As soon as September 1st hit, a friend on Facebook popped a post at 5am saying “Spring is Sprung. Frost protection windmills are spinning”. Crumbs! Where has the year gone?
Just days before, Simon Nunn’s from Coopers Creek out in West Auckland, had posted a photo of buds bursting on their pinot gris vines. Is it that time already? Our winemakers and grape growers are again staring down the barrel of a nailbiting 200-odd days ahead until the harvest and for the coming couple of months, frost is a major fret-factor for most of our wine regions.
A nasty frost can damage the new growth on a vine, like those tiny, fuzzy buds that hold all the material needed to form bunches of grapes and the shoots which produce the leaves that’ll harness the suns energy to help the vine be all it can be. So when Jack Frost gatecrashes your growing season, what do you do? Huge Wind machines are a common feature in vineyard areas where frosts tend to do the most damage. They mix the warmer air inversion layer (which typically occurs at about 14m above ground) with the cooler air around the vines, hindering the frost from setting and burning the delicate plant material. Helicopters are also sometimes hired (at great cost) to fly above the vineyards to intensify this airflow and hopefully save the new growth.
Overhead sprinklers are also used and work on the basis of the heat of fusion, where water changing from the liquid phase to solid (ice) phase releases a small amount of heat. Rotating sprinklers rain a constant supply of water over the vines. The continuously freezing water on the buds and shoots releases heat and raises the temperature of grapevine tissues hence protecting them.
So if you’re someone annoyed by the dull “thud thud thud” sounds coming from vineyards near you this Spring then understand it’s an emergency measure, it doesn’t happen every night, they’re simply saving their valuable crop.
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Crowded House Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2015 $24 ★★★★
Super-juicy, lemony and loaded with passionfruit and crisp peach, pepper and basil flavours; this is a refreshing, lip-smackingly crunchy example that’s simply yummy. Great length of flavour too.
Black Estate Damsteep Waipara Pinot Noir 2014 $42 ★★★★
The Damsteep vineyard is in organic conversion, which sits nicely with the ethos of pretty much everything at Black Estate. There’s a deeply earthy, very ‘connected’ character in this wine which boasts aromas of sandalwood, cherry, funky spices, smoke, meaty mushroom and truffle. The tannins are present, but ultra-easy, making for a slippery-smooth mouthfeel.
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Why wait unti the weekend to treat yourself? No matter whether you’re after something spicy, nicey or pricey, the answer is here…
Taylors Clare Valley Shiraz 2014 $18 ★★★½
This is a classic style of affordable shiraz oozing bright berryfruit and violet aromas and a mouthfeel tht’s soft, warming and mellow with saucy, plummy notes and hints of dark chocolate to finish. Dangerously easy to drink and easy on the wallet. Widely available
Rockferry 3rd Rock Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2015 $25 ★★★★½
The Hutchison family own certified organic vineyards in Central Otago and in Marlborough, which is where this snappy sauvignon blanc hails from. Quite different in style from your usual Marlborough sav’s, this wine has deeply complex smoke, peppery watercress and basil aromas, which lead to a multi-layered, herbaceous mineral-rich palate. It’s definitely a sauvignon designed with food in mind, so have a glass handy next time you’re serving classic, creamy, smoked fish pie.
www.rockferry.co.nz
Henschke Innes Vineyard Adelaide Hills Pinot Gris 2013 $40 ★★★★★
This is an ultra-clean, elegant, crunchy, quince and pear-packed pinot gris with a soft, citrus edge, white nectarine notes on the palate and a stylishly dry intensity on the finish. I found something different in every sip of this gorgeous wine, which I think is possibly the best pinot gris I’ve tasted from the lucky country. It’s next level.
www.glengarrywines.co.nz
