Vineyard Notes

September 2006

Harvest starts with the earlier varieties coming in during the 2nd week of September. Siegerrebe followed by Madeleine Angevine. Everything is looking good at the moment for an excellent vintage.

Things to consider:

Harvest intervals for spray applications. Stop using Sulphur four weeks prior to picking to avoid problems in the winery. Rovral flo can be used up to 14 days before harvest to prevent Botrytis
Final de-leafing run helps speed up harvest, and ensures the bunches are easier to see.
Consider a very tight mow, or burn off spray of inter row grass to reduce humidity in the vineyard and help reduce botrytis infections.
Start the sugar, total acidity and pH analysis of the grapes and plot your graphs to assess when harvesting will begin for each varieity. You can usually plot with a reasonable level of accuracy 3 - 4 weeks in advance. Past experience will give you a good idea of when to expect to get the pickers in though!

<<back to resources page			Vineyard Notes September 2006 Harvest starts with the earlier varieties coming in during the 2nd week of September. Siegerrebe followed by Madeleine Angevine. Everything is looking good at the moment for an excellent vintage. Things to consider: Harvest intervals for spray applications. Stop using Sulphur four weeks prior to picking to avoid problems in the winery. Rovral flo can be used up to 14 days before harvest to prevent Botrytis Final de-leafing run helps speed up harvest, and ensures the bunches are easier to see. Consider a very tight mow, or burn off spray of inter row grass to reduce humidity in the vineyard and help reduce botrytis infections. Start the sugar, total acidity and pH analysis of the grapes and plot your graphs to assess when harvesting will begin for each varieity. You can usually plot with a reasonable level of accuracy 3 - 4 weeks in advance. Past experience will give you a good idea of when to expect to get the pickers in though!