New Website goes live - www.alburyvineyard.com

We are delighted with our new website www.alburyvineyard.com which has just gone live. Developed by Dave Nyss of d2, it provides more information about the vineyard and an improved user interface. It will also allow customers to purchase the wine on-line when we release this years vintage next May.

The new site has information on stockists, including local wine merchants and restaurants who have our wines on their lists. Sadly most have already sold out!

You can also sign-up for email updates which will including blog updates and a quarterly newsletter.

Hope you like it. Comments welcome - good or bad!

Horn Silica (501)

We were up early this morning preparing biodynamic preparation 501 which is a Horn Silica spray. It is most effective if sprayed at sunrise, when the dew is still on the ground, so we met at 5.30am to prepare the mixture and Alex was on the vineyard spraying soon after 6.30am!

Horn Silica is used during the growing season to enhance growth and maturation. It is sprayed on the vine canopy to enhance the photosynthesis of the leaves to improve growth and maturation. It helps to stabilise plant metabolism and increases nutritive value. It can also strengthen the vines against attack by fungus.

It is prepared by making a paste using finely ground quartz crystals and water. This is placed in cow horn and buried during the Spring. Small amounts of the crystals are then dissolved into water and sprayed on the vineyard. The crystals enhance the effectiveness of light on the vines and so it is best sprayed on sunny days.

Downy Mildew

Downy Mildew "oilspots"

Unfortunately we have found evidence of Downy Mildew on the vineyard in Blocks A and C. Initial symptoms are usually seen on the leaves, which show yellow "oilspots" on the leaf surface. It is caused by the fungus Plasmopara viticola and is potentially a devastating disease as it can spread very rapidly through the vineyard causing the foliage to die as well as infecting the grape bunches.

Downy Mildew infected grapes

Downy Mildew only occurs in specific wetness and temperature conditions. There has to be 10mm or more of rainfall with a temperature of 10C over a 24 hour period (often referred to as 10:10:24 conditions) with rain towards the end of the 24 hour period followed by several hours of leaf wetness. It spreads when overnight conditions are 13C or more and several hours of leaf wetness occur after dawn. The fungus also produces white "downy" patches on the underside of the leaves.

The only organic approved fungicides effective against Downy Mildew are based on copper hydroxide and copper sulphate. However we are restricted to using small amounts and they will only help prevent the fungus from spreading and won't eradicate existing infections.

Alex will be spraying the effected areas with copper today and the rest of the vineyard with potassium bicarbonate which may also help.

Not a good weather year for the vineyard!

Albury Celebrates with Silent Pool Rosé

Our new gazebo made its first appearance at the Albury Produce Show on Saturday. We were very pleased with the gazebo but Albury residents were even more impressed with our Silent Pool Rosé.

Most folk had heard that a local wine had been served on the Royal Barge as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations and were keen to taste it for themselves. Over 170 people tasted the wine and our remaining stock was sold out within a couple of hours - a resounding success.

Fingers crossed for some good weather next week to help fruit set followed by a hot late summer so that we have a good harvest and a repeat performance next year.

Shoot Tipping

Shoot Tipping

Shoot tipping is part of canopy management that involves removing the top of the growth tip of a shoot. This temporarily changes the flow direction of nutrients and water and therefore encourages lateral shoot growth, which in turn will provide additional leaf surface which increases photosynthesis during fruit ripening.

This practice would normally be done after fruit set but Peter Hayes has advised us that that vine tipping may also divert carbohydrate to flowers and help the fruit set process. It won't overcome poor flower development or reinstate aborted flowers but where vigor is high may help. With the recent poor weather we need all the help we can get!

Rain rain go away

St Swithin's Holy Well

We don't have a single day in the next 10 that is forecast to be without rain - in July! This isn't good news on the vineyard  as it is the season for flowing and pollination which, to be effective, requires warm dry and sunny days.

Flowering is between one and two weeks behind this year as a result of the poor cooler weather in May and June. Some of the Seyval have flowered but there is no cap fall yet on the Pinot and Chardonnay. We can only hope that the sun shines on St. Swithin's day (15th July) and that 40 days of sun continue thereafter. Alex and I will be doing a sun dance later today!

SEVA Awards

Winemaker Ulrich Hoffmann

Last night our Silent Pool Rosé was award a bronze medal at the South East Vineyards Association (SEVA) awards ceremony. This was quite an achievement given that it is our very first wine. Congratulations to Alex, who lovingly nurtured the vines to give us great quality grapes in a difficult year, and Ulrich who turned them into a lovely wine.

There were no gold medals this year, which probably reflects that the judges are now assessing the wines by international standards: overall there were 7 silver medals, 29 bronze and 17 highly commended. The chair of the judges was Andy Howard who heads up the Marks and Spencer wine department. Silver medals were awarded to the following wines:

   Plumpton Estate’s Dean Blush Brut (NV)

   Gusbourne’s Estate’s Blanc de Blancs (2007)

   Bolney Wine Estate’s Pinot Noir (2011)

   Biddenden Vineyard’s Gribble Bridge Rosé (2011)

   Denbies Wine Estate’s Ranmore Hill (2009)

   Hill Farm Vineyard’s Hill Farm Dry White (2011)

   Sandhurst Vineyard’s Sandhurst Bacchus (2011)

We tasted these wines during dinner and they were all fabulous. Peter Morgan from Plumpton collected the best wine trophy for The Dean Brut Blush, and Gusbourne's Blanc de Blanc won the cup for second place.