Grey Ridge Vineyard

Small enough to survive the storms yesterday!

The vineyard was battered by heavy rain and very gusty winds, but NOTHING like the rest of the country 😵‍💫 so we are very grateful.
Tiday the sun is shining and the breeze is gentle 🎉🥰

It was quite cold last night😳🥶 but the sunrise was spectacular!
The frost sprinklers went on at 10pm and it was -3C for most of the night - which meant there was an impressive crop of icicles on display this morning. I love the ice-encased weeds on the ground; they look very alien in the close-up shot😂

Yesterday it was Spring - with the blossom, spring bulbs and small flowers in the grass all showing off their best. And then... see a following post for the last gasp of winter!

Spring has arrived.

We have a small house orchard around the house with Apricot, Peach, Plum, Cherry, Apple, Pear and Quince. We get heaps of fruit each year and share with friends etc.

The apricot tree is always first out and has to be protected from frost to get any fruit at the end of summer. A water sprinkler does the job nicely.

We have also water blasted the front terrace and cleaned up the outdoor furniture to get ready for house guests and private tasting groups. Just call us if you have a small group and want to reserve the terrace for a tasting - groups from 6 to 16 people are perfect.

Looking forward to a new season and visitors from NZ and all over the world... go to www.greyridge.co.nz to see what we offer...

Finally, a photo of a NZ Falcon (or Karearea) on the vineyard. Saw this one just finishing off a snack that it had caught this afternoon. The NZ Falcon (on the post) is much smaller than the Swamp Harrier (often just called a Hawk or Kāhu) on the right. The hawk somehow got under the nets and had to be let out - it's only happened once in 10 years and had a happy end.