Fall in NZ

WELL, it is turning fall in NZ and I sure missed not being there for our harvest this year. We are still stuck in Nashville due to Sandra's mom being ill. Fall is stunning in our vineyard. Note in the two photos of our vineyard from this time last year to see the lovely colors. Our label reflects why you would see driving by our roadside in late May or Early JUne. The pale orange grapes are the Cab Franc and the brighter orange ones closest to our chimney are Malbec. I think Malbec could be the official grape for the Tennessee VOLS.

We have about 2 acres each of Malbec and Cab Franc and this year we good really good cropping from both grapes. Now that the crush is finished and the juice is fermenting in tanks, we can tally up volumes. WE have 2957 liters of Malbec and 2108 liters of our Cab Franc. If that was all blended together as our future 08 blend we would be able to produce about 6800 bottles or 560 cases. So, we now let our winemaker work his magic and get the barrels ready for the wine that will soon be pumped to start the aging process.

We will follow the progress of the wine carefully over the next year as it is barrel aged in French oak. Finally in Sept of 09 we will get it bottled and off to retailers in NZ and Tennessee. It takes a patient person to wait out all this delay in the true wine making process. Me? I am very impatient by nature.
What about that third photo? Well, our son, Brandon, took that one earlier this year while treking on the South Island of NZ. Gives you a sample of why we love the GOD ZONE so much.

Happy Mothers Day to you all. All of us either are or have a mother. So lets celebrate with a glass of good red wine---Such as Hawks Nest Orchard Block on Sun

More soon;

Dr JIm and Miss Sandra