Spring in the vineyards

Heading into the thick of spring, and a crucial part of the vine growth season, we speak to Kate Nickels our Viticultural Technical Officer about what's going on in the vineyard at the moment:

"Things are really rocketing along here in Margaret River! The under-vine clovers are flourishing, particularly in our Tempranillo vineyard (pictured) and doing a great job outcompeting and suppressing weeds.

"Snail pressure is very low after the long dry spell through summer, which is a lovely reprieve after a couple of seasons of high populations.

"We will be spreading out our compost starting next week. This is a special moment as the grape will have officially gone full circle! From berries to marc to compost, which we put straight back into the vineyard.

"We are adding a little mycology into our soils this week. With the wet mornings and overcast weather it's the perfect conditions to establish soil fungal populations. The compost will also help to boost this immensely, as well as add microbes and provide a habitat for healthy soil biology.

"Our cover crops have been mulched back to allow vines full access to soil nutrients, as they push forward new growth. The mulched cover crops add biomass and bulk to the soil, before those fungal and microbial populations break this down into organic carbon. Overtime, this increases our water holding capacity, nutrient retention and strengthens soil structure among other benefits.

"I’m currently out doing pest and disease monitoring, Mark is doing bud counts for early yield assessments, the vineyard teams are training baby vines, lifting canopy wires, shoot thinning and new plantings are going in soon at Septimus. It's all hands on deck as we gear up for another season!"