“Water is the essence of life” D Mann, 1990
This was the in joke in our geography class 20 years ago. Well now after the worst drought in living memory, there is no more humour in this statement – just stark reality. Here at Rosnay we have seen the vines go through some difficult teenage years. Now entering their fourteenth year they have been in severe drought half their lives, and some of the vines are already battle scarred with patches of dead wood, and the odd borer in weaker varieties like Semillon. This year however, they are bursting with vitality following the fanstastic rains we have had this winter and spring. Here are a few recent videos we have uploaded to Youtube, to give you an idea of how things are looking right now.
The above video shows the Belubula River out of its banks, which it did three times this year, the most flooding we have seen since 1998 when Richard had to blow a hole in the levy bank to let the water back into the river.According to Weatherzone the rain in August was 10% above the 100 year average and July was DOUBLE the 100 year average. The grass is growing almost out of control, and it was a good year to purchase our new swing arm mower to keep the grass and thistles down under the vines.
This next video shows how the vineyard is looking like now, at the end of October 2010. This is the Shiraz block just behind Sam and Simone’s house. The clover is growing like it hasn’t for years, which will surely supply the vines with the natural nitrogen that they need for a big, healthy canopy. We have also reached a landmark in making it past the 24th of October without suffering much in the way of frost damage. The grass is now starting to drop seeds, which just love getting into your socks and giving people hay fever.
Have a look at this last video to see the general landscape around us from the local vantage point of Mount Lewis. This rocky hill just across the road from Rosnay and Rivers Road Organic Farms is a lovely little afternoon climb. The canola has finished flowering but you can see how green the country is generally. We think its going to be a beautiful season, and though the long range forecasters expect a very hot Christmas, the next month should still be great for visiting beautiful Canowindra.