FROM CAMEL VALLEY VINEYARD
Outside in the vineyards, we started removing the rabbit guards
on the young vines to expose them to air. The rabbits seem to have a
sixth sense and immediately started munching away at the unprotected
vines, so we had to put them straight back on again. We don’t really
know what to do for the best, as the guards provide a nice warm and
moist home for slugs and snails which enjoy feasting on young shoots
and leaves, but rabbits are probably the worst villains as leaves
will regrow, whereas damage to the young vines themselves can really
knock them back.
Also, we don’t want the rabbits getting too much of a taste for
them, as we have heard of vineyards upcountry where rabbits have
started chewing through mature vines and causing untold damage. They
are a real plague on our farm at the moment, digging burrows in the
vineyard and exposing roots, digging up old established stone hedges
causing them to collapse, and of course they breed like – well,
rabbits - so we just can’t seem to get on top of the problem. We’re
not alone – I recently read that rabbits are digging up Hadrian’s
Wall! In the winery Sam and Bob have busied themselves with the
elevage of the wines. There isn’t really an English equivalent of
this French word, but basically it means ‘raising’ or ‘bringing up’
the wines ready for bottling, as you would ‘bring up’ your children.
Wines must be clarified, leaving behind dead yeast cells and any
skins and stems |
