Vintage 2009
The District comes alive with the birth of the next vintage.
It's 6.00 am and the owners of the Canberra District Wineries are crunching through their vineyards in the crisp, cool morning air.
Sound carries easily in the early mornings, and you can easily hear the gentle pattering of grapes as they tumble into the hoppers.
The sound of tractors rumbling is mixed with the occasional trill and boom of bird scarers and the swish of the nets being removed from the vines compete with the snap of cluster stems under the knife.
The ethereal looking white nets are being slowly lifted off the vines, like a giant wedding veil trailing down a leafy aisle.
These are the sights and sounds of the annual wine harvest, an experience lived every autumn by the wineries on the doorstep of the nation's Capital.
The Canberra story is in contrast with many other Australian wine districts, who reported heat stressed vines, hail damage and large quantities of grapes destroyed. An estimated record production of nearly 5000 tonnes is expected from the Canberra District's mature vines, many 20 + years old.
The past six months have been very busy here at Capital Wines. We have been working on upgrades at the Kyeema Winery and are now in the full
swing of vintage. This is an exciting time as we literally see the 'fruits of our labour'!
Our own vineyard survived the heat wave - actually it fared very well - mainly due to keeping up with the irrigation on the very hot days. A substantial investment in deep mulch was also a big help and protected us from too much water loss. With drippers under the mulch the vine root zone was able to be kept wet and the leaves cool during this crucial time.
The reds are bubbling away in the open fermenters and the chardonnay bubbles in the barriques. The smell of oak is prominent and the tight grained wood is a rustic contrast to the rows of shiny stainless steel tanks. The tempranillo is the most extraordinary rich purple and in the open fermenter smells just like a jar of black jelly beans! This is an exciting wine for us. The 2007 (the first vintage) is getting rave reviews. There is a small amount of this wonderful wine left.
I love vintage - the winery is a buzz of activity and the sights and smells really do touch your soul. I am not sure if it's the romance of winemaking - the old traditions followed by winemakers for thousands of years or if it's the intense satisfaction of growing and creating something.
The 2009 Kyeema fruit is just stunning. The chardonnay and tempranillo were first off, followed by merlot, viognier, cabernet franc (for Rosé) and then shiraz.
The shiraz has come in text book perfect. It looks like the beautiful boxed fruit you receive in those gourmet fruit deliveries. The Kyeema Vineyard, is renowned as one of the District's best. In the past, the Kyeema Vineyard as set record fruit prices for Canberra District shiraz.
The ripeness, taste and balance of the grapes, at picking, is the key indicator for how a wine might shape up. But we shall have to wait about 18 months to see the product of this exceptional shiraz. In the meantime, wine enthusiasts can still enjoy our 2007 vintage and the 2008 when it is released later this year.
Jennie
< News Archive
|
