December 16th, 2010
Flowering time in the Sandihurst vines. Heres a close up of whats going on. Flowering has started, meaning the cap has fallen from the berry, exposing the anthers and stigma. Given the right weather conditions (and it has been great this year in Waipara) there will be a transfer of pollen from the anther to the stigma. Grapes are self fertilising. ...
November 17th, 2010
The fruit is growing, getting larger and will soon begin flowering. Fingers crossed for warm settled weather during this time. Its been a great start to the season to date.
November 10th, 2010
Its been a great start to the season. No frost worries, plenty of heat and just the right amount of rain. The vines are growing superbly as they head towards their next major event - flowering. This should be within the next few weeks. The vines above, in our Georges Road vineyard in Waipara, have been shoot thinned already and each vine has ...
November 5th, 2010
Airline passengers recieve a welcome by singers in this popular T-Mobile advert from Germany. Best enjoyed with a glass of the any one of the brilliant Sandihurst Rieslings.
October 26th, 2010
Out in the vineyard its time to deal to all those stray shoots which tend to sprout from around the base of the vine. They often appear near the graft union between the rootstock and the varietal in question although can occur all the way up the trunk to just below the fruiting wire. Some people call it Bud Rubbing, to others its Toenailing. Either way its a tough job ...
October 25th, 2010
A shot of a Gewurztraminer shoot from our home vineyard. Already you can see a small bunch of grapes showing. Our job now is to manage those grapes through until flowering time which is approximately 6 weeks away. The weather at flowering is crucial to the amount of fruit that will 'set' on each bunch. Steady warmer temperatures encourage more fruit to set. Until that point, the threat of frost is not ...
October 21st, 2010
An insight into the European culture perhaps - a classic childrens cartoon from the early 1970's. Originally from France, this episode of Barbapapa is from German TV and is called 'The Wine Harvest' where a group of children/young blobs try to make wine. They even build their own wine press. Brilliant, even if you dont speak German.
October 18th, 2010
There are already two bunches of fruit on this growing shoot, in fact they were already there when the bud was formed in the previous season. With enough loving care and attention throughout the season they will be picked and processed through the winery coming out the other end, in about 12 months time, as approximately one glass of wine. It could be yours.
A native of Christchurch, and a curious wanderer of distant shores, Kirk’s talent for beautiful wines can, at least in part, be attributed to his dark decade in chartered accountancy. There, amongst the spreadsheets, columns and rows, Kirk is said to have developed the finely-tuned attention to detail he was later to apply to Sandihurst’s advantage.
It was following a culturally eye-opening period in Europe and Asia that Kirk experienced the moment of truth that was to drive him to abandon his pinstripes and retrain. He had tasted life, French pastries and dim sum and now he wanted more. So, roll up his neatly pressed sleeves he did. Enlightened and decidedly un-accountant-like, Kirk then took his new-found talents to California and Germany’s Pfalz where he refined his vinous skills and gained further invaluable experience. And a family. Finally, and after several happy years, the lure of New Zealand proved too strong to resist, and Kirk returned home and into the veritable arms of Sandihurst Winery.
Artist and alchemist, whilst Kirk’s Mr Nice Guy persona belies a dry wit and wicked laugh, his genius knows only modesty. When he declares his wine to be “okay”, it’s time to bank another medal.
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