Warm conditions back in December 2012 meant the potential for higher bud numbers in 2013 was on the cards. That is exactly what happened. Combined with warm, settled conditions throughout New Zealand during spring and early summer, flowering throughout for all regions was basically stress free.
GISBORNE
After what has been described as a beautiful spring,with lots of moisture and warmth, Gisborne growers experienced near perfect conditions for flowering, which should result in a “solid
crop”, according to Gisborne Grape Growers President Doug Bell.
While there was a smattering of hail during December, and some minor damage around the region, it was inconsequential in the scheme of things.
“We had a good many electrical storms over a week in December as well, which is like nitrogen from the skies for the soil, so we have had very good canopy growth,” Bell says.
All those components have created perfect growing conditions, although it has meant a lot of canopy thinning for growers, as they battle against disease pressure from powdery mildew.
“We are leaf plucking, trimming, spraying and there are sheep in the vineyards, so we are working hard to keep the canopy under control, and open it up.”
John Clarke says across the board, flowering was pretty good, although some cooler weather has resulted in patchy fruit set in some varieties.
The region has experienced some hot conditions, which has seen the growing degree days for 2014 up to 10 days ahead of last year. Both Bell and Clarke believe the first grapes (for sparkling wines) will be harvested towards the end of February.
HAWKE’S BAY
Hawke’s Bay winegrowers have the season’s ups and downs well in hand and are cautiously optimistic about how the 2014 vintage is shaping up.
The season got off to a great start with no frosts to threaten the budding vines. Sileni Estates spent thousands of dollars fighting frosts in 2012, says group viticulturist Stephen Bradley, but got away virtually frost-free this spring.
Flowering went quickly and well across the region’s many subregions and Mal McLennan of Maimai Creek says the very heavy crops throughout the region needed thinning to achieve ripeness and quality in the fruit.
“No-one is going to be short of fruit this year,” he enthused.
Once flowering was over in late November, Hawke’s Bay was hit with some unwelcome weather events —successive days of heavy rain, several thunderstorm and even hail, all interspersed with warm sunny days. The climatic conditions conspired to create some disease pressure, and there were a few reports of powdery mildew.
Growers were also keeping an eye out for any signs of botrytis triggered by the humidity.
As the season’s progressed, McLennan says the key word has been vigilance – ensuring spraying equipment was working well and responding appropriately to infection periods.
The warm wet December boosted foliage growth, keeping growers busy with tucking and thinning.
Some were faced with an extra trim and mow. Bradley says the heavy rain events late last year were localised – some of Sileni’s vineyards recorded 80mm while others got just 14mm.
“Despite the rain, we are just starting for required irrigation.”
The company’s 25ha vineyard at Haumoana sustained some hail damage in early December, affecting Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris.
Overall, expectations are high for a second successive good vintage, particularly as wineries across the region are running low on stock.
MARLBOROUGH
Another region not affected by spring frosts, Marlborough also benefitted from some stunning late spring and early summer conditions.
Temperatures were above the long term average in December, rainfall was down and sunshine hours were just below average. These conditions helped create the perfect environment for flowering and later fruit set.
Delegat’s spokesman, Dr Rengasamy Balasubramaniam (Bala) described flowering conditions as “excellent.”
“It is looking like a bumper harvest,” he said. “Certainly it is better than 2012.”
Rain that fell towards the end of December and into early January has ensured the canopies are looking healthy, although it
has meant a lot of judicious thinning has been required throughout the region.
Mahi Wines owner Brian Bicknell said flowering was over very quickly compared with previous years. That in itself was a good sign for the upcoming vintage.
“Because it all happened so quickly, there is little variation within the bunches. They are all quite even and that will be much better for us when it comes to picking decisions in the future.”
While the periods of rain dampened many holiday makers spirits, Bicknell said it hasn’t caused any major disease issues at this stage.
“While we had some humid days and some rain, we also had some good windy days as well, which was a bonus. It dried the bunches and canopies out fairly quickly.”
Agreeing with Bala that the crop early on looked like being better than average, Bicknell said there was a lot of thinning going on.
“Many growers who laid down four canes, in case of a spring frost event, are now removing a single cane after flowering. So the quality levels look in place.”
For Wine Marlborough Board member and Caythorpe Vineyard’s owner, Simon Bishell, controlling the canopy growth has been the major issue.
“They are growing much quicker than normal because of the spells of rain we have had. There is some canopy manipulation going on. I am already on to my second trim on the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir,” (early Janaury).
All agreed that the season was ahead of average at the time of Winegrower going to print, although whether that remains the situation will depend greatly on weather conditions between now and harvest.
And while there has been some powdery mildew pressure, Bishell said the emphasis placed on that issue at NZW events such as Bragato and Grape Days, has ensured growers have been well prepared.
“I think more people have taken note of the potential for disease and therefore the spray programme has been extremely good throughout the region. We are benefitting from those sprays now.”
NELSON
Nelson is one of New Zealand’s most popular summer holiday destinations with a reputation for plenty of sun, sandy beaches, kayaking in the Abel Tasman and meeting new friends at the many camp grounds in the region. It does however also rain quite regularly during December and early January upsetting holidaymaker’s sunny plans.
Nelson grape growers expect this rain and plan accordingly so when the region experienced significant rain events during late November and early December 2013 they were prepared. In general everyone was on top of spraying regimes so disease issues are very minor. Fortunately these rain events, while significant, were also sporadic so had very little effect on fruit-set at flowering.
The result is a full crop across every variety; some vineyards are reporting very high crop levels with dense berry set on individual bunches, a “monster” crop according to one winemaker. The rain and cropping level have created more work in the vineyards; warm weather accompanying the rain has resulted in plenty of vigour in vineyards meaning the need for more mowing, vine trimming and early leaf plucking to maintain airflow around the fruit line and to keep the canopy under control.
With a long range forecast for warmer temperatures than average, less rainfall and lower soil moisture levels than normal, vineyard managers are balancing the need to open up the canopy with the need to avoid leaving the fruit exposed to sunburn in later months. Vineyards in the Nelson region expect to need increased vineyard management for this vintage, dropping fruit to maintain a balanced crop, but with a positive long range weather forecast are also hopeful of a great vintage.
CANTERBURY & WAIPARA
Summer finds Waipara Winegrowers feeling positive about the coming vintage, with crops appearing to be slightly above average and the weather not throwing too many curve balls this season. Despite easterly rain during flowering, the region’s wineries seem happy with flowering and fruit set.
“The growing season has so far been consistently warmer on average than the previous one,” reported Claire Bisso of Dancing Water. “We’re expecting a slightly greater than average yield in some of our vineyard blocks and high quality.”
“The crops are more consistent than heavy,” observed Andrew Moore from Southern Boundary Wines. “All the varieties have set well. There’s going to be a lot of crop getting dropped.”
With four inches of rain over the Christmas period combined with warm weather, the main issue the region is currently facing is keeping canopies under control. However, disease
would not appear to be a major pressure as yet.
“We’re currently tracking 10 to 14 days ahead,” noted Nick Gill of Greystone, who compared the bunch configuration to that of 2010. “It’s looking like an early start to the vintage. Things are looking promising overall, but anything could still happen.”
Further south in Canterbury, frosts caused some winegrowers on the flats to lose a little crop.
“A slight frost in October meant we lost some of our first shoots, but given the good weather that followed, the second set largely came up,” said Tresillian’s Graeme Lindsay. “Crops will be down slightly, but things are looking good.”
“A very good flowering season from early to mid-December, typified by hot still days, ensured a strong and even flower set,” reported Burnham Vineyard. This was echoed by Tussock Hill, which described it as the best flowering and fruit set the Huntsbury vineyard had ever seen.
As in Waipara, Canterbury winegrowers are currently managing the growth prompted by the rain that fell throughout the holiday season, but share a similarly upbeat feeling about 2014.
CENTRAL OTAGO
Central Otago escaped relatively unscathed from frost pressure this spring. However, the frosts of the previous year do seem to have impacted on fruitfulness for some vineyards. Flowering began early, initially with ideal weather conditions, though vineyards with later flowering met with some unsettled weather. Needless to say, crop levels look good. Some vineyards will need more aggressive fruit thinning than others. With a fair amount of rain in the month following flowering, this may impact on bunch sizes, though at this preliminary stage the outlook looks just above average. ν
