We’ve Found a Bigger Tractor
September 26th 2009, by Gavin
After the debacle of our tractor going up in smoke as it struggled with a trailer full of grapes, coming back from our newly leased vineyards up the road, I managed to find a chap with a slightly bigger one. Thierry also has a very fine trailer to go with it (apparently there are only six as big as this yellow one in the whole of the Gironde), which is handy as our singed effort is being repaired. Nelly may not be tall, but she can hardly reach the step of the John Deere. Unfortunately it’s all only on loan.
Tractor’s on Fire
September 24th 2009, by Gavin
Another mini-disaster movie. Maybe it’s just not our year…
The Quest for Vines
September 23rd 2009, by Gavin
Given that we’d lost most of our 2009 crop (and a fair chunk of 2010) to hail in May, we could either have thrown in the towel, or gone in search of more vineyards to buy, or take under lease. We were tempted by option A, but umpteen, welcome messages of support from customers - some on this site - persuaded us to get off our butts.
If we’d been in, say, New Zealand, we’d simply have gone out and found some grapes to make up the 80% loss. It would have been up to us - not the State - to ensure that the quality is good enough to go into our ‘brand’: about 70% of the grapes that go into Villa Maria’s consistently good wines, for example, come from contract growers.
Hail at Bauduc - the Sequel
September 21st 2009, by Gavin
A 5 minute video update on the state of our vineyards at harvest time, 4 months on from the devastating hailstorms in May.
Night Harvest at Bauduc
September 20th 2009, by Gavin
After some handpicking fun at the start of the harvest, it’s now down to business.
For the past five vintages we’ve harvested the white grapes - and the reds for rosé - by machine, in the small, wee hours of the morning. Early, chilly starts make for zippy, fresh grapes, even if we ourselves look a bit doggy at the end of the day. So you’ll be pleased to know that we don’t feature in this 5 minute clip, which might be of interest to wine lovers who have never seen harvesting machines at work.
This 4 hectare (10 acre) block of Sauvignon Blanc was the only white parcel at the château to produce any reasonable amount of grapes following the hail in May - and the grapes from here have always gone into our Bordeaux Blanc Sec. But the yield from this more protected part of the vineyard was still only 20 hectolitres (2000 litres) per hectare, way down on the maximum quota allowed in 2009 of 65 hl (6500 l)/ha.
Harvest Cuts: up to 15% off your Basket
September 19th 2009, by Gavin
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