Climate & Topography
| Location, Climate & Topography | ||
| Region | Central Otago, New Zealand | Sub region: Bendigo |
| Climate | Semi-continental | Rainfall: Average of 300-450mm p.a. |
| Growing Season | October – April | Growing Degree Days – 1124(2007/2008) |
| Vineyard size | 57 hectares(140 acres) | Planted area: 26 hectares(64 acres) |
| Latitude/longitude | 44° 57’ 50.00’’ S | 169°17’ 01.17” E (The tractor shed) |
| Altitude | 210 -350 metres above sea level | |
| Topography | Moderate to steep slopes, gently undulating fans and remnant terraces comprising wind-eroded and water dissected minor ridges and associated areas of loess accumulations. | |
| Soils | Soils range from outcrops of schist to very fine dusty sands; from extremely hard red boulders to pockets of sticky red clay; and from river gravels to coarse sands – even a small pocket of rich loam. These soils are very complex as they are essentially a combination of glacial outwash and river gravels but generally fit under the classification of Clyde sandy loam. | |
Management
| Vineyard Management | |
| Farming methodology | Sustainable (Member of Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand) |
| Water source | Lake Dunstan – irrigation scheme pumps from the glacial-fed lake |
| Vines per hectare | 2500 vines per hectare |
| Row spacing | Spacing of 2.5 metres between rows; vines 1.6 metres apart |
| Trellis | VSP trellis system (Vertical Shoot Positioning) |
| Foliage/fruiting wires | A single fruiting wire is at a height of 1 m; 3 pairs of foliage wires |
| Pruning | Vines are mainly spur pruned at 2 buds per spur (200mm intervals) |
| Cropping | Pinot Noir yields are managed to a maximum of 5 T/ha and white varieties up to 7 T/ha |
| Weather station | An on-line weather station on the vineyard records temperature, humidity, rain and wind www.harvestnz.com/w.cgi?hsn=3390. Tinytag Ultra Internal temperature loggers also record temperature ranges at different points on the vineyard |
| Water monitoring | Aquaflex soil monitors provide information on soil moisture to manage the optimal irrigation to the vines |
Planting
| Varieties, Clones & Rootstocks | ||||||
| Variety | Clone | Area | Variety | Clone | Area | |
| 2004 planting
(10 hectares) |
Pinot Noir | UCD5 | 5.0 ha | Pinot Noir | B667 | 1.25 ha |
| Pinot Noir | B115 | 2.5 ha | Pinot Noir | B777 | 1.25 ha | |
| 2005 planting
(12 hectares) |
Pinot Noir | B777 | 1.3 ha | Pinot Noir | B667 | 1.0 ha |
| Pinot Noir | UCD6 | 1.75 ha | Pinot Noir | Abel | .5 ha | |
| Riesling | GM 239 | .8 ha | Gewürztraminer | 456 | 1.0 ha | |
| Pinot Gris | Barrie | 1.0 ha | Pinot Gris | GM 2-15 | 2.3 ha | |
| Sauvignon Blanc | MS | 2.0 ha | ||||
| 2007 planting (4 hectares) | Pinot Noir | B114 | 1.3 ha | Pinot Noir | UCD4 | .8 ha |
| Riesling | GM 198-19 | .7 ha | Riesling | GM 110 | 1.2 ha | |
| Variety Mix | 65% of the vineyard (or almost 17 hectares) is planted in Pinot Noir. | |||||
| Rootstock | All vines are planted on phylloxera-resistant American rootstock. These include: Riparia Gloire, 3309 GM9.2, 101.14 BDX and Schwarzmann PN. | |||||
| Annual full production | ~11,000 cases (132,000 bottles) inc. 7,000+ cases of Pinot Noir | |||||