Misha's Vineyard

“The vineyard is off to a flyer” says Robin.

“I am put in mind of the notion that it represents the very much older man or woman with a new very much younger partner who is somewhat voracious where it counts.

Loving the action but not sure if able to stand the pace…”

Robin Dicey – Viticulturist & Philosopher

Tags: central otago, mishas vineyard, Robin Dicey

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Keeping in Balance

Rich Williams, Vineyard Manager and Robin Dicey, our Viticultural ‘Godfather’, have just undertaken some very detailed analysis of our soils across our eight different vineyard blocks and the very informative soil test results are now back. Ideally soil should comprise 25% water, 25% air, 45% minerals and 5% organic matter with the ideal soil pH should be between 6 – 6.5. In terms of our minerals, we have known all along that our soils are very low in Magnesium and nutrients have been applied for a few years now to try and bring it back into line.

It hasn’t seemed to have much of an impact on the soil and through tissue analysis it has been shown that the vines are still deficient in it. This can have repercussions on growth as it is a major factor in photosynthesis.

We are now using the Albrecht system and the way it works is to put the main soil nutrients back in balance with one another so that these forms of nutrients are not locked up. These main soil nutrients are Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium and Sodium. The Base Saturation of these nutrients changes depending on how much organic matter we have in the soil (which in our case is very low) and soil pH. Because our soils are less able to hold as much as they could, it is very important we at least have our base nutrients in balance so that the plants are able to take them up when they need them.

Also it seems our soils are very low in trace elements such as Boron, Zinc and Copper. The first two have some of the biggest influences on flowering and pollination than any other so it is important we have them in the soil.

What the test results have shown is that we are not far out of balance of our major nutrients on the whole. Some blocks are a little more out of balance than others. i.e. the Lake Front block is very well balanced in base elements however it is a bit out of balance in trace minerals; the Ski Slope is quite out of balance on the base elements and a little out on trace minerals; the Fruit Bowl/High Wire block is very good on base elements but not so with the trace minerals, etc. Getting these all back into line is key to continued quality in the wine.

We are about to undertake this long-term program to increase our soil fertility and bring all the blocks into perfect balance and maintain good stewardship of our land which is farmed according to the certified Sustainable New Zealand program.

Tags: mishas vineyard, Rich Williams, Robin Dicey, the Albrecht system

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An update from Robin Dicey – Consulting Viticulturalist

Véraison is not far off now that heat has now finally arrived – so an increase in irrigation is warranted. The time for stress is probably over – and we also need to think a bit about the following season as well. We only found a few bunches showing signs of véraison on the 3rd February when these pictures were taken but by and large I think the rest of the vineyard will just be starting to show a bit more colour from about mid month.
Given the problems of this challenging season, I am now quite relaxed about the balance in the canopy versus crop. It is as if the vines sensed that what lay ahead was going to be difficult, and to try to carry a heavy load was not going to be a great plan. There is not a great deal of thinning required – just a little ‘adjustment’ here and there. But overall things are looking great on the vineyard.

Tags: central otago pinot, misha's, mishas vineyard, pinot noir, Robin Dicey

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Good progress was made with bud rubbing and with the additional help of the Vanuatuan crew we’re now into bunch removal. We’re removing bunches from the short shoots starting first in the Riesling where there are quite a few 3rd and 4th bunches mainly on the less vigorous parts and we’ve also needed to do a partial lateral think through the centre of the block in order to see into the interior. The vines are coming up really well and putting our shoot/fruit ration back into balance. So far there are some quite small bunches in places and so we’re expecting lighter crops across the board this season. Rich..

Wind effects. The last few reports seem to have been an unending litany of woe concerning weather related opprobrium, recently including a degree of pluviality as well. The Pinot Gris in the Dress Circle has particularly seen the impact of the wind and so we’ve had to remove more bunches off short canes than usual – but it’s what is needed. Once again there is a big difference in sheltered versus unsheltered rows. At this stage we are performing a bunch removal exercise and not a thinning exercise. We would look further into establishing more planting shelter. The good news was today there was no wind and it was a glorious morning!
• The vines up on the Top Block are looking in good shape, if a bit small, which is no bad thing.
• The hoped-for and expected growth spurt in the young vines has not really eventuated – at least not yet. It may still come.
• The evening-up of the bunches through removal of the shoulders has gone pretty well, and the crop should come in a lot a more uniform condition.

The difficulties of the season with the relentless winds are making it tough for the vines. But against all this bunch conformation looks excellent. Since we had virtually no ‘stuck’ caps, fruit set has been good and berry shatter virtually non-existent. The result is that we are seeing bunch closure with berries much smaller than usual. If the seeds have been well fertilized this could lead to some interesting times in a few weeks as the berries achieve their optimum size. Robin

Notes to decipher Robin’s report!
Opprobrium: 1. the disgrace or the reproach incurred by conduct considered outrageously shameful; infamy.
Pluviality: 1. of or pertaining to rain, esp. much rain; rainy.

Tags: misha's, mishas vineyard, pinot noir, Rich Williams, Robin Dicey

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An update from Rich Williams
Hi all – just a quick update on the vineyard. It’s amazing what a few days of warm weather can do – the vines now look the Springboks, according Robin, because they’re bright green and real winners! But I would have to disagree – I don’t think they’re quite as green as the Springboks, though their bent over tips do resemble the same sorry look!

Their bent tips are a consequence of the winds over the last few days but the good news is that they have regained their taper again. We have been working hard on the young vines (2007 plantings) in the house block but our efforts to ‘shoot thin’ has been hampered due to these severe winds. We’ve had to give that added protection to the “young girls” cushioning the blows with help of tape-gun in hand. The wind has also been whistling around the windbreaks, knocking tips and shoots against wires but thankfully not too much damage. Previous to that we had three days of hot calm weather which sent the vines off on a rip roaring pace. From an early start the Sauvignon Blanc has now stalled a bit. We’ll wait and see how it develops bunch-wise before shoot thinning there.

All in all, it’s been a busy time with Steve and I working pretty hard on the vineyard. We will be joined by two more of our newly-hired permanent crew next week so that will make a difference and mid-month we’ll get a bigger crew in to help with the rest of the shoot thinning.

Work is well underway on the old stone hut in the top block. It is looking more and more like a ruins every day! Steve Holmes and his trainee stonemason crew from Otago Polytech are doing a great job. Rich. (Enjoy the pics from Robin).

Tags: Miners Hut, mishas vineyard, Rich Williams, Robin Dicey, Sauvignon Blanc, Spring Vines

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