Winter is setting in and the vines are shutting down, the newly fermented wines are going into hibernation as the temperatures dip towards freezing....

December is the month when everything shuts down and we start to breathe and the vines think about shutting down until Spring. For the newly fermented wines, it is the time for them to "rest" after being racked off their skins. It is also the time when we can take a little breather before resuming work in the vineyard!

With most of the new vintage in barrel we can almost "forget" about them until Spring unless the secondary fermentation or malolactic fermentation starts. This usually takes up to 12 months here at Combebelle but we are hoping to benefit from the fact that the 2008 only just finished its malolactic fermentation in September/October so the barrels will still "carry" some of these lovely bacteria which acts as a natural "innoculation" for the newly fermented wines. However, if the temperature in the barrel cellar and winery dip down too low, they will just not go to work.

One thing we do need to do at this time of year is to make sure we top up the barrels on a weekly basis until the ullage stops. We usually spend a couple of months doing this and gradually lessen the frequency towards the end of January/beginning of February when we can leave the barrels for a month or more at a time.

However, for the first time in Combebelle history (at least since 2005!), the reds started their MLF almost straightaway. The conditions were right and the temperatures still relatively warm. The barrel cellar felt like a sauna at times but at least the wine was busy and getting th job done of converting the hard lactic acid into the softer malic acid.
This meant that we had to monitor the barrels closely and more frequently to ensure the bacteria would not burn out and "arrest" midway through the MLF. We used some of the barrels to innoculate the tanks to get these going as well. If the cold spell held off for a little longer we could easily complete the MLF before the end of January and rack the wines before the winter really sets in here.

Due to the relatively warm temperatures thoughout October and November, the vines were taking a little longer to "shut down" and drop their leaves. But, as soon as they started dropping their leaves, we began to plan the pruning with a lovely couple who agreed to do most of the pruning for us over 2-3 months. We have had our problems regarding pruning mainly with companies who get the job done but not necessarily in the way you would like. However, when you come to a new place and are trying to get things done you tend to go on recommendations (good or bad) as you cannot leave things until the last minute! On balance, the vineyard was not in that bad a condition but it was obvious that there had been no real consisitency in the pruning even under the previous owner. We are hoping that with this couple we will get back to a higher quality and consistency each year.

As has happened most years since we took over Combebelle, the cold spell and snow finally arrived around Christmas time which was good in one respect as it meant the vines really could shut down and go into hibernation to rcharge their batteries so to speak.