"What are you doing over there…"
I often get asked this by inquisitive souls as they point toward a vacant patch of earth that used to have vines growing in it.
Fair question. Bare dirt in a vineyard tends to make people nervous. Understandable. It is not usually listed as a feature on the brochure.
We have not forgotten something, buried something, or finally lost the plot. Well, not completely.
Old vines, like old dogs, eventually need a rest.
In short, like me, grape vines get old, slow down and become less productive. Unlike me, they do not get to complain about it over a glass of red. Large parts of our vineyard is now approaching 30 years of age, and the time has come to retire the old vines and start the process of rejuvenation.
Retire. I wish. I have been putting my hand up for that for years, but apparently vines are allowed to retire before I am. And who is going to maintain my beautiful lawn!?
New vines need 5 to 6 years before they produce the quality we expect. That is why this is a staged process, not a grand act of agricultural vandalism where we pull the whole place out and then stand around for six years wondering why there is no wine. We replant selected blocks over time, making sure new vines are established before older blocks are retired.
A lot of this work has already been happening away from the Cellar Door. Now we have reached the more visible areas, which is why the questions have started.
It is worth saying clearly, especially to our members and long-time supporters, that the best blocks of fruit that make up the Helen’s Hill range remain in place. The wines you know, love, cellar, argue about, reorder, and occasionally tell us we have foolishly under-produced, will continue. We are not pulling the heart out of the vineyard. We are protecting it.
I am saddened to see vines removed that have produced our wines for so many years. These vines helped shape Helen’s Hill and produced wine people opened on anniversaries, brought to dinner parties, and shared with people they love. In that sense, they are part of the family.
But even family eventually has to stop pretending it can do what it did 30 years ago.
All is not lost. In fact, there is significant good news.
Vineyard technology and our learnings over the last 30 years have moved a long way. Planting densities, row widths, irrigation, canopy management, equipment and infrastructure have all improved. How we manage canopy, water, spacing and each block has a direct impact on fruit quality.
People like to think wine is all romance, sunsets and someone wandering through the vines looking thoughtful. There is a bit of that. There is also machinery access, trellising, soil preparation and plenty of decisions that are only romantic if you have had too much Pinot Noir.
This is not a case of ripping out a few old vines, chucking some new ones in the ground and hoping for the best. After 30 years, we know which varieties love which blocks, which spots are warmer, which areas hold more moisture, which rows struggle, and which parts make us stop and take notice.
You would want to hope so too. If you work the same piece of land for three decades and learn nothing, it might be time to take up bowling. In general, we got a lot right the first time. But “a lot right” and “exactly right” are not the same thing. Now we can refine it to the nth degree and plant the right variety in the right ground.
There are also some new faces coming.
I am particularly excited about small plantings of Grenache and Chenin Blanc. Nothing rushed, and nothing planted just because someone in a wine bar with a moustache and tiny glasses decided it was fashionable. These varieties are being considered because we believe they have a genuine place here.
And to our members, this part is important. Your support has invigorated the place and given us the confidence to go further out on a limb for wines we have always dreamed of making. Chenin Blanc has been one of those quiet ideas in the back of the mind. The sort of idea that starts as “wouldn’t it be nice” and becomes “right, let’s stop talking about it and plant the thing.”
That does not happen without people who keep coming back, keep believing in the wines, filling their cellars, and giving us a reason to look ahead rather than just polish the silverware.
It is a lot of work, and Rome was not built in a day. Neither is a vineyard worth having. So when you look out and see tracts of vacant vineyard, know that it is not neglect. It is the start of a new chapter in the book of Helen’s Hill.
Right now, it may look like dirt, posts, planning and optimism. Not exactly postcard material. But give it five years. It is going to be something special.
— Allan
