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

Energy freedom, four new wicking beds...and the greenhouse is finally up!

SUMMER REPORT 2020

The "Tree Change" is complete!

In early January, we finally moved permanently to Heathcote. After commuting to and from Melbourne since 2007, we decided late last year to give up the rental in Ascot Vale and move to the country. That meant giving up my teaching job at Camberwell Grammar after 13 years and basically selling the whole contents of the Melbourne house on FB Marketplace! In the end, all we needed was a small van and the tandem trailer to take what was left up to Heathcote. One of the most satisfying parts of the move was calling Momentum Energy to disconnect the power and gas services. The only energy bills from now on will be our 45kg gas bottle once a year!

After a pretty hot and ferocious December with serious bushfires blazing in the east of the state, January arrived to pretty mild conditions with few hot days. The weather so far in February has been pretty mild with only a few extreme days and even some rain! Perfect conditions for the newly planted Monastrell vines of which out of 350, only one appears to not have survived. We had been keeping them alive by pumping water from the middle dam which until a few weeks back, was pretty much empty. Late one afternoon on Feb 6th, the heavens opened and a massive storm cell dumped 43ml in about 4 hrs, filling all the dams and tanks. 

Incredible what a bit of rain can do to the parched landscape. There is a lot more green around now and the Tempranillo vines have shot out a lot of new growth. The weather has been challenging for the vineyard this year and many growers, including us a reporting fewer bunches and uneven ripening.

The veggie garden has has a massive reworking with building of 4 Wicking Beds. We used cut in half IBC's which if you are unfamiliar with them, they are those large square plastic water cubes. The wicking bed principal is a much more efficient way of growing things as the plants "wick" the water up from below rather than rely on surface watering. So far the results have been amazing, producing an abundance of cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes and a few pumpkins. 

The other great garden story is that after 3 years in the boxes, the greenhouse is up! It's been on the "to do" list since we bought it in 2017 but after a bit of public shaming, it rocketed to the top of the list! Thanks Tarkyn for your height when it came to the roof section!

Rain on 6th of February.

IN THE WINERY

So far this month we have been getting ready for Vintage 2020, bottling the 2019 wines (Tempranillo and Tempranillo/Garnacha) and preparing for the Long Lunch Launch on April 18th. Cellar Door has been steady with several visitors picking up a few bottles to take away. Our next Cellar Door Open is Sat and Sun, March 7/8th.

CELLAR DOOR OPEN First weekend of each month.

Another summer survived, upgraded solar and a new washing machine!

Welcome 2019

So it's been a while since this blog has had an update!

That's not because there's been nothing happening at Three Dams, but more likely that we've been too busy doing stuff to sit down and write about it! Since returning in July from summer in Spain, we settled into another chilly winter in Heathcote. Lots of wood fires and red wine and trying to work outside without freezing to death. As I write this, the weather outside is a relatively cool 17 degrees. Throughout January we had 8 days above 40 degrees including an unbearable 45 degree day with a dangerous NW wind blowing. Hot weather in Heathcote is not uncommon here over the summer but usually not so early in the season. The super hot weather usually comes in late Feb or early March.

Despite the sweltering conditions, the garden and vineyard have managed to hang on with the help of the irrigation system and water pumped from the small dam down the hill. In the vineyard, veraison has well and truly happened, the nets are all on and we are gearing up for another vintage in the first few weeks of March. Last years vintage is still in barrels in the winery and improving everyday. The plan is to bottle the wine in April but reserve one barrel which will be cellared for another 12 months to create the "Crianza" style common in La Rioja, Spain.

Throughout the summer, we have entertained many visitors including some old friends from my days in Perth who were completing a road trip and on their way back across the Nullarbor. Lots of family and friends have also visited which as usual, meant lots of delicious food and wine and kids having fun in there pool. On one occasion, Wendy's brother and son, Tom visited from Philip Island so I took the opportunity to get them on the tools and help with the latest solar upgrade. We finally managed to replace the original solar PV array with the remainder of the large 250 watt panels that have been sitting in the shed since I bought them in 2017. We now have a 1.8 kWh system which provides more than enough solar input to power all the "mod cons" we have installed in our off grid Eco house...

                                                 ....including the new washing machine.

Yes, we finally have a washing machine! A Bosch 4.5 star machine bought second hand on Facebook Marketplace has a new home in our kitchen. The only other mod cons we don't have are a toaster and an iron..but who needs an iron in the country?

Autumn update.

AUTUMN 2018

 After a hectic start to the year, things have settled down slightly at Three Dams and finally a bit of welcome rain has greened things up and the crisp Autumn evenings have arrived.  
Late in April, the first vintage of Tempranillo was transferred into two oak hogsheads, one French and one American. 

 The idea behind this is to try and replicate the traditional winemaking style of Ribero del Duero in Spain. We also decided to buy a quantity of finished Shiraz from a local Heathcote producer so we now have a third barrel full of wine!

Lloyd Hudson lending a hand in the winery.

Wendy is pretty excited about finally getting her white stones to border the house. Having put that job on the back burner many times, the stones were finally ordered and Wends spent many hard hours spreading them...so far around the house and fire pit. 

A bit more tweaking of the solar PV system has happened as well with the addition of 2 x 250 watt panels facing directly West designed to catch the fading rays of the winter sun. Now we have a "real" electric fridge, harvesting the maximum solar energy is now more important than ever so hopefully panels facing East, North and now West as well will help achieve this aim.

Time now to enjoy a few nights by the fire and plan for the next Spain trip in June and the new venture, Casita Del Río!

First Vintage at Three Dams and a new Winery. Summer/ Autumn 2018

After three years, the first Vintage at Three Dams is in tank! 

On March 3rd we began harvesting, taking 1100 kg of healthy fruit of the 310 vines that we painstakingly planted in 2015. After a spell of blistering hot weather in late Jan/ early Feb, the vines shut down and ripening slowed. Recent cool nights and mild days allowed the sugar content to gently increase to the required Baumé of around 13.5%

This extended ripening period allowed me extra time to finish converting the shed to a winery. This involved slabbing the floor (with drainage) insulating and cladding all the walls and roof and installing the $200 Ebay trough and connecting running water.

With the winery finished just in time for harvest, it was a hive of activity 2 weeks ago when our assembled army of helpers picked, lugged, weighed then crushed the 1100 kg of grapes. 

After a short break of pizzas and wine on the deck....

 ... it was all hands on deck with the crusher/destemmer!

A week of fermentation allowed me time to reassemble the restored basket press in time for another day of activity in the winery..PRESSING! Yesterday we pressed off around 680 litres of wine, separating about 280 litres of free run juice into a smaller 300 litre tank for later blending. 

With the wine now safely in stainless steel tanks to allow for settling and stabilisation and for the MLF (malolactic fermentation) to start up, we can relax for a month or so before transferring the wine into a combination of French and American oak barrels where it will sit for 12 months maturation before bottling.

Time to pause and reflect and enjoy the Autumn sunsets. a great effort by all involved. 

Special thanks to all the people that have helped with their knowledge, physical labour, chemistry skills and general tolerance of first time wine making novices!

Eugene Meegan

Phil Meehan (Meehan Vineyard)

Simon Osicka (Osicka wines)

David Maine (Wild Duck Creek)

Kate Knight

Jeremy Davis

Goranka Davis

Matt Ockendon (Carpentary skills!)

Tarkyn Watt

Alan Pritchard

Jodie Cahill

Jenny and Gus