What's New

It's vintage time in the Barossa! In between picking, pressing and fermenting grapes, Scott and I are still meeting our customers at the cellar door each Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Below are answers to some of the most common questions we are asked during vintage time. How do we decide when to pick grapes? We use a range of factors to choose when to pick the grapes, with the most important being the various aspects of 'ripeness' of the fruit. these aspects include: Baume: This is the sugar content, and therefore alcohol potential, of the grape. Whites are usually ripe at around 10.5-13.5 Baume, and reds at 13-15 Baume, and in March conditions in Eden Valley most varieties ripen at about 0.8-1 Baume per week. This is a good rough indicator but because seasons and vineyards vary, it's not enough to know if the grape is ripe. Acidity: We measure the pH, and the 'titratable acidity' of juice, and it's more important in whites than reds. The titratable acidity is a better measure of how the wine will taste, a juice above 8.5g/L acidity will often be too tart (depending on the variety, style and sweetness we're aiming for), and many years we pick whites as soon as the acidity has dropped past 8.5. Grape taste & looks: As well as these simple measurements, we also look at a range of factors on the grape itself: How plump it feels, the colour of the seeds and stems, how thick the pulp is, and how the juice and skins taste. Based on these ripeness aspects, we will look at the weather forecast to predict how long it is until the grape is ready to pick. Hot weather ripens faster than cold, up to about 36deg. Above 36 it's possible for the vines to shut down and stop ripening entirely until the weather cools down, so it's important we test grapes just before and after heatwaves like the one we've just had. As we get closer to ripe we will test more and more often, to drill down to the exact date we want to pick. What do you do with the pressed grape skins? We feed them to our sheep! 

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Managing our little cellar door during COVID has resulted in a number of learnings for us including a surprise one, that both our visitors and us have really enjoyed our booked experiences. Making an appointment means we can do a range of fun wine experiences which just can't work when we're flat out with lots of guests. This more personalised experience means plenty of one-on-one time to not only learn about our wines and all the winemaking, but also adapting to what you're feeling on the day such as a tour, getting through all the questions you might have about wine, maybe a little of the latest local banter or a serene picnic out on our lawn doing your own thing. We know sometimes booking can be a chore, so we've made it as easy. We've set it up so you can book on our website, directly from Facebook or Google, the old fashioned way by just giving Bec a call on 0402 788 526 or send through an email on rebecca@fernfieldwines.com.au. We are really happy to have you visit whatever way works best for you. Unique Experiences