harvest

Blogs : 2009 Southern Harvest Winemakers

Sampling 2009 Shiraz Ferments

Posted: March 23, 2009 By Stuart Bourne

Posted by Stuart Bourne Last week I mentioned the peak of vintage at Barossa Valley Estate. Well, this past week was a carbon copy. Bucket loads of lovely ripe grapes, pouring in from the vineyards, all very much picked at their peak.

Blogs : 2009 Southern Harvest Winemakers

What a Week!

Posted: March 20, 2009 By Santiago Achával

Posted by Santiago Achával That’s the only way to put it: What a week! When I last wrote, Finca Mirador was just bubbling. Finca Bella Vista was almost dry, but still wasn’t telling us how far it would go.

News & Features : News

Cape Winemakers Confront Fires

Blazes in South Africa destroy some vineyards around Stellenbosch Mountain and blanket others with smoke

Posted: March 19, 2009 By James Molesworth

Blogs : 2009 Southern Harvest Winemakers

Hitting the Peak of the Barossa Harvest

Posted: March 13, 2009 By Stuart Bourne

Posted by Stuart Bourne If vintage is a parabola (or a bell curve for the non-math geeks among us), then this week sees us sitting right on the top of the curve. What I am trying to convey is that we have really hit our straps this week at Barossa Valley Estate , and it's probably the busiest period of vintage for us, from now and for another two weeks.

Blogs : 2009 Southern Harvest Winemakers

Every Vintage Is Unique

Posted: March 11, 2009 By Santiago Achával

Posted by Santiago Achával No harvest is ever a repetition. At Achával-Ferrer we have to respond to what Mother Nature gives us. One of the things that we noticed back in December (just after fruit set) was that the stems of our Finca Bella Vista Malbec were unusually red.

Blogs : 2009 Southern Harvest Winemakers

Racking Chardonnay and Fermenting Shiraz in Australia's Barossa Valley

Posted: March 5, 2009 By Stuart Bourne

Posted by Stuart Bourne Welcome again to another installment of "Life in the Barossa Valley," as seen through the now much blearier eyes of Stuey Bourne and the crew at Barossa Valley Estate. Where do I start? Probably with an update on Chardonnay ferments: Those Chardonnay ferments I referred to a couple of weeks ago are now at a very beautiful stage.

Blogs : 2009 Southern Harvest Winemakers

Night Harvests in the Barossa

Posted: March 2, 2009 By Stuart Bourne

Posted by Stuart Bourne Vintage 2009 continues at Barossa Valley Estate , and what a week it has been. The weather was very kind to us this past week, and the red grapes continue to arrive at the winery as we pick the blocks that are ripe and patiently wait for those that will be harvested in the next few weeks.

Blogs : 2009 Southern Harvest Winemakers

Good Season for Grapes, Not for Cricket

Posted: February 19, 2009 By Steve Smith

Posted by Steve Smith The 2009 harvest hasn't started well for us in New Zealand: After showing great resolve and skill, our cricket team was thwarted by a random thunderstorm over Australia in this year's Chapell-Hadlee Cup.

Blogs : 2009 Southern Harvest Winemakers

The Dawn of the 2009 Barossa Shiraz Harvest

Posted: February 19, 2009 By Stuart Bourne

Posted by Stuart Bourne Hello again to everyone from Stuey Bourne and the crew from Barossa Valley Estate. Week three of vintage is going very well and this week sees a couple of big milestones achieved.

Blogs : 2009 Southern Harvest Winemakers

Preparing the Winery for Crush

Posted: February 18, 2009 By Santiago Achával

Posted by Santiago Achával At this time of the year, the vineyards are almost taking care of themselves. We’ve done all we can. We’ve thinned the shoots, removed the laterals and plucked the leaves from the fruit zone.

Blogs : 2009 Southern Harvest Winemakers

Harvesting Sauvignon (With an Eye on the Rugby Match)

Posted: February 17, 2009 By Ken Forrester

Posted by Ken Forrester With the Super 14 Rugby series underway, my home team, the Stormers (Western Cape), took a knock in the second half from the Sharks (Kwa Zulu Natal), but Australia had a poor start, with their Reds taking a severe beating from the Bulls (Northern Province).

Blogs : 2009 Southern Harvest Winemakers

The 2009 Grapes Arrive in South Africa

Posted: February 13, 2009 By Ken Forrester

Posted by Ken Forrester First of all, I would like to wish all those Southern Hemisphere wineries around the (lower half!) of the globe the best of harvests ever! Good luck to you all, may this be a great vintage for you.

Blogs : 2009 Southern Harvest Winemakers

Kicking Our Heels in Stellenbosch

Posted: February 11, 2009 By Ken Forrester

Posted by Ken Forrester Welcome, from warm, windy Stellenbosch, where just a few producers have started their 2009 harvest. Typically, the early fruit would include Sauvignon Blanc and Pinotage, and any time now, the first Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay will be coming in.

Blogs : 2009 Southern Harvest Winemakers

A Tragedy During Harvest

Posted: February 11, 2009 By Stuart Bourne

Posted by Stuart Bourne Greetings again from Stuey B and the crew at Barossa Valley Estate, now firmly entrenched in Vintage 2009, Barossa Valley style! Firstly, on a sad note, our hearts, thoughts and prayers are currently going out to all of the people affected by the bushfires , currently still burning in the state of Victoria, just a day’s drive away from us here in South Australia.

Blogs : 2009 Southern Harvest Winemakers

Our First Ferment of 2009

Posted: February 9, 2009 By Stuart Bourne

Posted by Stuart Bourne G’day again from Barossa Valley Estate , Stuey Bourne here for an update on harvest in the Barossa Valley. Last week saw the first crush of the year come in—Chardonnay for table wine.

Blogs : James Laube's Wine Flights

Why California Drought May be a Mixed Blessing

Posted: February 2, 2009 By James Laube

Weather is never far from our minds, whether it dictates how we dress or, in the case of our present drought in California, what the lack of water may mean for vintage 2009. Only the economic slump trumps weather this year.

Blogs : 2008 Harvest Winemakers' Blog

Assessing the Wines of our Labors

Posted: December 31, 2008 By Barbara Kronenberg-Widmer

Posted by Barbara Kronenberg-Widmer Now that the 2008 Tuscany harvest has come to an end and the wines are tucked away in the barrels, it is time to develop an initial conclusion. I must say that I am really happy about this vintage.