We have not put out a letter since June last year 2010!
Growing season for 2010 started really well and despite a not very hot late summer/autumn we harvested in middle of May, earliest ever. Good ripening and harvest of 17.5 tonnes divided between ROSE and Alex and Greylands Ridge labels.
We now have our wine made by the award winning winemakers Antony Worch and Marion Vialade at Alexandra Vintners Limited. Antony is from Alsace and Marion from Provence. Marion is also an accomplished artist and we have purchased a recent work from her exhibition in Cromwell.
Judy and I travelled to Europe for a couple of weeks in July/August this year and spent some time with our old Danish friends Kell and Anne-Marie Behrens who live in the Ahr Valley south of Bonn. This is one of the few Pinot Noir growing areas in Germany and has been making wine for hundreds of years. The wines are excellent and we sampled many good examples. Different to NZ Pinot perhaps less fruit driven but their older wines are very fine indeed. Baden in the south is the other Pinot growing area close to the Alsace as Antony our winemaker tells us.
While there we also spent a few days near Alba in Northern Italy the Piedmonte region where the grape type is Nebbiolo and the wines of Barolo are justifiably famous indeed. Big dark concentrated wines very individual as to area like a big Aussie Shiraz without the Jam!
We are all pruned and ready for budburst in about a month usually second week in October and then into Frost Fighting until end of November. Alexandra has had the driest Winter for 18 years so it will be interesting to see how this affects the season coming.
Robyn Sim is now our viticulturalist and looks after our premium block the Anders block named after our second grandson now nearly four. Judy and I look after the Lachlan block named after our first grandson (seven), our only granddaughter Izobelle is four and the ROSE we make is named Belle Rosé after her.
Judy and I both get the pension this year but with markets as they are at present intend to work at the Day Job until at least Seventy - God willing. We wish all our customers a good Spring/Summer season and keep buying. The wine is better every year with vine age and the 2006 is still drinking well although only 51 cases left.
Kindest Regards
Patrick and Judy
....
Wines of exceptional quality regardless
of price. 
We have started a "2 bottle club" offering 2 selected bottles Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter.
Please register interest on our website with name and address and credit card number and expiry date. Wishing you all a great spring season.
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