Next Saturday will be the 6 month anniversary of our 2012 harvest at Cardan! Yes really! And to celebrate that success and the continued good progress of our Cloud9 Cabernet Franc and “C-3” Cabernet Merlot in the winery, we are proud to make this a vlog and launch a new video “Harvest Success in Paradise”, our picture and video clip album of everything that was Harvest 2012, starting with the preparations and going through to the afterparty!
Harvest Day is a celebration of a lot more than 6 months of a growing season in a vineyard. It defines the results of many seasons planning and work. And whilst it seems as though Paradise Rescued has been quiet recently, our continual drive to improve and produce better wine and a beautiful brand continues. In both areas, the changes are gradual, one step at a time. But as this is a Vine2Wine blog / vlog, we should talk about the vineyard and winery.
We are very fortunate to have a wonderful team managing the work in Cardan, with Pascale leading all day to day activities and Albane guiding us to create a better vineyard, vines and of course wine. As Pascale and I frequently discuss, 2012 was an important year for us. Was 2010 and incredible first Cloud9 wine simply beginner’s luck? With the setbacks in 2011 but our major success in 2012, the production of very good wine from an incredibly difficult vintage (which completely ruined many harvests locally), has boosted our confidence. We can now go forward confidently again with the next series of improvements.
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Still waiting for bud burst – flashback to April 2012 “Old Vine” Merlot block
The vines are all pruned and ready for 2013 but Bordeaux spring has not received the message! A cool start to the season is not a bad thing as it reduces the risk of frost damage in April. In 2013 our vineyards are officially organic after completing 3 full seasons without the use of herbicides or pesticides. And what a difference that has already made to the vines – the photos alone tell the story. Does it just stop there – no, never! We will be looking to achieve Organic Certification in the years ahead and we have already started to see what we can learn from our Biodynamic colleagues in terms of vineyard soil and ecosystem improvement. The passion and focus remains strong in the team. Let’s get season 2013 started – we are already half way to harvest!
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