advise our friends into the belief that "luck" is something that
happens to other people. While we believe that 
nature knows best in all things, if you adopt an approach to managing your vineyard which treats fortune
as an absolute bonus and timing as your modus operandi, you will often
make your own luck. The Bloodwood
approach is to have the vineyard potential as close to 100% as possible
at bud burst, and to work throughout the year towards maintaining that
ideal. This is pretty near impossible to achieve given the vagaries of
the Australian climate, but with a sensible grasp of the technology of
grape growing; an understanding that "timing" is all, and the realization
that to totally control all aspects of the creation of a bottle of Bloodwood
we'd first have to re-invent the Universe, what follows here is our attempt
at viticulture in Orange. So grab your mouse by the short and curlies to
check out what we do month by month through the wonderful Bloodwood growing
year.
October November December January February March April May June July August September
October November December January February March April May June July August September
(Sit! Stay! Get-a-way back!) Each vine is treated
individually according to its vigour and bearing history. In each vineyard
there is a fairly high proportion of new wood from last year's growth laid
down and it is not unusual for an individual vine to be an amalgam of spur
and cane pruning. We usually try to prune the less frosty and later bursting
Cabernet Sauvignon block during this month. This encourages a more even
and slightly earlier bud break which will give the fruit an extra few days
of critical ripening warmth at vintage in the following April. The days
are short and the nights sullen with cold. Towards the end of the month,
we normally receive good rainfall and some light snow, and because our
Government loves us so very much and doesn't want us to spend too much
time outside in the cold and damp, we have another BAS to submit.
October November December January February March April May June July August September
Of course your bank manager will be interested in making sure that they
have a reasonable return on your investment, so it's a good idea if you
are still talking to use terms like "down sizing the vegetative interface"
rather than the technically more descriptive "dropping the crop".
(N.B. On no account allow the accountant anywhere near your vineyard in
July. The place will be cold enough already!) Work begins on the next BAS.
October November December January February March April May June July August September
October November December January February March April May June July August September
Actually its not all that bad although another BAS return is imminent.
You occasionally get to see the sun again between sleet showers and scuds
of rain from the South West. We often hear our first thunder for the
season by late September, and in recent years we have experienced some
of our heaviest snow falls. So how can that be all bad? The pruning that
was definitely completed during August is absolutely definitely completed
during September. (and sometimes it's absolutely finally definitely completed
in early October) I suppose the point here is that the weather has a
lot to answer for at this time of the season. The trellises are checked
for damage, wires replaced where necessary, and the irrigation is given
a run to make sure any repairs can be carried out well before the summer
pressure really mounts. An early organic Copper spray is applied
late in the month (if the Chardonnay has burst earlier than normal) to
give a little more frost protection. Because Bloodwood is so well air drained,
we have never been frosted during the growing season but we do all we
can to give this "luck" our helping hand. The sheep are removed kicking
and screaming from the vineyard by mid month and the foliage training wires
are dropped so they don't get in the way of the young growth.
October November December January February March April May June July August September
October is about 6 degrees, so it's basically optimism about the season
ahead which keeps us warm. By the end of the second week in the month,
most varieties have burst their buds and are leafing out for the job ahead.
When the new shoots reach 100 mm or so, we apply another Copper spray
to prevent the development of downy mildew along with a precautionary
powdery mildew spray, if we can find the time after GST considerations.
The idea here is to keep a preventative cover of Copper on the quickly
growing shoots and developing flower clusters as they head into what's
known as the "grand period of growth". During this time you can almost
see the vine shoots elongating from day to day so regular Copper coverings
are high on our list of songs. Sucker shoots on young vines and unwanted
water shoots on the established vineyards are removed and a final check
on the irrigation equipment and trellises is carried out. This is also the
season of the nose blow and blow-fly as the early Patterson's curse and rye
grasses begin to flower.
October November December January February March April May June July August September
Lifting meter long vine shoots into the vertical position ensures
good light infiltration and provides more efficient spray penetration
. On the white varieties, according to seasonal conditions, we
may carry out a split application for botrytis bunch rot control at
the beginning and near the end of flowering. Vines are self pollinating
so there is no real need for insect vectors to cross-pollinate, but as
we've never used insecticides on Bloodwood we always see a fair population
of bugs working the vines. One of the most memorable experiences you
can have in this world is to smell the incredible perfume of a vineyard
in full flower on a warm and calm evening after finishing your BAS preparations.
Regular rainfall in the Orange Region usually takes up in November, so
it's important that the vines are not moisture stressed prior to and during
flowering. We use tensionmeters to monitor vineyard moisture status and
to give us an objective guide as to when each vineyard needs additional
moisture.
October November December January February March April May June July August September
Depending on effective rainfall, we continue with irrigation to keep
the vine ticking over. By this time shoots have finished growing and the
energy of the vine is being increasingly directed towards the developing
bunches. 
. Late December is when we see the first signs of powdery mildew
in the vineyard if our Sulfur sprays haven't been effective and submission
of your BAS for the December quarter is due. You can have half a day
off on December 25th if your trading account reconciles and everything
is under control but you'll probably be spraying Boxing day.
October November December January February March April May June July August September
The late afternoons are bloody magic with an almost fluid warmth,
and the nights are often balmy. If you want a truly humbling experience,
sleep under the stars on a dark mid-summer night in the vineyard dreaming
of taxable supply. Meanwhile, the spring flies and insects have disappeared
and the vineyard is in full flight. Irrigation is the main daily occupation,
although an ever watchful eye is kept on the skies for hail and the spray
program continues in anticipation of rainfall. We can experience substantial
rainfalls from NW ex-cyclonic depressions moving across the continent
in January but unlike warmer areas where the fruit is accumulating ripening
sugars this does more good than harm to the developing bunches. 
We conduct one more pass of the canopy to leave the bunches as open
to the ripening sun as possible. Starlings and other feathered friends,
which will become a severe annoyance as vintage approaches, are seen gathering
into huge flocks at dawn and dusk. Bird control is about to briefly assume
similar priority to BAS collection and reporting obligations.
October November December January February March April May June July August September
(or colour change) as the bunches soften and begin the accumulation
of sugars and the displacement of acids through to full ripeness. It
is an exciting and busy time as we begin to prepare for vintage and do
what we can to lessen the impact of bird damage on the ripening fruit.
Trucks and tractors will be serviced and the inventory of hand picking
shears, buckets and band aids is attended to. By about the third week, we
begin taking samples of the Pinot Noir for analysis to determine the picking
date for our Chirac fizz which is normally ready for harvest by the first
week in March. The irrigation schedule is eased off until the vines are
experiencing a controlled moisture deficit and spraying of Sulfur for powdery
mildew ceases. In effect the vines are coasting into vintage readiness.
If we plan to plant a cover crop of cereals between the vine rows to improve
the organic status of the vineyard, this is when it happens.
October November December January February March April May June July August September
We don't mind the resident rosellas having a feed or two, but
the itinerant starlings which arrive in huge flocks of swirling devastation
are not welcome free-loaders. Gas guns, noisy motorbikes electronic
scarers and plastic hawks are used, but even with this armoury of distractions,
we lost 4.5 tonnes of fruit last vintage. To put this in perspective,
that's equivalent to about 6 pallets of Cabernet. (A pallet contains 64
cases of wine) There is an urgent need to study the habits of the English
starling and native noisy miner birds in Australia and to establish a
means of controlling the impact of all birds between veraison and vintage.
These six weeks are critical, although we recognise that for the balance
of the year, birds of all sorts have a very positive impact on the vineyard.
It could well be that the resident starlings have eaten enough light
brown apple moth lavae and australian grape vine caterpillars during
the year to more than account for the 4.5 tonnes of fruit they relish
at vintage. We simply don't know!
October November December January February March April May June July August September
If we miss a seasonal cold outbreak, then by the end of the
third week, all the fruit will be picked and safely on its way to becoming
wine. If the weather remains dry, immediately after each vineyard is harvested
we give it a good irrigation to encourage the normal autumn flush of
root growth and to give the vine the energy to draw the carbohydrates
of its remaining leaves back into its root and trunk structure. It's also
a way of saying thank you to each vine for doing its best for us throughout
the season and to chlorinate the irrigation lines before the winter shut
down. If the vintage has been safe and successful, it's a time for celebration..if
it has been disaster, then it is time to immediately take the next step
by preparing your BAS.
October November December January February March April May June July August September
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