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Sunday, June 9, 2013

Picking Reds

In one day we picked Tempranillo, Muscat, Shiraz and Merlot. Tempranillo is a great grape for picking. Good large bunches with pronounced stems easy to find and cut. It doesn't take long to fill the bin.

My theory that west side bunches are always riper went out the window until I realised that the wide bitumen surfaced road beside the west end of the roads has probably had a pronounced effect on the ripening, especially during those stinking hot days last month. We are picking a bit early because the heavy rain (180 mm) had caused havoc with botrytis breaking out. We were careful to select only clean bunches. This could be another low harvest year for this vineyard.

The Pinot Noir has been going for 30 days and the skins have still not sunk. Can’t stand it any longer. Pressed 16 litres of dark juice. Using French oak and will add some American oak as it settles. While the press was dirty the Shiraz was pressed as the skins were not rising anymore. The shiraz was on skins for 18 days.

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