2012 is again shaping up to be similar to 2011 - a cool wet summer. The following was written for Discover Magazine which is produced in Mudgee to promote tourism in the Central West of NSW.
OUR COOL 2011 VINTAGE AT 900 METRES
No vintage is identical. This last one, our ninth, qualified as our coolest even for this cool-climate vineyard. Add to this, “wettest” and you can see what we and others in the Orange GI [Geographical Indicator] were up against.
Some of our neighbours lost almost all their grapes. It was a constant battle against disease with the hope that the fruit would be sufficiently ripe to make good wine.
Dindima Wines, with only 3.5 hectares under vine, situated on the northern slopes of Mount Canobolas aims to bring in only premium quality handpicked grapes. The combination of pruning methods, shoot thinning and fruit thinning reduces our available fruit to the best we can produce, so bird damage, disease and reduced sunshine are unwelcome burdens for us.
Winemaker James Bell orchestrates our performance, his mum Lee as our viticulturist determines our spray program, while dad, Dave awaits their instructions.
As a family vineyard and on-site winery we have full control of the winemaking process within the constraints of the weather conditions such as those just referred to.
We are unique in having the only Orange GI fortified Muscat, and as an outcome of the 2011 vintage our first blushing, delightful, Moscato. The vines are over 50 years old and have the additional asset of being also a great table grape [sold at the farm-gate in season].
As it turned out Dindima had a good vintage in 2011 despite the wet, cool conditions. We were able to bring in good quantities of each of our varieties to maintain our production of high quality, cool-climate wines.
Instead of spraying every 2 or 3 weeks, it was every week, in order to keep the fruit free of disease. An expensive and harrowing exercise.
As well as launching our Moscato as a new addition to our Cellar Door tastings we picked our first vintage of Chardonnay from our new 20-row block that faces Cargo Road. Its ferment was finished in fine French oak where it will remain at the wine-maker’s pleasure. Probably 2013 will see it poured into our Riedel tasting glasses in the Cellar Door.
So there you have it. A short account of a combination of good vineyard management and good luck means we have maintained the continuity of producing fine quality boutique wines. We were able to get our usual small parcel of Merlot into barrel, along with Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Semillon, as well as the varieties already mentioned.
We are all looking forward to 2012, whatever nature bestows on us. We are always learning and aiming to improve and we are still enjoying the challenge.
We will continue to develop and improve our vineyard and the winery as a leading wine producer in the Orange GI. So back to the pruning! The cycle never ends.
- Dave Bell Manager