May 2023

It has been a while since the last vineyard missive — naughty me, once again – during which time we have successfully survived spring without mishap from overnight frost. It must be a first. March and April were cold with south westerly winds as opposed to high pressure from the north which tends to bring dry and warm days followed by clear, starry nights……and then havoc at dawn. For the last 3 weeks we have had constant dry north-east winds which can rattle the bones.

I have been bud rubbing the vines the last few weeks and feeling distinctly like ‘Toulouse Lautrec’ in stature as I shuffle down te rows on my knees rubbing off unwanted buds from the trunk and the crown.  It is hard on the knees and hands but a good position for the back. I cannot recall a year with such vigorous growth. Ludo, my spaniel, sees me at his level and takes this as an invitation to seek attention.

The end of May and beginning of June have brought prolonged sunshine with the vines really motoring. What does June hold in store? A flaming month would be very good.

For the first time, as an experiment, we have erected bird netting around the perimeter of each plot in a bid to ward off the attention of the local deer population who like to come in and breakfast, lunch, and dine off the tender young shoots.  It seems to be working well apart from the odd muntjac who crawled under the bottom of the netting. They have, since the pandemic when culling was reduced to nothing, become a serious problem in the countryside.

This season will be our third as an organic vineyard. I have an excellent mentor/consultant in David Morris who comes all the way from Monmouth each month to inspect progress.  Also, he meticulously designs my organic and biodynamic spray programme.  We are sourcing all sorts of plant products chosen for their medicinal or nutritious properties in place of synthetic fungicides. On top of that, we are using various biodynamic applications.

At the beginning of the month, we could have been spotted applying ‘dynamised’ horn manure by flicking large droplets with a paint brush from side to side down each row. It sounds a bit wacky I know but heavily diluted manure in water acts to accelerate soil improvement.  Our worm life is certainly improved.