There is a time in every vineyard’s life when it is time to say goodbye!
"You say yes, I say no
"You say yes, I say no
You say stop and I say go, go, go Oh, no
You say goodbye and I say hello Hello, hello
I don't know why you say goodbye
I say hello Hello, hello
I don't know why you say goodbye
I say hello"
These lyrics written by Paul McCartney sum up our very emotional decision to take out the sauvignon blanc vines on this 25 year old E-facing vineyard. Economically we should have taken this decision 5 years ago! We have learnt how to coax reasonable flavours from these vines, but at less than 5 tonnes/ha, and with the gravelly soil better suited to Cabernet Sauvignon, it was time for the vineyard to bow out gracefully.
As we still weren’t harvesting after the weekend rain, I took my last own ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ of block 6 ( on the slope above the cellar) before the harvest team cut off all the shoots in preparation to remove the vines, roots and all. Joel then took the mulcher along the rows, which cut the foliage into a fine mulch. The photographs show how well this works when the shoots are still green. Had I waited another few weeks it would have mulched the canes with difficulty.
One of the most important points to remember with leaf-roll virus control is to remove all the roots and leave the ground fallow for a few years. Failing to do this could result in the re-infestation of leaf-roll in the new young vineyard due to terrestrial species of vine louse (mealy-bug) that over-winter on the remaining roots.
These lyrics written by Paul McCartney sum up our very emotional decision to take out the sauvignon blanc vines on this 25 year old E-facing vineyard. Economically we should have taken this decision 5 years ago! We have learnt how to coax reasonable flavours from these vines, but at less than 5 tonnes/ha, and with the gravelly soil better suited to Cabernet Sauvignon, it was time for the vineyard to bow out gracefully.
As we still weren’t harvesting after the weekend rain, I took my last own ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ of block 6 ( on the slope above the cellar) before the harvest team cut off all the shoots in preparation to remove the vines, roots and all. Joel then took the mulcher along the rows, which cut the foliage into a fine mulch. The photographs show how well this works when the shoots are still green. Had I waited another few weeks it would have mulched the canes with difficulty.
One of the most important points to remember with leaf-roll virus control is to remove all the roots and leave the ground fallow for a few years. Failing to do this could result in the re-infestation of leaf-roll in the new young vineyard due to terrestrial species of vine louse (mealy-bug) that over-winter on the remaining roots.
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