DISEASE PRESSURE

I have re-printed below an extract from Wikipedia which I think unintentionally sums up our attitude at the moment. This season has the highest disease pressure that I have experienced in the Yarra Valley, not to mention other areas of Victoria where it has actually rained a lot--Mildura, King Valley, Strahbogie Ranges to name a few. We have weathered the mildew storm--see attached photograph of downy mildew on a leaf--but now we are entering the danger zone for botrytis infection.

"Botryotinia fuckeliana is a plant pathogen, and the causal agent of gray mold disease.

The species epithet was named by mycologist Heinrich Anton de Bary in honor of another mycologist, Karl Wilhelm Gottlieb Leopold Fuckel.

This species is better known as its anamorph, Botrytis cinerea."

Botrytis can ruin a crop almost overnight. I have added some photographs to show you what it looks like--you will probably be familiar with the strawberry one as I am sure you have found it lurking in a punnet you have forgotten about at the back of the fridge. It's a really nasty problem for strawberry growers as well as us grapegrowers. The weather remains humid and the forecast is for a week of showery conditions.

 If botrytis takes hold, we will harvest as quickly as possible in order to prevent its spread and minimise the damage to fruit quality. There are a few winemaking tricks we can use, but we'd rather not have to face the problem.
By the way, the 2010 Pinot Noir and Chardonnay will be bottled next week. For the first time, we have a reasonable volume of Pinot Noir, so for those of you with fond memories of the 2008, you are in luck. I think this new wine is "better" than the '08 (and I use the inverted commas to emphasise that it is my opinion) although I have a feeling that nostalgia may win the day. In any case, it's a lovely wine with a rare depth and softness.
The Chardonnay also has great depth and richness.
Release dates are not yet certain but we will give them the necessary time to show their best before showing them to you.