tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75893221540940781832024-03-13T22:19:47.901-07:00georges road wineFrom grape to glass, winemaker Kirk Bray handcrafts the finest of aromatic wines from his Waipara vineyard - Syrah, Riesling, Pinot Noir and Pinot GrisThe Georges Road Wines Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05876756528383623665noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589322154094078183.post-10105251639365054702011-08-31T14:58:00.000-07:002011-08-31T14:58:39.364-07:00Masterchef...<br />
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</div><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">Cooking class...take one Pinot Gris wine sample, sterile filter and poach at 80C for 6 hours...if the wine looks no different from when you started then its Protein stable, if it goes hazy or cloudy in the slightest then its unstable and time for another dose of Bentonite (a clay no less). All part of the service in bringing you this premium product. All great chefs use wine!</span>The Georges Road Wines Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05876756528383623665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589322154094078183.post-62842273382690400962011-08-30T18:43:00.000-07:002011-08-31T15:03:06.205-07:00Spring is in the air....<br />
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All was quiet at the Georges Road Vineyard on the day before the first day of Spring. A beautiful day and not condusive to hard work at all! Luckily the vineyard is all up to date and ready to go...The Georges Road Wines Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05876756528383623665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589322154094078183.post-34713948570834787662011-08-29T17:01:00.000-07:002011-08-29T17:01:34.596-07:00Riesling Block Three 2010...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3gKKxUhTJLI/TlwnVxFmG6I/AAAAAAAAADM/OR4FlRfNtYQ/s1600/bottleshotriesling1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132px" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3gKKxUhTJLI/TlwnVxFmG6I/AAAAAAAAADM/OR4FlRfNtYQ/s400/bottleshotriesling1.JPG" width="400px" /></a></div><br />
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Another great review for our 2010 Block Three Riesling. Read it here in this weeks <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/viva-magazine/news/article.cfm?c_id=533&objectid=10747160">NZ Herald </a><br />
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And once youve done that, Order some for yourself - go to the <a href="http://www.georgesroadwines/order-wine">website</a> and get 15% off the price AND free delivery nationwide. Now thats great value. The Georges Road Wines Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05876756528383623665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589322154094078183.post-76447128041188562222011-08-28T18:28:00.000-07:002011-08-28T18:28:36.998-07:00Pinot Gris 2011<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qjjLC1a4Ff4/TlrqacRJpKI/AAAAAAAAADE/Jt5mkztbbUc/s1600/pgrack+003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" qaa="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qjjLC1a4Ff4/TlrqacRJpKI/AAAAAAAAADE/Jt5mkztbbUc/s320/pgrack+003.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Hand harvested, whole bunch pressed straight to barrel, wild ferment and left on full lees until just NOW. Ive just racked the wine out to tank in preparation for next months bottling of our 2011 Pinot Gris. Aromatic and textured with great mouth feel and about 8g/L residial sugar. Should be released just prior to Christmas. <br />
The Georges Road Wines Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05876756528383623665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589322154094078183.post-46867045603353977352011-08-24T16:53:00.000-07:002011-08-24T16:53:33.273-07:00The dirt on Georges Road...<div align="center"><img alt="[kbgrv+003.jpg]" border="0" height="300px" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Mbbg-9kM7y4/SvkanNuyVpI/AAAAAAAAAnw/hIVTP98vVbg/s400/kbgrv%2B003.jpg" width="400px" /></div>Heres a look at the soil structure from the area in Waipara where we have our Syrah, Riesling and Pinot Gris vineyard. These soils are called <strong>Canterbury Gravels</strong> and are the predominant soil type along the western part of the Waipara Valley. Deposited during the Pleistocene period and more recently during the last major glacial advance. Quite a while ago in other words. Looking at the photo above you can understand why most vineyards in the area are very free draining - lots of stones and gravel with minor water holding capacity. The majority of the upper soils are Loess with plenty of deposited river gravel, silt and sand. Underlying this are layers of greywacke and argillite. Geological observation of the Waipara Valley began in 1855 although the major fieldwork from which most information is now derived was carried out in the 1950's.<br />
The Georges Road Wines Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05876756528383623665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589322154094078183.post-39750950723082060442011-08-23T14:58:00.000-07:002011-08-23T14:58:48.037-07:00New Release - SYRAH 2010<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iwEBUShWfRs/TlQgX5dZbFI/AAAAAAAAADA/qrlUdJZyjVA/s1600/syrah2010a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239px" qaa="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iwEBUShWfRs/TlQgX5dZbFI/AAAAAAAAADA/qrlUdJZyjVA/s320/syrah2010a.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div>Coming soon to a dinner table near you, the new release Gorges Road 2010 Syrah Block One. Handharvested superb fruit, destemmed without crushing to small opent top fermentation vats, 3 day ambient soak, natural fermentation, hand punch downs, 40 day extended cuvaison, pressed to a mixture of 2 and 3 year old French oak for a period of 12 months, natural malolactic fermentation, no racking of wine until final blending, polish filtration and bottling. <br />
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A wonderfully elegant wine, perfumed with dark berry fruits and licorice showing through, fine grained tannins and hints of spice and oak. A great example of why Waipara is an exciting place for Syrah. A cool climate wine at its best, aromatic and lean with great elegance. Like all great terroirs, the best fruit struggles but shines at harvest. Picked in mid May, a full month after most Pinot Noirs, the grapes are concentrated and delicate but show a wonderful aromatic quality. This is a wine (and region) to watch as we learn more and more about whats best each vintage. <br />
The Georges Road Wines Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05876756528383623665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589322154094078183.post-9430723573543624272011-08-21T16:12:00.000-07:002011-08-21T16:12:37.806-07:00Vineyard walking tour...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rIH_O0YpOv0/TlGOrVIle4I/AAAAAAAAAC8/kLQY3uTA2Jc/s1600/aug21grw+031.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239px" qaa="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rIH_O0YpOv0/TlGOrVIle4I/AAAAAAAAAC8/kLQY3uTA2Jc/s320/aug21grw+031.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div>Looking a bit barren in the vineyard at this time of year. All the vines are pruned and the vineyard floor is a combination of dead weeds and mulched canes. The next job and possibly the last major one before budburst around mid September, is to drop all the canopy wires to the ground. This makes it easier to train the new growing shoots of the vines by lifting one wire up at a time and also so that those new tips of the vines dont get cut off in a high wind which would then affect the growth and development of the whole vine. This wire job is areal workout as each post has 6 wires clipped to it and I will have to walk up every second row, dealing to both rows at a time. So doing the quick maths - 120 rows of approx 150m each - about 18 kms ! The Georges Road Wines Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05876756528383623665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589322154094078183.post-72249445031987846562011-08-16T16:46:00.001-07:002011-08-16T16:47:22.863-07:00Snow business...Snowed for the last two days. Whiteout pictured below...<br />
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The Georges Road Wines Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05876756528383623665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589322154094078183.post-88226807867824668222011-07-27T21:18:00.000-07:002011-07-27T21:18:33.938-07:00Winter view in the vineyard...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WMM4E9ZHNy0/TjDiVK_X6iI/AAAAAAAAABs/ffdS-XH2W80/s1600/grvsnow+022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WMM4E9ZHNy0/TjDiVK_X6iI/AAAAAAAAABs/ffdS-XH2W80/s320/grvsnow+022.jpg" t$="true" width="320" /></a></div>Another beautiful day in Waipara, only a day after the vineyard was covered in snow. Pruning has just been completed. Time to get mulching those canes and start on a few jobs before the new season - fix irrigation leaks, replace any broken posts, tighten loose wires etc etc. The Georges Road Wines Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05876756528383623665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589322154094078183.post-79334777788884209402011-07-27T21:11:00.000-07:002011-07-27T21:11:33.281-07:00How sweet it is...<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/og-rYSvp0Kc" width="560"></iframe><br />
Testing the RS on the 2011 Pinot Gris using the time honoured (and cheap) method of using urine sugar pills for Diabetics. Not as weird as it sounds. This wine is at 4g/L which is dry.The Georges Road Wines Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05876756528383623665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589322154094078183.post-55202196497485966102011-07-04T19:36:00.000-07:002011-07-04T19:36:05.340-07:00Smart idea for smart phones<img alt="" class="img" height="121" src="http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/227955_197437436967921_115117345199931_593363_3655297_s.jpg" width="121" /><br />
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Just arrived for our new 2010 Syrah labels and beyond - our very own QR code.The Georges Road Wines Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05876756528383623665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589322154094078183.post-57298904245452254592011-07-04T17:18:00.001-07:002011-07-04T17:30:10.705-07:00New Zealands best new Riesling !<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PAoTbzL13Bo/ThJXFD1pjXI/AAAAAAAAABo/d8L_wO8vbQU/s1600/BestNewNZRiesling%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" i$="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PAoTbzL13Bo/ThJXFD1pjXI/AAAAAAAAABo/d8L_wO8vbQU/s320/BestNewNZRiesling%255B1%255D.jpg" width="230" /></a></div>Top right...The Georges Road Wines Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05876756528383623665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589322154094078183.post-51858102025329369402011-07-04T17:10:00.000-07:002011-07-04T17:30:46.220-07:00Vineyard view...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ntP0F5X7wZI/ThJVmAPKVuI/AAAAAAAAABk/Ptyz32ngV2o/s1600/vineyardview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" i$="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ntP0F5X7wZI/ThJVmAPKVuI/AAAAAAAAABk/Ptyz32ngV2o/s1600/vineyardview.jpg" /></a></div>Early spring in the Georges Road vineyard.The Georges Road Wines Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05876756528383623665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589322154094078183.post-41899539472622413812011-02-07T18:05:00.000-08:002011-07-04T17:31:19.880-07:00hello from waipara<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TvR3wThYai8/TVChicE2M8I/AAAAAAAAABA/sFr_u3BL_7M/s1600/grv2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TvR3wThYai8/TVChicE2M8I/AAAAAAAAABA/sFr_u3BL_7M/s320/grv2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>welcome to my new blog where i will be writing about the never ending rollercoaster ride that comes with owning a vineyard and making and selling wine under your own, newly established wine label. georges road is located in the waipara valley, about an hour north of christchurch. here we have our vineyard, growing syrah, pinot gris and riesling. single vineyard wines, handcrafted from the grapes to the glass. you can always find out more on our website <a href="http://www.georgesroadwines.co.nz/">http://www.georgesroadwines.co.nz/</a> or through our <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/georges-road-wines/115117345199931?v=wall&ref=ts#!/pages/georges-road-wines/115117345199931">facebook</a> or <a href="http://twitter.com/home">twitter</a> pages.The Georges Road Wines Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05876756528383623665noreply@blogger.com0