The first grapes to be picked are usually Semillon in
mid February, followed by Verdelho and Chardonnay with Shiraz, Barbera & Tempranillo finishing off the
season around mid March. Grapes are generally hand picked to ensure the
best are picked and the rest are left behind.
River Bank Vineyard:
planted with 3 hectares of Shiraz in 1995, this well drained vineyard
close to Wollombi Brook has produced award winning wines just about
every year (with the exception of the disastrous 2008 harvest). The soil
is a rich loam.
This vineyard is also home to a hectare of Verdelho - planted after a
visit from famous Hunter vigneron Murray Tyrrell who suggested this was
the ideal variety, and it seems he got it right. A part
of this block was originally planted with Cabernet Sauvignon but in 2008 these
vines were grafted over to Tempranillo - our first harvest was in 2010.
This is also the home of our Chardonnay planting, again just over an
acre.
Quince Tree Vineyard:
adjacent
to River Bank Vineyard but further away from the brook, this is home to 2
hectares of Semillon and a hectare of Barbera. The soil is a well drained gravely
loam. These varieties do better with less vigorous growth and less soil
fertility.
Harrowby Vineyard:
this is
quite different to the other two blocks, the land slopes up from the river
bank towards the old milking shed, and as this part of the property has seen
cattle standing around waiting to be milked for over 40 years the soil is
rather fertile! This is home to some of the best Shiraz in the Hunter. The
underlying soil is fertile red-brown basalt, highly sought after by wine
growers.
| All the vineyards are managed by a conventional Vertical
Shoot Position trellising system and have drip irrigation. Yields are
kept to around one to two tonnes to the acre to ensure the best
possible wine rather than the highest possible yield.
Much of the fruit grown at Mount Broke vineyard is sold to other
producers - most notably our winemakers Ian & Suzanne Little for
their own brand - Olivine.
We also have a BOM automatic weather station located at the vineyard
so we can monitor the rainfall form anywhere with internet connections. |
Two weeks later
|
