Wednesday, October 10th, 2007...5:26 am

Our forced winter

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As we are just south of the equator here we do not have a cold winter and springtime to help us synchronise bud burst. Thus all the grape and wine growers in this region depend on the growth regulator called DORMEX to stimulate bud break. This is the chemical that John Dolier of Naivasha vineyards spent several months getting it into the country. Just in time. It is diluted in water and combined with some white oil and we paint this on the buds on the fruiting canes.

Just so you know what it looks like….and also THANK YOU John and Ellie, yet again.

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and the label reads……

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and the back warns….

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2 Comments

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2 Comments

  • Alexander Eichener
    November 21st, 2007 at 3:09 pm

    So far, there only seem to be two other producers in Kenya apart from you:

    - John and Guy d’Olier (Naivasha Vineyards)
    - Yatta Vineyards (parastatal, via Kenya Wine Agencies).

    Is this perception correct?
    If so, then I wonder what kind of incompetence and corruption made Yatta go downhill? I had tasted a rather nice and amenable 2004 white wine from them two years ago (the bottle was gathering dust in the lowest shelf of a Nakuru Uchumi), but since then, they have scrapped their bottling machinery, and have changed to tetrapaks, the contents of which now have no resemblance to grape wine whatsoever. The “wine” costs 1/3 less, and is 5 times less quality.

    Wish you good luck with the endeavour, Louise! I can relate because I am actually undertaking something similar in shags (and out of similar motivation), though not with vitis vinifera.

    Regards,
    Alexander

  • Carlos Suárez S.
    December 19th, 2007 at 3:53 pm

    I live in Colombia, South America and I have a small vineyard to 2,200 meters high. I cultivation Riesling and pinot noir in a small village in the Colombian Andes called La Ceja. For me it is wonderful to find a blog as you have. Their entries and photographs are an inspiration to me.
    I take this opportunity to wish you a Merry Christmas to you (Louise), Seiyia and family in general… and Muia.

    if you want to visit my blog… www.ciklope.blogspot.com

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