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 Development |
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Originally planted in 2001 as a 2 hectare block of Sauvignon Blanc vines, Vicarage Lane’s own vineyard underwent major development during the 2003 growing season, with the acquisition of a further 4 hectares of bare land and the planting of some 10770 new grafted Sauvignon Blanc plants.
Initial work on the project involved removal of the existing pasture, deep ripping to break up any compaction in the underlying soils, and the application of fertilizer along with slow release weed control before planting.
The irrigation system was also extended from a single zone to include 4 zones incorporating both the existing and new vines.
Initial growth from the plants in the warm, dry Marlborough climate was very strong, despite a wide spread drought in New Zealand's South island. Plants had reached 1.8-2.0m of cane growth by the end of the 03-04 growing season and, while dormant in the winter, a single fruiting cane was laid down ready for spring growth to begin.
This rate of growth was mirrored in the following seasons, with one additional cane being laid on the maturing vines each season until a full crop was produced from the mature four cane VSP pruned vines in 2008. Future seasons will see a similar 4 cane pruning system maintained.
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