Great News from National Cool Climate Wine Show

From 163 exhibitors with 824 wine entries from around Australia, Bellbrook Friends 2013 Chardonnay was awarded gold medal points and trophy for best wine from Bathurst Region.
Our 2013 Pinot Noir was awarded Bronze, Backing up our bronze last year fro the 2012 Pinot Noir.

The vines are dormant but great things are happening under ground and in the bottles

A few pics from the files.

Nearly Finished Pruning

BRRRR, winter has brought a lovely snowfall just 4 days ago which is only just melting into the soil. We have had some nice pruning days and now have a big pile of tangled prunings. Last years smaller vintage is sitting quietly in the winery, being tasted every month.

A view of our table at the mid winter party, with a house full of 12 guests plus 2 who drove back to Hartley.

And I almost forgot, our clever cows have started calving, 5 out of 60 so far

g'day mates. recent activities invoving a serious earthmoving machine
are new fence lines, new tracks in steep country and ripping up rabbit burrows.

The crushing team

We needed a good cup of tea after all this!

Bellbrook Friends have done it again

Some more pictures to prove it. We have just finished the ferment of Chardonnay and Rose from Pinot in Stainless steel tanks, and Pinot Noir in a three year old oak barrel.
As you can see the weather has been perfect for barbeques by the billabong on wallaby hill...

( photo Claudia Terstappen )

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<www.australianpoetryandwine.com/> for more stories and photos...

Harvest of the Pinot Noir

At last we took the nets off on 18th April and finished the picking on 19th. WE crushed that evening and left to cold soak till morning of the 21st before pressing half of the must to make Rose, leaving the other half to ferment on the skins to make Pinot Noir.