Well, what a year it's been at Cape Bernier!
Perhaps the most satisfying events of all have been what other professional judges have said about us:
- Cape Bernier Vineyard was awarded "Tasmanian Vineyard of the Year 2010" for excellence in viticulture and vineyard management. This award is from the Royal Agricultural Society of Tasmania and is judged by an expert panel comprising both leading viticulturists and researchers. The underlying theme is that "great wines are made in the vineyard"
- James Halliday rated Cape Bernier as a "5-star winery" ("Australian Wine Companion 2010", published August 2009) for the quality of our four wines. .
At Cape Bernier we aim to work with the sometimes difficult and challenging conditions of our very cool coastal site to grow fruit and produce wine which reflects the site and its unique characteristics or "terroir".
Season 2009-10 has been marked by some major achievements both in the Vineyard and out in the Wine market, as well as some remarkably helpful weather conditions. Overall, vintage 2010 has been a record at 17.5 tonnes and quality levels at or above our previously high standards for each of the three varieties picked from our Vineyard. The outcome? We expect to produce about 375 cases of Pinot Gris 2010, 250 cases of Chardonnay 2010, 175 cases of Pinot Rose and 365 cases of Pinot Noir 2010.
So, looking back at the season as a whole:
- we had the wettest winter for over a decade, with almost a year's rain falling over the four months June-October 2009
- after that great start spring was a bit soggy initially but dried out and with the exception of some less than ideal wet, windy weather in later November - early December at flowering and fruit-set the season overall was about average for moisture and slightly above average for warmth
- vintage timing was pretty much as expected in late April for the two white varieties and early May for Pinot Noir
- initial reports from the winery experts are that our fruit quality of all three varieties is superb. Consequently, both the barrel-fermented Chardonnay 2010 and Pinot Noir 2010 will be "wild" fermented, ie no added cultured yeasts. We have experimented with this very traditional approach for the past few years and have concluded that the fruit from our vineyard is suited to this. The result in Cape Bernier wine quality is an enhancement in wine complexity and subtlety.
The other big development has been to dramatically expand the geographic coverage of distribution of our wines to Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane, in addition to our coverage across Tasmania. Cape Bernier is now represented in each of these four States by:
- Tasmania: Red and White Peter Pisko on 03 6231 6255
- Victoria: Vino Bambino Mark Singarella on 0437 773 784
- NSW and ACT: AWR Distribution Alex Retief on 0400 650 530
- Queensland: Tasmanian Boutique Liquor Providores: Howard Johnson on 0400 822 753
Sales rates for all four wines have continued to increase through the year. The stand-out has been the Pinot Gris 2009 which sold out in about 6 months from release in August 2009 to January 2010. Lovers of this beautiful wine will be thrilled to know that our 2010 vintage will be double the 2009 quantity and perhaps even better quality! We also sold out of our Pinot Noir 2006 and 2007 vintages, Chardonnay 2007, and Cabernet Merlot 2007. Currently, we are running the 2008 vintage wines - Chardonnay 2008, Pinot Noir 2008 and Cabernet Merlot 2008. Of course, the avid seeker of back vintages will still be able to find them tucked away in the back corners of bottle shops and on restaurant wine lists so don't depair!
Winter of course marks the start of the new season. Although to the outside observer it might seem that this is a very quiet time and nothing happens we start pruning next week, after the Winter solstice. This is the time of renewal. The situation of each vine is reviewed and all of the unwanted canopy structure is removed to leave only those canes and spurs required for the new and subsequent seasons. This is a very considered and labour-intensive process, as each of almost 15 000 vines is studied to determine where it must be taken into the future. At Cape Bernier we are not just concerned for about achieving a crop for the new season's vintage but also to set up the structure of the vine to enable it to be sustainable and in balance for this and subsequent seasons.
Of course, all of our pruning is by human hand and the only "machines" are the hand-held secateurs. We expect to take 6-7 weeks pretty much full-time on this big and crucially important task and will involve a team of 5 people 3-5 days per week. Each person will have a specific task in the process with 2 key people engaged in the crucial selection of canes and spurs to be retained and used for the coming season. This approach ensures a consistency of style and outcome which has proven to be important in achieving better vineyard performance over the past few years.