A word from Sarah
 Having worked in a variety of wine regions in South Australia and also California, I have found the most notable thing about Langhorne Creek is the ability to grow premium quality grapes with a minimal amount of fuss. The climate is warm enough that we don’t have to endure some of the cool climate headaches such as devastating frosts, labour intensive canopy management or inclement weather associated with late harvest dates. Instead we avoid the risk of frost damage in the spring and are able to grow our vines as a hassle free sprawl, and enjoy a relatively early harvest time while still producing the same quality fruit found in cool climates.
The secret to the success of growing cool climate grapes in a warm region is presence of a large body of water only 5 km from the vineyard known as Lake Alexandrina which is 3 times the size of Sydney Harbour.
During the summer months, the convection currents created from the hot air movement over the cooler water body result in a cooling breeze known affectionately as “the Lake Doctor” The Lake Doctor moves through the vineyard in the afternoons, aerating the canopy and lowering the temperature of the fruit. This ensures slower ripening of the berries which gives them enough time to develop the more desirable complex flavour compounds. The Lake Doctor also reduces the relative humidity in the canopy lowering the incidence of disease, and reduces the need for excessive use of fungicide sprays.
 The soils are also excellent for grape production; with the bulk of the Metala vineyard growing on free draining, deep sandy loam. This is an ideal soil type for grapes as it allows us to manipulate the vines through our nutrient and water inputs. We regularly monitor soil moisture during the growing season which allows us to control vine growth and berry development by applying water in a regulated manner.
The outcome of all this is that we are able to produce super premium quality grapes without all the bother!
Another very positive part of my job is having the opportunity to be involved with classification of the wines when they are ready and also following through to the blending of parcels as the wines are “built”. It’s such a wonderfully creative process and it builds my knowledge of the impact our viticulture can have on the final wines.
It really is a pleasure to work at Metala!
(Oh, by the way, I’m berry counting in the other photo. It’s one of the tools we use for estimating the crop level on the vines.)
Back to Crew & Family
|
