Report for the year that was: 2009
It has taken a long time to get to this point, and I must sincerely apologise for the lack of updates. Never mind, we are back in action, and hopefully will now just power ahead again.
Looking back, we have had a very good year overall.
"Vintage" that time of year when we make our wine, was very small. Once again the weather was not kind to the grapes, with many overcast days of rain drizzle, not enough to make an impression in our water storage capacity, but just right for the proliferation of mildews and fungus. for the second year in a row we did not receive any red grapes, and so at this point we do not have any Cabernet, Shiraz or Merlot in storage. We do have good stocks of bottled Merlot and a Cabernet Merlot, so we won't run out of wine any time soon, but the pressure is on to get grapes this coming vintage.
This year we received Verdelho and a tiny parcel of Viogner. Hopefully this coming vintage, we will be getting more Viogner, enough to make a decent amount of wine. the tiny parcel produced about 36 bottles, and it is very nice. The volume was not enough to stabilise it, but a few crystals in the wine doesn't matter as it is not for sale.
So at this time we are gearing up to the next year's vintage. It has been a very hard year for our vines, with very little rain to help them along. The drought is very evident around this area, and any little shower is greeted with joy and prayers for more. We have had only about 50mm since June.
The other news at Cranes is the imminent opening of our B&B facility, whic is located in the house in the end wing near the cellar door. In the photo opposite the area I'm talking about is on the left hand side. We have a page dedicated to this, so you can check it out there.
Five Mile Shiraz
The story... We managed to get a very small parcel of very good fruit from a friendly neighbouring vineyard (Shadylane Farm Vineyard) and so as not to lose this fruit in the "big" ( by our standards ) mechanical crushers we had to do everything the hard way, by hand. Friends rallied round and in the blazing midday sun we stripped the grapes from the stems by hand, crushed by in the time honoured way, by foot, and pressed, all manually. Caitlin, our cellar hand, said she trod at least five miles in crushing the grapes, and so the name was born.
Wine Dogs of Australia
If you have visited a few wineries around Australia you may be familiar with the book "Wine Dogs of Australia". You will certainly be aware of it if you have visited our neighbours, Captains Paddock, since their dog Merlot was the only Queensland dog in the original book, that is until the 2007 edition. The 2007 edition was released in October and Merlot has been joined by some canine colleagues including our very own Dylan. Dylan is a handsome Welsh Springer Spaniel who is happy to greet any guest as they arrive "IF" he is allowed out to play on that day. Unfortunately for Dylan he is generally kept inside out of mischief during business hours, but he can happily make special appearances by request.
What's Happening in the Region
For up to date information as to what is happening in the region a link follows for your convenience.
Wine and food in the Park Festival: 2009:
A report:
The festinal this year was an absolute cracker. It was attended by thousands of people and as usual the weather was glorious. The crowds were entertained during the day by the stage performers, and bands of wandering street entertainers kept everyone, children and adults alike, very amused. (See the picture of the musical chefs on the right).
The wine tent was packed from early on in the day, with folk tasting the local wineries product, and other fare from the South Burnett, such as our famous local cheeses, olives, and dragonfruit. In the evening the blues and rock from the stage kept everyone grooving on into the evening.
Wine & Food in the Park is an annual event, and the next one, will be held on the second Saturday in March 2009, so mark it in your diaries. Be sure to book your accomodation early as Kingaroy and surrounds sees a lot of visitors that weekend.
The event has its own website which will be updated by January so if you are interested you can follow this link: www.winefood.southburnett.com.au
There is live entertainment from 10.00am till 8.30pm and South Burnett wineries will attend in force to promote and sell their wines. It is a great fun day. See you there?
Availability Outside Normal Business Hours
We are open 362.5 days of the year from 10.00am till 4.00pm. The only days we are closed are Good Friday, Christmas day, and Anzac day till 1.00pm.
We understand however that this may still not fit in with everyone's plans consequently we are amenable to opening at other times for groups and special events by appointment. Our ability to respond may depend on our circumstances and the nature of the request and in some circumstances may include some additional charge.
Please contact us if you have a special request and we will try to respond positively