SNOW.
An old Greytonian (not at all like an old Etonian in any way other than they both do a bit too much of the arm wagging Anglican thing which was so superbly illustrated by Eddie Izzard) told me, last May, that Greyton is likely to have snow in any month of the year but never in more than three in one year.
2007...May, June, July, August, September, October...that makes six. It has been a cold, colder and one of the coldest winters. Not wet like the rest of the Southern Cape, just cold.
The big "bummer" is the length of the Chardonnay shoots. The size of the newly formed bunches. What does cold do to new growth. Shorten the nodal lengths. Cause the basil buds to move backwards. Decrease harvest in the coming years.
The growth cycle for this season may be completely wonky after all the money spent on the nasty wee bud-break chemicals. All of the work may well fall afoul of this cold spring. No Frost, but snow...which properties do snow and frost share…hmmm...water...cold...tenacity...stick-to-itive-ness...lets just cross our fingers and hope for the...no...no hoping...Call the chemical rep and the viticultural genius...Andrew Teubes.
Time’s wasting.
More soon...
with, love,
Jake
Spring. Chardonnay shoots at 20 cm.
There were moments this winter when I thought I'd lost every vine.
A wild Scotsman on the west coast told me that for his first eight seasons he was sure he'd killed everything each winter. Then he planted another 30 Ha on a different farm and went through the same process for another five years.
Our god-send of a viticulturalist Mr. A. Teubes (for now we call him "King of All Vines") laughs at me each July when I call him because I'm sure I've got woolly buds when I should be spraying bud break...he then tells me to relax and I send him a cell phone pic of the buds...then he laughs and tell me to wait another two weeks before spraying...he's been right for four years. But what did I do this year, I panicked for two weeks.
In a way we panic from just prior to bud burst, into the flowering, into the fruit set, the green drop, the rising sugar levels and in truth through the length and breadth of the whole season…until well into winter.
So why do we do this silly madness? Is it fun? Is it wonderful to live so close to the land? We love Baboons? Flocks of thousands of red wing starlings make my heart soar? I enjoy 2am to 4am for strolling around the house and re-filing my cd collection? I like watching “The Dirty Dozen”, again (I’m currently on viewing number 247)?
We "do this" madness for many reasons mostly though we're proud to give something back to the world that has no additives and cannot be made in a Chinese factory and really, THE WINE IS SO GOOD. We "do this" simply and plainly, for the wine.
It is about the place. It is about the climate. It is about the vine. Mostly though, its about those little grape bunches. Perfect and un-irrigated. The soil and sunlight transformed into wine.
With that,
I'm off to have a glass of 2006 summer-time sunlight.
Love,
Jake
A wild Scotsman on the west coast told me that for his first eight seasons he was sure he'd killed everything each winter. Then he planted another 30 Ha on a different farm and went through the same process for another five years.
Our god-send of a viticulturalist Mr. A. Teubes (for now we call him "King of All Vines") laughs at me each July when I call him because I'm sure I've got woolly buds when I should be spraying bud break...he then tells me to relax and I send him a cell phone pic of the buds...then he laughs and tell me to wait another two weeks before spraying...he's been right for four years. But what did I do this year, I panicked for two weeks.
In a way we panic from just prior to bud burst, into the flowering, into the fruit set, the green drop, the rising sugar levels and in truth through the length and breadth of the whole season…until well into winter.
So why do we do this silly madness? Is it fun? Is it wonderful to live so close to the land? We love Baboons? Flocks of thousands of red wing starlings make my heart soar? I enjoy 2am to 4am for strolling around the house and re-filing my cd collection? I like watching “The Dirty Dozen”, again (I’m currently on viewing number 247)?
We "do this" madness for many reasons mostly though we're proud to give something back to the world that has no additives and cannot be made in a Chinese factory and really, THE WINE IS SO GOOD. We "do this" simply and plainly, for the wine.
It is about the place. It is about the climate. It is about the vine. Mostly though, its about those little grape bunches. Perfect and un-irrigated. The soil and sunlight transformed into wine.
With that,
I'm off to have a glass of 2006 summer-time sunlight.
Love,
Jake
We're pruning, getting ready to bottle, selling stock, cleaning babies tukii (plural of tukus)...
Teddy Roosevelt said, "Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat."
Planting vines, growing grapes, wine-making and wine maturation all follow those lines so closely that to distinguish a "made" wine from a picked wine is harder and harder to do...
Pick the ultimate Viognier and watch as the barrel spoils the party. Pick Shiraz too early and taste the weedy green tannins in the un-fermented juice. Pick a red too late and force yourself to re-hydrate so your alcohol levels match industry norms. Plant Chardonnay in the wind and watch as your whole crop flies away in the first big October wind. Success though is elusive and dangerous.
Elusive because everyone in the industry is shooting for the same magic. Dangerous because then you must recreate the magical situation that you encountered in the year you last made the wine.
So better still to make different wines every year. Make 42 different labels of wine and hide in the anonymity of the multitude of different styles and varietals. Why make two or four wines. Why subject yourself to the scrutiny of the one land one wine terrior test.
We tried and succeeded with the Chardonnay. This year we're coaxing the barrels and playing wonderful music to eek out the same flavours and layers that the 2006 Chardonnay is showing. The Viognier is ready to bottle and we're starting to worry that its going to go through a late malo conversion and loose the wonderful flavours and acids its currently showing. the Shiraz needs to be racked off the malo lees and moved into the Anwilka barrels (hopefully the high Parker points will rub off), etc.,.
In short, we've chosen to dare the difficult path; furthermore, though we may fail, our intention is greatness and wild success. And with hope, the failures will be as majestic and inspirational as the overwhelming successes.
Love,
Jake
Planting vines, growing grapes, wine-making and wine maturation all follow those lines so closely that to distinguish a "made" wine from a picked wine is harder and harder to do...
Pick the ultimate Viognier and watch as the barrel spoils the party. Pick Shiraz too early and taste the weedy green tannins in the un-fermented juice. Pick a red too late and force yourself to re-hydrate so your alcohol levels match industry norms. Plant Chardonnay in the wind and watch as your whole crop flies away in the first big October wind. Success though is elusive and dangerous.
Elusive because everyone in the industry is shooting for the same magic. Dangerous because then you must recreate the magical situation that you encountered in the year you last made the wine.
So better still to make different wines every year. Make 42 different labels of wine and hide in the anonymity of the multitude of different styles and varietals. Why make two or four wines. Why subject yourself to the scrutiny of the one land one wine terrior test.
We tried and succeeded with the Chardonnay. This year we're coaxing the barrels and playing wonderful music to eek out the same flavours and layers that the 2006 Chardonnay is showing. The Viognier is ready to bottle and we're starting to worry that its going to go through a late malo conversion and loose the wonderful flavours and acids its currently showing. the Shiraz needs to be racked off the malo lees and moved into the Anwilka barrels (hopefully the high Parker points will rub off), etc.,.
In short, we've chosen to dare the difficult path; furthermore, though we may fail, our intention is greatness and wild success. And with hope, the failures will be as majestic and inspirational as the overwhelming successes.
Love,
Jake
We're all equal under the rain...
Winter jest done come ‘bout a month too soon...
Seriously though, May was freakishly cold and the contrasting temps of 6C during the day and below zero at night contributed to a dusting of a fair bit of snow on our mountains.
Then we had a mad rush to protect our glorious Chardonnay vines as they sprouted green tips last week when temps reached 14C...
hmmm just a few months early...then we received a fair bit of sub 3C weather and well that was that with the errant green tips.
We're madly trying to get our bottom cottage fixed for visitors by next season.
We're casting out our net to bring in pickers/capable hands to help with our next harvest...we'll see what time brings.
FYI!!!!! (loud drum roll)
The 2006 Lismore Estate Vineyards Chardonnay is officially available for purchase!
We sold our first bottle last Thursday and though it was to another winemaker a sale is a sale is a sale. We have 900 bottles of fantastic chardonnay that could win every prize in its category but we simply haven't got enough to submit. Several "in the know" wine “fundi” types were full of praise for our maiden vintage (even though the grapes were bought in from Klein Constantia). We continue to know that quality has no "team" in the word, only team has team, and yes an "i" is in quality; but it's only a matter of taste.
So taste our quality Chardonnay asap... cause its going quickly.
Much love to all of you out there,
J.
Seriously though, May was freakishly cold and the contrasting temps of 6C during the day and below zero at night contributed to a dusting of a fair bit of snow on our mountains.
Then we had a mad rush to protect our glorious Chardonnay vines as they sprouted green tips last week when temps reached 14C...
hmmm just a few months early...then we received a fair bit of sub 3C weather and well that was that with the errant green tips.
We're madly trying to get our bottom cottage fixed for visitors by next season.
We're casting out our net to bring in pickers/capable hands to help with our next harvest...we'll see what time brings.
FYI!!!!! (loud drum roll)
The 2006 Lismore Estate Vineyards Chardonnay is officially available for purchase!
We sold our first bottle last Thursday and though it was to another winemaker a sale is a sale is a sale. We have 900 bottles of fantastic chardonnay that could win every prize in its category but we simply haven't got enough to submit. Several "in the know" wine “fundi” types were full of praise for our maiden vintage (even though the grapes were bought in from Klein Constantia). We continue to know that quality has no "team" in the word, only team has team, and yes an "i" is in quality; but it's only a matter of taste.
So taste our quality Chardonnay asap... cause its going quickly.
Much love to all of you out there,
J.
2007 CRUSH IS IN WOOD
We're wrapping up another season.
2007 is sitting in wood or fermenting through malolactic in stainless.
The Jumbo bins are clean. The small lug crates are clean and stacked.
The vines have gotten their copper spray, the diathane and the fertilisers they require after this hot year.
The blocks have all been ploughed and we're seeding today the 12th of April, 2007. We've had ten days of downright cold conditions (2 degrees C at night and 17-18 C during the day), and three to four days of really decent rain...perfect for germinating a winter grain crop (this year we're sowing rye grass).
The Syrah from the bottom block is the standout so far. Well the Viognier is head and shoulders in front of most of the other wines, but it’s the house favourite. The Cabernet Sauvignon from the valley is rich and filled with really wonderfully ripe fruit. The top blocks of Syrah will need more wood time and might be perfect for a 92 from Parker.
The Chardonnay is dry. It's got a high acid level so we're pushing for it to go through malolactic conversion as soon as possible (though this mostly involves coercion through conversation which is often very difficult as the yeasts are finished goofing off in the barrels). We're stirring the lees, coaxing the yeasts, chatting up the lactic acids and in general halting all personal consumption of all wine. Four months of tasting, tasting, tasting and more tasting can drive your gut to expansion and your mind to distraction.
For now we're happy and our wines are resting.
More soon.
Love,
All of us.
2007 is sitting in wood or fermenting through malolactic in stainless.
The Jumbo bins are clean. The small lug crates are clean and stacked.
The vines have gotten their copper spray, the diathane and the fertilisers they require after this hot year.
The blocks have all been ploughed and we're seeding today the 12th of April, 2007. We've had ten days of downright cold conditions (2 degrees C at night and 17-18 C during the day), and three to four days of really decent rain...perfect for germinating a winter grain crop (this year we're sowing rye grass).
The Syrah from the bottom block is the standout so far. Well the Viognier is head and shoulders in front of most of the other wines, but it’s the house favourite. The Cabernet Sauvignon from the valley is rich and filled with really wonderfully ripe fruit. The top blocks of Syrah will need more wood time and might be perfect for a 92 from Parker.
The Chardonnay is dry. It's got a high acid level so we're pushing for it to go through malolactic conversion as soon as possible (though this mostly involves coercion through conversation which is often very difficult as the yeasts are finished goofing off in the barrels). We're stirring the lees, coaxing the yeasts, chatting up the lactic acids and in general halting all personal consumption of all wine. Four months of tasting, tasting, tasting and more tasting can drive your gut to expansion and your mind to distraction.
For now we're happy and our wines are resting.
More soon.
Love,
All of us.
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2008 Chardonnay
Snow in the clouds...
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