Grey Ridge Vineyard

So, how many times does firewood keep you warm?

I figure that it's at least 7 times: 1) chop down the tree, 2) chop up the tree, into rounds, 3) split the rounds, 4) haul and stack the firewood, 5) bring the firewood indoors, 6) light the fire (and enjoy with a Grey Ridge Vineyard wine) and then 7) take out the ashes.

While waiting for the vines to start growing a big job has been to get firewood for the fire. The firewood in the shed is for winter next year; the firewood under the trees is for the year after.

We are always looking for more trees, especially 'wilding pines', which are a big problem here in Central Otago. A big thank-you to Thyme Hill Vineyard for the wilding pines that will keep us warm in the winters to come.

So today Winter is back with a vengeance - snow down to 300m on the Dunstan Range. We are at 220m so no snow here. But we have advanced budswell on the grapes and so we now need to run the frost fighting system (water sprinklers) to keep the emerging shoots safe.

Lots of interrupted nights in the forecast to start the frost fighting system, at least until the middle of November. We normally have between 15 and 20 frost events per season.

Come for a visit and see for yourself Grey Ridge Vineyard

Early morning views like this still bring joy to my heart ❤️
I realised the other day that I have been silent for almost a year 😳 because I got out of the habit ☹️
And I thought you might be bored with the same old photos, AND life became super busy with the Cellar Door and our Vineyard experience for guests in our accommodation!
But no more excuses - I am going to resume showcasing our gorgeous vineyard😆😍

It was a great feeling to complete three major jobs on the vineyard last Friday. We finished the pruning (after 2 months work), the tie-down (after 2 weeks work) and the mulching (after 2 days work) all on the same day! We are early this year, maybe we are getting faster? Next jobs are a variety of maintenance activities, but otherwise we are ready for spring!

We are also running a special on our wine - contact us via e-mail ([email protected]) for details.

The vineyard is now looking very neat and tidy after being trimmed. The vines grow too long and need to be trimmed back so that the energy goes into growing great tasting grapes and not excessive amount of stalk and leaf. Grape wine tastes a lot better than stalky leaf wine! The trimmer handles a full row in one pass and requires careful driving and lots of concentration to get the job done. It takes about 6 hours to trim the entire vineyard and needs to be done after the wires have been lifted and clipped together (see previous post).

Lots of people are visiting the Cellar Door this summer - give us a call to arrange a tasting and platter experience! 🍷