Two Hills Vineyard after the fire

February 15, 2009

Over the last couple of days I have read so many heartbreaking stories about the fire-storms in Victoria. They brought tears to my eyes. It is incredible what people went through and are still going through; the grief, the loss, the incomprehension, the suffering. Incredible. It takes so much courage to rebuilt and battle on.

At Two Hills we are lucky that the fire could be stopped in time. Michael sent some pictures. He says they don’t do justice to reality. How could the house and the vineyard survive?

Everything is black, he says, no grass or scrubs left. In the first picture the vineyard is to the right. The water in the dam is quite low. The second picture shows the vineyard. We will have some “toasted” grapes, I guess.

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Our dam seen from the hill

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The vineyard after the fire

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It was very close (Chardonnay block in the background)

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The pumping shed still standing

Among others (for instance the Upper Goulburn Winegrowers Association), our distributor, the Old England Hotel in Heidelberg, Melbourne has already offered to buy smoke-tainted wine to support us and all other grape growers who suffered because of the fires. Tragedies have some good; they bring people closer together, to help and support each other.

For the sake of the victims, we have to battle on.

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Victor and Sheryl

February 14, 2009

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The vine: sign of life

This post is dedicated to Victor and Sheryl from “across the road” as we say in Australia. They are our neighbours, neighbours we did not know until very recently. Well, not that we would personally know them as yet. But Victor and Sheryl and a bunch of fire-fighters we have to thank that our house in Two Hills Road is still standing. Victor and Sheryl defended it against the flames. Without them, it would have been cinder, and ashes. From the bottom of my heart I would like to thank you for saving this little shed of ours.

How do I know this? Well. Michael, my brother-in-law went up this morning and called us from the vineyard phone. The fire came about within one meter to the back of the house. If the gas bottle there would have caught fire, the shed would be history and with it all our belongings. Not that there is much valuable stuff in the house, but all the photos of the kids early childhood and other small pieces with huge emotional baggage attached to it.

It seems that the fire cam from the bush at Katy’s Creek, from the back of our block and from there burned its way through to the front of the property. Michael says the whole place is blacked out now. Our neighbour Ken’s hay shed and the pine trees on the hill are gone; so is his machinery shed, but his house is standing as well.

After the opening of the road, residents are returning to their properties. Emotions are raw, people are grieving. After more than a week of constant alert, attention, listening to the radio about the latest news, rumours, terrible life stories, witness reports, pictures of burning bush on TV and in a near or closer distance, smoke and haze people are just exhausted.

Thanks again to Victor and Sheryl and the firemen and all our friends down under keeping us informed and also our many other friends worldwide inquiring about our safety during the last couple of days.

We were lucky in Two Hills Road it seems. No life and no property lost what a stark contrast to Kinglake and Marysville. We will be returning to Glenburn only at the end of June. We will clean up, plan new trees and bring order to the place once again. Hope we see you one day. Welcome to Glenburn.

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Impressions from Two Hills Road, Glenburn

January 28, 2009

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Road sign at the turn-off from the Melba Highway

This week a blistering heat wave is going through Victoria, the worst in the last 100 years. Temperatures will be as high as 40 to 42 degrees Celsius. The grapes are at risk to shrivel and loose bunch weight, and many of the vines will suffer, but hopefully we will not loose the fruit.

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Vineyard with the two hills in the background

Just two weeks ago, the grass in some paddocks was still green and we experienced one of the coldest Christmas in the last five years.

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The Chardonnay block needs slashing but the vines look good.

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The one year old Chardonnay vines look very healthy

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Beautiful hay

Our neighbour Hilary at the end of Two Hills Road had the best hay ever and harvested 600 bales.

The native plants around the house flowered beyond belief.

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And the people were merry and in a celebratory mood.

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Tables are set for food and drink

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Lucy, Michael, Helen, Charlotte and Margit

Hope you join us one day. Cheers

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Go, Went, Gone

January 11, 2009

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When you read this, I am on my way back to Bangkok. Gone like the swallows, but as much as them, they return every year, I will also return to Glenburn (actually sooner than that). What a happy situation.

The four weeks on the vineyard went in a heartbeat. And as you know, life on a farm is very busy. To say it with Calvin and Hobbes: “The days were just packed” (see below)

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Last supper

January 10, 2009

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The Merlot went very well with the pizza

I am not much of a cook but I can ‘heat things up’. My last dinner on the vineyard was very enjoyable. I sat on the terrace and watched the sun go down. With some sambal olek the pizza margherita was spiced up ( I did not use the tomato sauce).

Our ‘2001 Two Hills Merlot’ though already quite “aged” is holding well. My friend Timo Mayer (winemaker of Gembrook Hills) called this vintage an “umpf” wine, meaning that it is high in alcohol and shows strong tannins. The 2004 vintage in contrast produced a rather elegant Merlot. I am still pleasantly surprised that this wine aged so well and is still a very enjoyable drink.

The evenings on the vineyard are so peaceful. After the birds are gone to sleep, there is no sound. I love the quiet of the Australian country side.

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Phylloxera in the Yarra Valley

January 8, 2009

On December 23 another outbreak of phylloxera in the Yarra Valley was confirmed. This is the third infection since 1. December 2006. Phylloxera is a small aphid that lives on the roots of grape vines. Despite almost a century of research no remedy has been found so far. An infection will inevitable lead to the death of the vine. Grape growers, vintners, wine makers and winery owners are concerned that the spread of the disease cannot be contained.

A new “Phylloxera Infested Zone” called the Maroondah PIZ has been declared around the known infested sites, with the boundary set at a minimum of 5km from all known phylloxera affected properties, and taking into account physical features including roads and rivers.

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The Maroondah PIZ

One can see the affected vineyard from St Hubert’s road, near Punt Road Winery. It has obviously been treated. The dead vines are without any leaves.

The four photos below show some of the symptoms we look out for. All four photos come from a brochure called “Inspecting Vineyards for Phylloxera” on vine desease from South Australia.

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Early signs of phylloxera

We at Two Hills Vineyard are very concerned too. Our wine is made in a winery in the Yarra Valley (Yering Farm Wines) and some of our contractors and vineyard workers are also working on vineyards there.

In order to not contract the vine disease we are attempting a certification with a protocol in place which will prevent our vines from being affected sometime in the future. It’s quite fortunate that we have no visitors in the vineyard and do not participate in the wine tourist trade. However, all people working in the vineyard and their equipment need to take proper precautions. We hope it will work.

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“Greek dinner” at the vineyard

January 6, 2009

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Australian olives and olive oil and Two Hills Merlot, what a treat !

From the outset, I apologize to all Greek people, Greece and Greek culture and so on. I did not in the least want to offend anybody or humiliate the great Greek culture.

What you see in this picture is of course not a Greek dinner, but just a modest dish of olives, Australian olives to be precise. They are coming from an olive groove in Tallarook. Juergen grew them and Michael cured them, and needless to say: they are delicious.

I am of course not known for being a (great) cook or a cook at all. Moreover, I am alone in the vineyard at Glenburn. However, before another session of fruit wire lifting in the evening, I made myself this little dish. The olive oil is also local coming from ‘down the road’. The bread comes from Giant Steps in Healesville and can match any rural bread from Europe.

I am almost done with the wire lifting, only the Pinot Noir is left. Hurrah!!!!

The evenings here are magic. You have to come and see for yourself one day.

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Sunday on the vineyard

January 4, 2009

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Two Hills Vineyard, Sauvignon Blanc

The flapping of birds wings against the window woke me up this morning. I helped the young swallows out of our shed by opening the back window. It was about a quarter to seven and I had to hurry because I had promised my daughter Charlotte to take her on a morning walk through the vineyards. She was already waiting for me. It was the last morning on the farm for my three women before they had to return to Bangkok.

It was a glorious morning. The sun was up and bathed the rolling green hills in its tender light. We did not have to walk long before we bumped into a Kangaroo family. The mother and joey jumped through the rows of our Pinot Noir, downhill to get away from us. We saw the two two more times. We walked over the second hill down to Katy’s creek and back to the shed. ‘Father and daughter talk’ all the way.

After breakfast, we packed the suitcases into our new pick-up truck and off we went to Melbourne airport. The girls were very sad leaving the vineyard behind but there was no way of extending the stay in Australia. I am the lucky one, having another week in Australia to do some more work in the vineyard and around the shed.

We had lunch at the airport, then came the time to say good bye (intense as always). The three went through the passport control and I turned around and went back to the farm. I love driving through the Victorian countryside but first I had to get out of town. Endless suburbs with houses on quarter acres blocks, industrial estates, junk yards, and other disturbing urban land use had to be traversed. But I knew the open countryside was waiting for me just after Diamond Creek.

I listened to Country (and Western) music, opened the window, arm out and felt like a real Australian country bloke. Samson Hill Winery was the first vineyard I passed, then came Christmas Hills and in no time I reached Yarra Glen. I did some shopping in the local supermarket.

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The old gum tree and the Chardonnay block

After I reached the vineyard, I took a rest during the hot hours of the day. It was the hottest day since a long long time. After it had cooled down, I worked a bit in the garden, then lifted fruit wires for about two hours in the Merlot, witnessed a glorious sunset, prepared dinner, drank a bottle of ‘2001 Two Hills Merlot’ and went to bed. It was the warmest evening so far. The quiet country atmosphere brought back the necessary peace of mind.

PS: I wrote this blog from my terrace overlooking the vineyard. We are connected, hurrah!

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Welcome 2009

January 1, 2009

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Clouds over the hills around Healesville with mount St. Leonard (1028 m) to the left

As customary, we spent Christmas and New Years Eve with Michael, my brother in law, and his lovely wife Helen in their cosy family home in Healesville, Victoria. Boy did we have a great time. The time went by just too fast for the six of us.

The year 2008 is gone and with it the anxiety, the joy, the disappointments, the chagrin and the happiness. We deplore the losses, and welcome the changes.

The past year brought great changes to our family. We moved from Jakarta/Indonesia to Bangkok/Thailand, experienced a new job, a new school, a new environment, a new culture to get acquainted with and it will take us some more time to adjust, to understand, to appreciate, and to feel at home.

For 2009 our expectations are high. Our ambitions at Two Hills Vineyard are to continue to produce first grade fruit for excellent wines. Despite the loss of about 50% of our Pinot Noir grapes due to a severe frost at the end of October, we are very optimistic about the coming vintage. The Sauvignon Blanc fruit look very good, and our Merlot is in a good condition. The Chadonnay vines, now one year old, prosper and we have very few losses.

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Tasting the 2008 Two Hills Merlot with Alan Johns, owner and winemaker of Yering Farm Wines

Our 2008 Merlot also showed promising first results. At Yering Farm, we tasted the young wine from various barrels. The wine was fruity, had good structure for a medium bodied wine, and the tannins were just right. We hope it will mature nicely so that we can present our customers with another excellent vintage of our flagship red wine from Two Hills Vineyard.

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Two Hills Vineyard, Sauvignon Blanc (left) and Chardonnay (right)

Temperatures are low for this time of the year but we had some rains which helped to make everything looking very green. A little digging, however, shows that the soil is still very dry and that we urgently need more rains. The general drought has bot been broken as yet.

A new year means new opportunities. Also in 2009 grapes will be grown, wines will be made, and we will get ample material to apply our taste buds to. Sampling fine wines and enjoy them with good food, either within the family or with our friends, will be our prime pastime in the 12 months to come. Hope you can join us. Cheers and a happy New Year to you all.

PS: I write this new blog entry from our vineyard. Yes, we installed a broadband internet connection on the last day of 2008. From now on, I do not have to hurry to a wireless spot (35 km from here) or any other place with an internet connection. Blogging will take a new dimension. Hurray!

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Back on the farm at last

December 16, 2008

You cannot imagine how good it feels to be back home on the farm in Glenburn, Victoria. This time of the year Two Hills Vineyard is at its best. The sky is blue, the sun is warm and the vineyard is “in full steam”.

And puffing along, I am enjoying rural life wholeheartedly. Rest assured I will taste some wonderful wines, have fun with my family and catch up with friends. There will be many memorable barbecues and lunches on the “lawn” on the farm. We will drink delicious wines and I will come back in 2009 well rested with a tank full of new energy.

The Man from Mosel River is also taking a break from blogging. I might go down to the “Innocent Bystander” in Healesville which has a wireless service and I might enter a post here and there but do not expect much.

I would like to thank all my blog visitors, readers and contributors for their interest in the affairs of the Man from Mosel River. I wish your and your families a relaxing Christmas season and a good start into the New Year. Have a glass of fine wine here and there. Cheers

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