The winemaker’s calendar 13 July 2006

Chris Williams talks of the rhythms of life in a vineyard

One of the things I love about working with wine is the seasonal nature of the job and how nature's cycles dictate the pace and activities of life. Being surrounded by over 100 hectares to vineyards seems to attune one's own bio-rhythms with natures.

As a winemaker, your whole calendar is arranged around harvest time, when the grapes ripen and they must be vinified at just the right moment, becoming wine which will then rest and mature in barrel. But in truth, the beginning of our year starts with spring, when the vines wake up from the deep sleep of winter, the sap rises from the roots and begins to push out the soft, fleshy young shoots with their microscopic leaves and bunches towards the life-giving sun. The efficiency with which the vines do this will depend on the myriad choices the grower has made – such as the site of planting, the canopy management of the last season and the winter pruning to space and set the right number of bearers for the specific vineyard.

It is always so inspiring watching the development of the green shoots to woody canes, the flowering, setting and ripening of the berries and finally the accumulation of sugar, colour and primary flavour compounds in the bunches. This slow, gradual process is brought to a climax by the harvest itself where activity in the vineyard and winery is at its peak, the ripe grapes must be picked, brought to the cellar and vinified. The intensity of harvest only ends when the young wines are 'put to bed' in barrel to complete malo-lactic fermentation and undergo the first stage of maturation or 'elevage'. At this time the vines’ leaves begin to change colour from green to yellow and drop off. The remaining carbohydrates are trans-located to the roots for storage during winter to be used to supply the energy to push up those first intrepid, tender shoots in the spring.

As winegrowers, we allow ourselves to exhale briefly after harvest, to enjoy the Easter weekend if all our grapes are in before the holiday and prepare ourselves for the next bout of activity which has become all too necessary in these competitive times: the marketing trips. Our agents are always requesting “market visits” and although these take me away from the vineyards and young wines in the autumn, I really do enjoy meeting the people for whom all our efforts are intended.

Apart from trade visits to wine shops, restaurants and glitzy wine bars in New York, Washington, London and Glasgow, we often come across that often quoted but rarely seen or engaged mythical creature, the wine drinker, (vulgarly referred to as 'the punter' by more cynical wine marketers). These are the people who keep me passionate and dedicated even in the face of yet another sterile hotel room or powerpoint presentation. Their love of wine and fascination with all matters vinous is energising and uplifting and I always have the sense of engaging with kindred spirits when I meet and chat to them. I shall write more about these visits next time.

It is always so wonderful, though, to return to Meerlust after these trips, when the vines are dormant, the soils have cooled and absorbed the first winter rains and the cellar staff have regained vigour after the long and tiring vintage. Hannes Myburgh keeps a roaring fire in the Meerlust kitchen and it is always a treat to defrost next to the flames after a morning out amongst the vines.

At this time of year we bottle some of the older wines, begin the laborious task of racking the barrels and assemble the blends from the previous vintage and return them to barrel for the last stretch of elevage. The stream of visitors begins to slow and we return to normal working hours. I also get the chance to write something for Grape to avoid the wrath of the Widow and her sidekick, the editor!