THE Clare Valley is known for its quality wines, particularly its outstanding riesling. The region is a hive of activity this time of year, with the grape harvest well underway.
Taylors Wines vineyard manager Colin Hinze said it had been a very variable growing season.
"We had a very wet winter and then a very dry spring," he said. "In June and July it was quite wet, and we had good, soaking rain.
"Having the wet winter did benefit the vineyards, as it was good for leaching salinity from the soil.
"But, from then on we had a dry spring and we had some spring frost and some damage in early October
"Luckily, frost damage was minimal but it will reduce yields on some parts of the vineyard.
"The dry spring meant irrigation had to be put on earlier than normal this season. From mid September onwards the top soil moisture was drying down quite quickly. That meant we had to start supplementary irrigation about a month earlier than we typically do.
"October was substantially warmer than average and the dry weather continued in November."
One of the good aspects to the season was that December remained relatively mild.
"The average temperature was almost the same as in November - it didn't really get hot," he said.
"Because the weather turned out quite mild we were able to reduce our irrigation. In December, we irrigated with only about the half the volume of the year before."
The relatively mild summer weather was coupled with a drenching, substantial rain in January.
"We received 65 millimetres in January across four days," he said.
"It happened just prior to the ripening phase of the grapes, so there was a very minor amount of fruit damage from the rain. The benefit of being able to use less irrigation water was much greater than the loss due to fruit damage. The rain really helped refresh the canopies. It also gave us a couple of weeks where no irrigation was needed."
The season was "fairly early'' this year.
"We started in the last week of January, picking a little bit of pinot noir for our sparkling base," he said.
"For sparkling, we pick the fruit less ripe, because it's about the acidity you're wanting for that wine style."
By early February, harvest of the white varieties was in full swing, with quite a few early morning starts at the Taylors vineyard.
By mid February, the white grape harvest was all complete and harvest overall was about a quarter of the way through, and he was very happy with the quality of the grapes.
"I'm really pleased with the whites we've both harvested and had delivered so far," he said. "There's some really good flavours and good, solid yields. It's been good to get both."
Taylors are now harvesting their shiraz and then merlot grapes.
"To be finished in March is pretty uncommon," he said. "Normally we'll be going into April, and typically cabernet sauvignon is the last to be picked."
Taylors Wines at Auburn covers 800 hectares, with about 500ha planted to vines. Other parts of the property are dedicated to cropping and hay production. The two different primary productions work in well together.
"We use the straw as a mulch back in the vineyard," Mr Hinze said.
The straw offers a range of benefits including keeping the ground temperature down, weed suppression and water retention.
A targeted spraying program is run early in the season.
As well as growing its own grapes, Taylors buys grapes from partner-growers in the Clare Valley to supplement their own supplies.
The winery also buys targeted parcels from other regions and brings the grapes to Auburn for processing.
"For example, we work with producers from the Adelaide Hills and source their pinot noir and sauvignon blanc, which are varieties better suited to cool climate zones," he said.
"We also buy strategic shiraz from McLaren Vale and cabernet sauvignon from the Coonawarra."
Grapes from those regions go into our Jaraman range, which features a blend of two regions, for example a Clare-McLaren Vale shiraz and a Clare-Coonawara cabernet sauvignon.
"It's a deliberate blending, targeting the $30 price point. It's proving quite popular in the marketplace, and its popularity is growing," he said.
Taylors had always had a good, solid domestic background, with export sales making up a smaller portion of the business.
"But, the export side is growing in importance," he said. "Europe and Britain are our traditional markets, along with the US.
"We also have long-term relationships with China and New Zealand, and we're always looking at opportunities to grow through new markets."