..............Growers of medal winning certified organic and biodynamic wines, including Cowra Chardonnay, Semillon, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Merlot and Mourverdre, as well as signature blends such as Chardonnay-Semillon, Semillon-Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet-Shiraz-Merlot (Triple Blend)...........
Home arrow Farm Photo Galleryarrow Shiraz in spring

FARM PHOTO GALLERY

"Rosnay" is located in the foothills of the Central Ranges of New South Wales, Australia, about 330km (4.5 hours drive) west of Sydney and 200 km (2.5 hours drive) north of Canberra. At an elevation of about 330m above sea level, and with deep red clay soils and reliable water, it was chosen as an ideal site for a vineyard and olive grove by Richard and Florence Statham in 1995. Since 1997, it has been managed organically, and this gallery helps to tell the story.

This photo shows the ideal vineyard floor in mid to late spring. The grasses are mainly ryegrass and clover, which grow and are grazed by sheep during the winter, then grow longer during the spring before going to seed and "haying off" in the early summer. This system does not use any cultivation, so in mid-summer the soil is compltely covered in dead winter grasses which form a natural mulch protection for the soil. Mulch helps to retain moisture and provides natural nutrition to the vines as it breaks down over months and years.

Shiraz in spring
By Christmas the winter grasses have dried off. Grass seeds can be annoying, but during the hot months of January and February this natural mulch substantially reduces the soil temperature and the overall vineyard temperature. When the soil is not covered, due to cultivation or herbicides, it acts like a heat bank, abosorbing more heat and reflecting it back. Whilst this could help in cooler climates, in the Cowra wine region, this is not desirable. By January the small green berries in this photo will have begun to turn red, a process known as "veraison".

Shiraz in mid summer
<p>This chardonnay shoot has a &quot;Vine Moth&quot; caterpillar eating it. During the spring, best practice is to survey these insects for living and dead ones. Usually, the cadavres of dead caterpillars outnumber the living severalfold. The dead ones are usually sucked dry by predatory wasps, or have had eggs laid inside them to hatch and eat them from the inside. Therefore it is better not to kill those that are living as they help to maintain the background population of predatory, beneficial insects. The predators also have other food sources in the rich array of grasses, clovers and other &quot;weeds&quot; which grown underneath the vines. Rarely do the vine moths get out of control, and if they do it is usually after harvest anyway. </p><p>More of a concern to grape growers is the lightbrown apple moth, not for eating the leaves, but for burrowing into the young bunches and allowing late season fungal disease in. When these are around in sufficient numbers (so far only twice in ten years) a couple of sprays with a biological pesticide (germs which only kill young caterpillars) may be required. &nbsp;</p>

Chardonnay with pest insect
As per the previous photo, these are so many different insects in the organic vineyard that we are always finding new ones. It is estimated that only 3% of all insects are actually &quot;pests&quot;, while say 15% are beneficial (parasitic or predatory) and the rest, like the fly, are neutral. In this case, the simple fly takes a rest on the chardonnay. In the backgound, the red flowers of the bottlebrushes in the windbreak, also provide habitat for beneficial insects and birds.

Fly on Chardonnay
This photo, taken in December 2003, shows the common sight of a birds nest in the vines. During harvest (by hand or by machine), these are often destroyed, but are still an important part of the season life cycle of the small birds that inhabit the vineyard, such as native finches and robins. The rich insect life, resulting from the non-use of pesticides, herbicides or cultivation of weeds, provide an exciting menu. Exotic <br />pest birds such as starlings tend to nest in isolated trees rather than the vineyard, but the local populations of territorial magpeies and hawkes tend to keep them away. Whilst starlings have caused some losses we dont use bird nets as they only last a few years before they are landfill. Natural predators are a better defense, long term. Mice, reptiles, hares and wallabies also inhabit the vineyards.

Birds nest in shiraz
Following veraison in the first week of January, by February the red grapes are mostly coloured and accumulating sugar and flavour. There is no rush for this when you aim to make good wine. The slower the fruit ripens the better the acid balance and flavour profle. If the sugar increases too quickly, due to a heatwave, for example, the flavour may not be ripe at the time when the sugar is optimum (say 13 beaume, which leads to about 13% alcohol). The result of picking too early is green and unripe tannins which need fining with animal protein at the expense of flavour. Picking late results in high alcohol which also needs reducing with expensive filtration, blending with other wine, or (heaven forbid it in Cowra!) watering down the wine.

Shiraz grapes before harvest
<p>When Richard sold his old farm at Barraba, he said goodbye to about 30km of fencing in rough rocky country. When he decided to plant a vineyard, though, did he realise that there would be so much fencing to do there too? Most of the Rosnay vines are supported by a single cordon wire for the permanent wood, and two, three or even four movable wires for each year&#39;s new foliage. </p><p>Ten years ago, the viticultural fashion was canopy management, which usually means vertical shoot positioning to capture more sunlight. In about November, the wires are used to lift the new shoots high into the air. Today the movable wires around Cowra are rarely moved, because it is found to be better to let some of the shoots climb them, and some of them to hang down and partially shade the fruit. Sometimes, the eastern side is lifted and the western side is left to sprawl and provide more afternoon shade.</p>

Richard straining wires
<p>This photo was taken in Spring 2004 which was not a bad season. Richard and Sam are co-managers of the vineyard and grew many of the vines themselves from cuttings. They learnt most of what they know about organic viticulture directly from other organic vignerons, from TAFE college, from various viticultural consultants and input providers, from membership of Biodynamic Agriculture Australia, and from trial and error. </p><p>The plant in the foreground with purple flowers is Patterson&#39;s Curse, also known as Salvation Jane. It is a tap-rooted plant which means it brings nutrients to the surface, and when it has gone to seed and died its taproot creates a tunnel for worms and water. For this reason, no attempt is made to control this plant - it does more good than harm if you let it run its course. After a few years of good grazing by sheep in large numbers, it disappears anyway. </p>

Richard and Sam, Spring 2004
In the three seasons up to 2008, the NSW Department of Primary Industries conducted a trial of urban green waste mulch on about 8 rows of Rosnay merlot. The mulch was applied about 100mm deep and 600-800mm wide under the vines. The mulch had the &quot;fines&quot; screened out of it, and therefore was not acting as fertiliser, as much as a water conserver. In the rows where mulch was used, the yield was up to 30% higher, and water use was lower (ie about two irrigations a year were skipped on the mulched rows). In 2007 two seperate wines were made form mulched and unmulched vines, with the mulched vines producing better wine, according to the palate of Max Allen (wine writer). It is hoped that the whole blocks of Merlot, Chardonnay and Semillon will be mulched in this way over the next three years.

Richard inspecting mulch
This photo was taken in about May 2006, a time of year when there should be clover and ryegrass 15cm high after the autumn break. In 2006, and again in 2008, the autumn break was virtually non-existent. As a result of this, there was little or no feed to put the sheep onto, which means no nutrient cycles took place that winter. The 2007 vintage was about half that of 2006, due to this and the lack of subsoil moisture. Drip irrigation, because it only creates as &quot;wet sausage&quot; under the vines, does not compensate for such an extreme lack of rain.

Vintages 2006 and 2008 were dry
<p>In 2007 we hand picked the Mataro (Mourverdre) for Serio Carlei, in Victoria.&nbsp; He said he made one of his best Rose&#39;s ever out of Rosnay Mataro. </p><p>This variety is only grown on a small scale of about 0.5 hectares, but it is one of the toughest and most drought resistant varieties.&nbsp; It was planted to blend with Shiraz in small percentage, much as Viognier is use, but not as trendy! </p>

WWOOFer Sophie picking grapes
<p>As you can see from the green grass, in the 2005 season there was good rain, producing a record size crop of the best quality Semillon that Rosnay has produced. </p><p>We mostly mechanically harvest, rather than hand harvest, for several reasons. Harvesting in the heat of the day by hand can lead to oxidation and premature fermentation of the fruit. Harvesting in the cool of the night by machine allows the fruit to be picked, crushed and chilled in tank in less than one hour. This allows more control over the ferment and produces more consistent results for us. The wine is made at Windowrie Estate winery, just 3km down the road from Rosnay. Windowrie is the largest winery in the Cowra wine region and an excellent operation also producing great wines. &nbsp; </p>

Harvest 2005 Semillon
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 Next > End >>

Page 1 of 4
SEO by Artio