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7.11.2009 Cool Weather Continues
The coolish spring weather has continued, with October 2009 the coolest since 1992.
When combined with Septembers low average temperature, this will almost certainly mean a later than usual flowering. It has also shown in a lot of uneven lateral growth on the canes, with stronger, early growth at the ends and near the head of plants suppressing growth in the middle and in some cases stopping bud burst altogether.
With long term predictions being for the average to below average temperatures to continue through summer, we may be in for a long season!
Cane on right showing suppressed growth in middle compared to normal
cane on left
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5.11.2009 Medal for Riesling
Vicarage Lane's 2008 Canterbury Riesling was awarded a bronze medal at the recent Royal New Zealand Show International Aromatic Wine competition.
Consignments of this appealing wine, from the Waipara region of North Canterbury, have recently been shipped to Finland, where they will be available in the restaurants on Viking Lines cruise ships and to the UK where they will be available through or latest importer, Northamptonshire based Green Door Wine Company.
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16.10.2009 Stop Start Bud Burst
The vineyards have over the last few weeks seen buds start to open very quickly due to a warm spell, then stop almost as quickly, as temperatures have plummeted.
Having experienced the warmest August for more than 80 years then a cold start and warmer end to September, and a cold start to October buds have not really known what to do and growth to date can be best described as patchy.
There were also 9 ground frosts in September (compared to none in 2008), one of which caused very small amounts of damage to a few young, tender Chardonnay shoots. This was not a problem in the Sauvignon Blanc which starts it's development 2-3 weeks later.
The long term effect of this variable weather will not be known for a few weeks, as a warm end to October and start to November could still produce an early flowering and a few more cool weeks a very late one.
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8.10.2009 Vicarage Lane Awarded Sustainable Status
Vicarage Lane Wines' Marlborough vineyard has been recognised as a sustainable producing vineyard following it's first Sustainable Wine New Zealand (SWNZ) audit.
The SWNZ system is a pioneering set of industry standards that have been developed by the New Zealand wine industry with the aim of keeping the country's clean, green image, by protecting the environmental integrity of their wine production
To this end SWNZ provides a framework for companies to continually work towards improving all aspects of their performance in terms of environmental, social and economic sustainability in both the vineyard and the winery.
Although most steps of Vicarage Lane's wine production already employed sustainable processes, some small tweaks have been made and targets set to ensure an even greener future for following generations.
With Vicarage Lane's contract winery already SWNZ accredited this system ensures the complete process from vineyard to wine encompasses true environmental integrity.
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11.7.2009 NZ Wine Announces 2009 Vintage Info
- Total vintage 285,000 tonnes
- Very good quality expected after favourable March and April weather
- Strong growth in exports for 2008/09 (+28%)
- Marlborough harvest down 1% due to smaller Pinot Noir harvest and close management of Sauvignon Blanc volume
- Hawke's Bay up 20%, a return to 'normal' levels after a low 2008 vintage
The 2009 New Zealand vintage is marginally above pre-harvest expectation for a crop of 275,000 tonnes, but is in-line with Winegrowers' view that the harvest would not be bigger than 2008. Producing area in 2009 is estimated to have been 31,000 ha, up 2000 ha on 2008.
New Zealand Winegrowers' CEO, Philip Gregan, said the industry had worked hard in the past year to keep volumes at last year's levels to maintain quality.
He also said the elements had been kind in 2009, which would contribute to a quality vintage.
"We enjoyed a very good growing season this year. Some early humidity and weather pressure in February was replaced by a superb March and April. This meant our growers and wineries were able to pick the grapes at optimal ripeness."
"The record 2008 vintage has driven export growth of 28% for the year to date meaning that we will achieve $1 billion of wine exports in 2009, a year earlier than forecast. Despite the strong growth in exports, there has been downward pressure on prices in the short-term given the global recession and market conditions. The prospect of some outstanding wines from the 2009 vintage will help underpin our price premium," added Gregan.
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31.5.2009 Winter Pruning Complete.
In a reversal from recent seasons, Vicarage Lane has completed the 'winter' pruning of it's nearly 15,000 vines before the latest vintage is even complete.
While in previous seasons the vines were pruned back to the four canes used in the VSP canopy system late in August, this year has seen a much earlier start.
With staff available for early season work and positive experiences from pruning in the late autumn last year on other blocks, the decision was taken to make the change.
"Latest research shows that either early or late pruning gives a slight delay in spring bud burst, and our own experience confirms this, so we took the decision to get stuck in at Vicarage Lane right away", said vineyard owner John Kennard.
"We've seen no adverse reactions from the other vines, and in fact some positives with the delayed bud burst when we have late frosts, so it's great to have it all done so soon".
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25.5.2009 Team Green Collect The Spoils.
Team Green rally driver Hayden Paddon and his co-driver, Vicarage Lane partner John Kennard, collected the spoils of their successful 2008 NZ Rally Championship campaign last Saturday evening at the annual MotorSport NZ Awards dinner in Wellington.
In addition to the overall New Zealand Rally Champion driver and co-driver titles, and the NZ Junior Rally Champion title, Hayden also had the privilege of being awarded the Rally Founders Trophy for the second year in succession.
This trophy, which is seen as New Zealand's top rallying award, recognises the rally driver who performs with distinction during the rally season, either nationally, internationally, or both, has a sportsmanlike attitude towards the sport and others, and displays the qualities of a true sporting ambassador.
A jubilant Paddon enthused "it's a true honour to receive this award and especially to have our name on it alongside the late great Possum Bourne, someone that I have always looked up to."
Paddon Direct Team Green website
Motorsport New Zealand website
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23.5.2009 Medals for Vicarage Lane in UK.
May 2009 has seen Vicarage Lane receive more medals for it's wines, this time at the prestigious International Wine Challenge in the UK.
The companies 2007 Marlborough Pinot Noir received a bronze medal, with the judges describing it as having "quite a light nose, with crisp bright morello cherries leading to a similar palate, which is also quite dry and crunchy, bounded by spicy tannin".
In the white wines category the 2007 Marlborough Chardonnay was similarly awarded, with judges finding "leafy aromas, green apple fruit balanced by crisp acidity, floral accent – a pretty wine".
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23.5.2009 Up and Down Start to Team Green's Rally Season.
Vicarage Lane supported Team Green and driver Hayden Paddon have started the 2009 international rally season with a mixed bag of results from their first four events.
Rounds 1 & 2 of the FIA Pacific Cup competition, run in New Caledonia and Queensland, Australia, recently, both produced frustrating mechanical problems for the team.
In New Caledonia a transmission failure early in the event was compounded by the cancellation of Day 2 of the rally due to severe rain and flooding, while in Australia a broken rear differential, then a broken suspension arm only a few kilometres from home, left the team in second place in the Cup, rather than on the top step of the podium, where they'd been prior to the latter problem.
Meanwhile, the New Zealand Championship has seen a reverse of these fortunes, with the team finishing second in the opening round in the Hawkes Bay, and one step higher up the podium on the latest round, in Otago last weekend. These results leave Paddon, and co-driver John Kennard, the defending New Zealand champions, just 10 points behind husband and wife pairing of Richard and Sara Mason.
The team returns to competition in both the Pacific Cup and NZ championship on 06-07 June, when they will contest Rally Whangarei in the picturesque far north of New Zealand.
Paddon Direct Team Green website
APRC Rally Whangarei website
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2.5.2009 Gold in Finland!
In a continuation of it's excellent reception in the Finnish market, Vicarage Lane's 2008 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc has received a gold medal in it's class at the countries recent Wine of the Year awards.
"We have always known that the Finns were enjoying our wines, but to achieve such an award in our first full season in the market it's very gratifying" said director John Kennard.
Importer Wennerco is doing a fantastic job, which is also reflected in the companies only red wine, it's 2006 Pinot Noir receiving a bronze medal in the same awards.
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> 2.5.2009 Harvest 2009 Is Complete.
After an exceptionally wet February, then a very dry March and an Indian summer to end the season in April, Vicarage Lane has completed it's 2009 harvest.
With a seemingly endless series of long, dry autumn days and cool clear nights, the season at first taste looks to be one that will produce an even better vintage than those of recent years.
Juice from the harvested fruit is now in the beginning stages of ferment, so another few weeks will be needed to see the true characters of the vintage, but initial impressions are all positive.
As with all things in the winery, time will tell...
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24.12.2008 Happy Flowering and Merry Christmas!
Christmas eve sees flowering complete, with bunches set and berries beginning to form.
The flowering period for the Chardonnay was warm and windy, ideal conditions, while the Sauvignon had a small amount of rain in the middle, which appears to have had a slight affect on a very small number of bunches.
However, bunch numbers are high after a fantastic warm bud initiation period in December last year, so the few berries that may be lost will be of no consequence.
Since flowering there has been an unusually high amount of rain, 120mm so far in the month, while temperatures have stayed warm, which is ideal weather for berry development. So it looks like we will see some big fat berries on large bunches come the autumn!
Before that, we wish everyone a very merry Christmas and the happiest of New Years, and to all our friends and colleagues in Finland, Hyvää Joulua!
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