Viticulture
Clifford Bay produces fine wines from our own and several premium vineyards situated within the Awatere Valley sub region of Marlborough, New Zealand.
Viticulture
We believe that the sustainable viticulture practices employed on our vineyard plays an important part in being environmentally responsible and contribute to both our employees and consumers safety.Grapes grown in the Awatere Valley are generally at an advantage over other grape growing regions of New Zealand as they receive less rainfall, enjoy a more moderate climate and subsequently are under less disease pressure. This is especially important in the later stages of the season when the grapes are slowly ripening, intensifying in flavour and more prone to disease if rainfall is high. During long dry spells we are able to react through managed irrigation scheduling to ensure vines maintain optimum health.
We take a conservative approach to pruning, keeping our cropping levels at a low to moderate levels and allowing us to produce the intense varietal and flavour characteristics found in our wines. This approach, along with trimming and leaf plucking, keeps our vine canopies open and exposes the ripening fruit bunches to both the abundant Marlborough sunshine and the breezes that dry out any accumulated moisture that may be present.
Nearing harvest, we sample and test grapes from each of our vineyards to highlight ripeness and flavour profiles. Once the correct balance is achieved we harvest our grapes in the cool of the morning or evening to allow us to preserve the flavours from the vines.
Our skilled winemaker then goes to work in producing consistently excellent vintages.Soils
The Lower Awatere Valley soil is composed primarily of thick layers of mudstone and sandstone. Deposits of gravel and alluvium, derived from ancient glacial movements, form a top layer of variable depths. These soil compositions allow us to manage our vines for optimum grape producing health.
