The Wineshed@3DE, Mudstone Ridge Kitchen and a new pup!

The Wineshed@3DE,  Mudstone Ridge Kitchen and a new pup!

After a pretty rocky year for most of us, 2020 is finally behind us. 

Despite the restrictions on visiting friends and family in Melbourne, we actually had our most productive year ever and managed to get quite a lot done around the place. Apart from planting out the last 6 rows of the new vineyard with the Grenache, the kangaroo fence was put up and the new 25,000 litre water tank was moved into position with the help of our neighbour Jeremy and his ute, chains, straps and hand winches. This tank when full will table to water the vineyard, twice a week for 10 weeks if needed. During the winter months this year, all three dams were overflowing with precious water being lost to nature so having extra storage capacity during such times is critical when the rain don't come! So far this year, we've only seen about 6mm of rain and despite our automated irrigation systems, the gardens and vines are starting to struggle and if we don't get rain soon, we're in trouble!

UPDATE: Jan 29th, It's finally raining! It's 5.30pm and so far, 48mm of rain since 9am!

The Wineshed @3DE

One of the major projects undertaken during the Great Lockdown of 2020, was the fitting out of the old reclaimed tin shed as a new venue/dining/bar space. Generously donated by Pete Pichut from Palling Bros. Brewery in town, this old shed was once located at the McIvor Times site in High Street but now, no longer required. Using old recycled corrugated iron, fence palings and decking boards, the old shed now has a new life and has become a great addition to the Cellar door. Complete with a turntable and an eclectic vinyl selection, a pot belly stove for the winter months, and a comfy couch and  the Wineshed @3DE is a perfect place to relax and enjoy some delicious Spanish style tapas and 3DE wine and local beer. It also has a Providore selling various delicacies as well as old wares and collectibles. 

Mudstone Ridge Kitchen

In November last year, the new kitchen was signed off by the Council and our Class 2 food license was issued. This allows us to prepare and sell food, and food products produced on the property such as honey, olives, sauces and chutneys. We have also started an onsite catering business called Mudstone Ridge kitchen which aims to provide Spanish inspired dishes to eat on the premises or to pre order as Take Away  for visitors to enjoy while visiting the regions wineries and picnic spots. All details for the Grazing and Tapas bags can be found on our website here

Meet Zephyr! 

We're excited to introduce the newest member to the 3DE family...young Zephyr. A border collie/kelpie/labrador cross. He's now 5 months old but came to us as a rescue through our neighbours that foster unwanted dogs. He's a great little guy and always keen to be part of the action, almost so much that we're considering changing his name to FOMO for his 'fear of missing out'! He loves his new "brother" Ziggy but needs to understand the 13 year age gap and stop jumping on his head!

Hoping he'll grow into his legs one day!

Vineyard News

The Tempranillo is well into Vèraison now (that time when the berries start to change colour and the sugar content climbs). Due to the lack of summer rain (until today!), the vines have copped a bit of heat stress and the berries are on the small side at the moment. With a bit of luck, today's rain should supercharge the vines and help plump up the grapes. Still maintaining a 100% strike rate on the new Mudstone Ridge vineyard down the hill with most of the Monastrell vines tied down to the cordon wire as well as several of the recently planted Grenache vines. We're expecting to harvest the first crop of Monastrell in March 2022, pandemic or not!

Agapanthus in full flower.

www.threedamsestate.com.au

 

3DE October 2020

Roo fence, wildflowers and budburst #2

Despite the pandemic that has upended lives for most of this year, things at 3DE have continued pretty much as normal. Here in Regional Victoria, the restrictions on movement and public gatherings have not been as strict as in Metropolitan Melbourne but we have tended to stay close to the farm for the most part.

The great thing about that is that 2020 has been the most productive for getting projects completed and jobs ticked off the list, the latest being the completion of the kangaroo fence around the new vineyard. A total of 54 posts were rammed and 230 meters of wire and fence mesh was rolled out and erected around some repurposed cyclone gates found on Facebook Marketplace.

The 305 Grenache vines were planted out at the end of September and a check yesterday revealed that they have all taken and are budding well. A La Niña weather pattern has been declared for the coming summer period so October has so far been mild and fairly wet. Perfect conditions for the new vines and recently planted apple and pomegranate trees. 

The Spring rains have also seen an abundance of native wildflowers and orchids pop up around the place creating some nice contrasting colours in the bush. The other things that are popping up at the moment now are the snakes! The warm weather has enticed them out of their winter slumber so vigilance is required during the regular morning bush walk.

VEGGIE GARDEN UPDATE

Wends has been busy in the veggie garden planting out new seedlings of tomatoes, beetroot, carrots, zucchini, cucumber, eggplant, beans, corn and chilli in the new wicking beds and a "wigwam" structure made from sapling trunks has been erected to support the ever growing raspberry plants.

Also exciting is that after about 8 years, the Macadamia tree has finally flowered! 

Click below to watch video!

WINERY NEWS

As the weather is warming up, some of the 2020 wines in barrel have "woken up" and begun (or re-begun)   secondary (Malolactic) fermentation, a natural process that converts harsher Malic acid components into softer Lactic acid which results in a smoother mouthfeel and texture in the wine. When this is complete, the wines will be assessed and thoughts will turn to blending and other options.

Our Cellar Door will be open again the first full weekend in November (7th and 8th) and we will be pre-celebrating International TEMPRANILLO Day (Nov 12th)!

 

Vintage 2020 update

Vintage 2020 in full swing during lockdown!

During these unprecedented times, it is worth remembering that when this is all over and we emerge from the other side, we will still have wine!

Without meaning to make light of a serious situation that is threatening to overwhelm our health system, disrupt families, destroy businesses and affect many peoples health, I am confident that this crisis will have a positive affect on the future of humanity and "reset" the way in which we think and exist on this planet. 

I am reassured that despite this current calamity, the sun still rises in the morning, the wind still blows and the rain still falls (sometimes!). If we have these three things, then we can still make wine and here at 3DE, we have been busy doing just that!

On March 16th, we harvested the 2020 Tempranillo grapes, 2 weeks later than last year. It has been a difficult season over the entire region resulting in reduced yields of up to 60% in some places. The generally accepted reason for this is that on 21 Nov when the grapevines were in full flower, we experienced a hideous weather event, with 40 degree temperatures, and ferocious winds that lasted most of the day. This resulted in severe damage to the vine flowers resulting in poor and inconsistent pollination. Despite the reduced yields, the  fruit quality was good and will hopefully result in some delicious concentrated wines.

As of writing today (March 30th, 2020) we have our 2020 Tempranillo, as well as a small portion of Grenache and some Monastrell (aka Mourvèdre/ Mataró) safely in tank and will be pressing some Shiraz and more Monastrell in the coming days. We also managed to source another parcel of Grenache fruit (570kgs) that is currently on cold soak awaiting yeast inoculation in a few days.

With the combination of Tempranillo, Grenache, Monastrell and Shiraz, we are hoping to create some exciting Spanish inspired blends in 2020 including a GSM (Grenache/Shiraz/Mourvèdre)

In other 3DE news, the new Monastrell vineyard is doing well and has survived the harsh summer with the loss of only 3 vines. So far this year we had some welcome rainfall, including 43mm on Feb 6th and another 85 on March 4th! As a result, the property has "greened up" quite a lot which has provided an alternative food source for the kangaroos and wallabies and they have mostly left the new vines untouched. All the dams and tanks are now full..which has never previously happened during Summer/ Autumn.

The weather is changing but as usual, autumn brings some beautiful sunsets and still evenings. A perfect environment to self isolate!

Stay safe everyone and see you on the other side.

www.threedamsestate.com.au