SOILS WITH A FULL TUMMY & WARM SPRING DAYS

After a dry summer and autumn the Mudgee region has received wonderful rain this winter culminating in 80mm rain in the last week.

The vineyard sits on a nice hill at just under 500 metres above mean sea level where the ground is wet but not flooded like the Cudgegong river flats below. The rain has filled the soil profile to the brim. In technical terms this event is described as “field capacity” which means the soil has a full tummy and any more rain runs off. There are lots of smiling farmers and grape growers at the moment because for the first time is over a decade the dams are all full and the subterranean aquifers are recharging.

As the day temperatures start to warm the topsoil will dry out which means our boots won’t get saturated in the mornings as we complete the process of tying down canes on to the cordon wires. Further down the profile the moisture will remain providing beautiful spring moisture to our very old vines as they burst in to life.

The buds on our shiraz are starting to soften so we will expect budburst to occur in the last week of this month – this is a very exciting time! It is a bit like the starting gun in a long distant race! Out will come the tractor and the spray rig in order to provide the new leaves with organically certified sprays to protect them from fungal diseases.

Currently, the base of the vines abounds in clover 25cm high that has responded to the recent application of Guano fertiliser which is made from seagull droppings - so it is about as organic as you can get! 

As the season progresses, we will run a mulching mower through the vineyard so the clovers and grasses don’t compete with the vines for moisture. Once mulched, the cut herbage will breakdown and in the process recycle essential minerals back into the soil into the waiting arms of the grape vine feeder roots. 

Spring has sprung really well – the new vintage is off and racing.

2016 Vintage Report

We had a cracker of a vintage this year. Despite a touch of early hail damage, some pesky birds, and a dash of rain in January, the vines were in wonderful shape during the ripening phase in February and come harvest, they were brimming with well structured bunches and plump, fully coloured berries... all early indicators of some good wine to come. This year's harvest is our 3rd under the organic management regime that was implemented back in 2013 and so far it seems to be working well for us. We managed to pick a whopping 7.5 tonnes of grapes during harvest this year, with most picked by hand. This was to minimise damage to our 48 year-old vines, and allow us more control over which grapes we use in our wines. Like John West, we believe it's the grapes we reject that'll make our wines the best! Three months on, the winemaking process is in full swing and our 2016 vintage of wine looks to be in good shape.

Jacob Stein (YEATES Winemaker), Sandy Yeates (YEATES Vigneron) & Mike De Garis (Wine Consultant) in the vineyard.

Earlier in the year wine-pro Mike DeGaris agreed to help us out a little with the wine. Mike went through Roseworthy College studying wine science and has impressive credentials as a winemaker, wine judge and in the last decade, wine consultant. He has already had a big impact on techniques to refine our 2015 shiraz and together with Jacob's magic touch, we dare say our 2016 vintage may just be the best yet. Watch this space.