ALTERNATIVE VARIETIES

For a long time now, there has been talk of alterative varieties being the only interesting thing happening in Australian wine. As someone who has, over many years, grown and made wine with these so-called "alternatives", I disagree with this sentiment and yet I want these varieties to succeed, to increase in importance and to add their unique textures to our drinking experience.

If you have a quiet moment with nothing to do except try to figure out how many different wines made from different varieties you have tasted in your life (well, no-one said wine people had to be interesting, did they?) here's a website you might like: www.winecentury.com

Vermentino, an Italian variety now making some exciting wines in Australia

This site is essentially a scoreboard to help you tally up these different varieties. There is an astonishing number of varieties listed here and trying all of them should keep even the most committed oenophile busy for a good stretch. My personal tally is over 100 and I am still as keen as ever. My newest one is not even on the lists--it's Yapincak (pronounced yapinjak) and it is grown in a small area in western Turkey. In truth, its real worth is as a table grape since the wine is mediocre and oxidises easily but the grapes taste pretty good. What will be next?

SPRING GROWTH IN THE VINEYARD

I have spent the morning looking through the vineyard. What a sight! The recent rains have really moved things along, especially under the vines and in the mid-rows where we have planted some ryegrass. Weed competition is intense but after we put the slasher through I hope we can get them under control.
The first picture is of a Pinot Noir clone 114 vine, showing the infloresescence that will soon flower and then turn into a bunch of grapes. These proto-bunches look pretty big this year and are likely to turn into very large bunches by harvest time. We will thin them out and in particualr, remove any wings that develop. 
The second picture shows the general health and vigour of the vines. More rain is forecast for this weekend and growth will continue. This will be (and already is) a very different season from the previous half-dozen or so. The drought appears well and truly over in our vineyard at least. 

CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2008

I have been overseas for a few weeks and so I felt it was time to renew my acquaintance with the 08 Cabernet. In my absence, it has been reviewed very favourably in the Gourmet Traveller wine magazine and our sales manager tells me that stocks are running low.
It is still a very young wine with a good future ahead of it although it is drinking very well at the moment. As it matures, I think we will see the emergence of some bay-leaf, tobacco-like characters and the smoothness, so noticeable now, will only increase. If you have some in your cellar, try a bottle every 3-4 months or so to see how it is progressing.

Let's begin....

Hi! This is the Squitchy Lane vineyards blog.
We are a small winery in the Yarra Valley region, near Melbourne, Australia. We produce Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc and we have a smattering of Cabernet Franc and Merlot that we use for blending in the Bordeaux manner.
Our aim is to make this blog interesting to wine drinkers and those who would like to know a little bit more about how wine is made and what actually happens in a vineyard as the year progresses.
Keep in touch....