FEB18TH 2018

We put the nets on yesterday. Its been a very dry summer after a late budburst, but our biodynamic soil has retained moisture and there is no mildew this year. Thanks to Kith and Tim and Doug and Helen for getting it all done in one day. Here's hoping for a good vintage!
Luckily we can swim in the dam after the days work.

On sept13th with the moon and saturn in opposition we sprayed our biodynamic soil preparations just before the heaven sent 20mm of rain and snow. Stirred for 1 hour back and forth for the vortex to absorb human and cosmic energy. There are more things in heaven and earth..........

september 2017

We are having a green drought now, not like these pics of last year

 are

JULY 2017
Regular frosts now so the vines are dormant and ready for a good hard prune ready for budburst in September/ October. We have been allowing the cows around the perimeter of the vines as the farm is struggling to find grass for them.
Wonderful Bathurst Winter Festival this year, selling glass after glass of hot spiced mulled wine that Bellbrook Friends Pioneered in 2014.
Our 2015 Pinot Noir is proving very popular and stocks are getting low. Lucky we have plenty of 2016 which is as good if not better.

Check out the winter moon and the friendly stalls

DECEMBER 2016
After a cool wet winter and spring our grapes were slow to start and as befits our cool climate vineyard at 1000m altitude we suffered some frost damage. All the vines survived and are now running about a month behind a normal year.
We had a wonderfully successful bottling in november with BELLBROOK FRIENDS... Alasdair McGregor, Jeff Rigby, Tudor Anderson, Nic and Josee Moodie (to be wed next year!), Scott and Karen Varker, Matt Lousada, Doug Rolfe, Dick and Coke Pollitt, Ross and Sally Smith and Felix and Corinna Clark. Diana Hosking and George Clark are looking forward to marketing our wine under our new labels designed by us in collaboration with the clever Elisa Wood. May fortune favour you all...

SPRING OF 2016

27th OCTOBER 2016
We have had a wet winter and we were bogged in places never wet before including twice in the vineyard while trying to control the grass between the rows. Very late budburst and frost lurking until 23rd October...
It is going to be a great spring for the grass and the weeds, and we marked and tagged 55 very fat calves yesterday.
We racked of our Rose, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from this year's harvest and look forward to bottling before Christmas under our new label design introducing colour for the first time!
Pruning was a big task again but look at the pile of prunings ready to reduce to ashes.

Vendage for 2016 nearly complete, after a record harvest all picked over three weekends in March.
Visit Australianpoetryandwine.com/ for full list of wonderful bellbrook friends. The harvest was started in high temperatures and finished in cooler autumn weather which brought the fverments under control.