Courtesy of the La Nina weather pattern across much of eastern Australia, we have had a relatively cool season with quite a lot of cloud. In southern Tassie it has been relatively dry, so we have been irrigating our vines to keep them in top condition. At present we just starting to net our earlier blocks of Pinot Noir to protect the grapes from birds – an absolute necessity! These earlier blocks are going through veraison – this is the growth stage where the sugar starts accumulating, the grapes soften and in red grapes the grape colour changes from green to dull red on their way to black. Obviously birds recognise that black grapes have sugar and flavour – so they are pretty tasty!! Crop levels look to be average – so we anticipate good flavours as it looks like being a slow ripening season and the vines are not showing any signs of environmental stress. Picking of our grapes for sparkling is likely to commence in early March – but for now it is back to the bird netting exercise!!