Bristol Wine and Food Fair
Well, we were finally ready! Here’s our stand just before opening time - have to say that I was pretty pleased with how it all looked. Then the gates opened and we were overwhelmed! Over the three days we must have met thousands of people - a great way to get our wines known. Chris and
Setting-up at Bristol
Well, here we are, the calm before the storm (hopefully!). I’m writing this as Chris and Annie, behind me are folding up leaflets ready for the off tomorrow……… The stand looks great, Annie has repainted the signs and they really stand out, the poster size labels look good too.
Weeding beneath the vines
Well, the weather has finally got better, it’s 33 degrees as I write this! As a result I’ve been able to start to use this year’s new toy. Called an Intercep in French (goodness knows what it is in English) it is a toothed tool that spins around to hoe the weeds under the vines (inter=between, cep=vine). This is
They’re finally flowering!
Well, it’s pretty late this year, the weather has held things back but flowering is now well underway. The picture here is of one of our Merlot vines in full flower. The Cabernet vines are slightly behind the Merlot and finally come the Sauvignon Blanc. We’re breathing a bit of a sigh of relief at the moment
Bud-thinning
As you may have gathered by now we really enjoy having people to stay with us because we love setting them to work in the vineyard to really earn their keep! Here, Ian, Jane, Roger and Denise tackle the task of bud-thinning our youngest parcel of Merlot. This activity is really important - it
Getting ready for Bristol Wine Fair
We decided to take our wines along to the Bristol Wine and Food fair in July and our planning for the event is well and truly underway! Hard at work in the winery, here are Iain’s dad (back) and our friends Jane and Ian labelling up some Sauvignon Blanc ready for us to send over to England.
Wet Weather Blues
Well, it’s been a wet old start to the year. Over 200mm of rainfall in April and May. Several deluges have left water standing in the vines. Not good, it stops us getting out there and doing some of the jobs that are starting to become urgent. In particular, working the soil between the vines and keeping the weeds down. The
Spring Planting
We’ve been busy replanting vines in May. Here are some young sauvignon blanc vines just before planting. It’s a backbreaking task, digging holes, adding fertiliser, planting and covering the vines with soil. We have planted over 1500 new vines with a lot of help from our friends Chris, Annie, Ray and Shelagh.