biodynamic preparations via our custom-made
ground drive spray-unit we are now covering the entire Home vineyard and olive
groves with horse-drawn applications. This is an area in excess of 50
hectares. In 2014, we also brought our
hand-harvested fruit to the winery with a special horse drawn trailer.
650 tonnes of very high quality fruit picked by hand.
Posts
.jpg){kind=spacer}