Technical information: Pinot Gris 2010

The grapes, after being handpicked, were destemmed to the press where they underwent 3 hours of skin contact. The juice was racked with light lees to ferment tank to assist mouth feel, complexity and texture. The wine underwent a long cold ferment at 11-12 degrees C over the period of a month to retain nice fresh aromatics, and then stayed on its gross fermentation lees, stirred weekly for 4 months, again building texture. The wine was lightly fined with isinglass, filtered and bottled in October. Alc: 13.5%

Viticulture

Clones: 115/777/667/5
Rootstock: Swartman 101.14 330.9
Plants per hectare: 2500
Row Spacing: 2.5m
Plant Spacing: 1.67m
Fruiting Wire: 1m
Spur pruning
Trained to VSP
Desired crop attained by shoot and bunch thinning
7 irrigation zones allow for irrigation and fertigation to soil type and plant need
The site’s hilly contours mean frost fighting is not required
The canopy is managed by wires

2008: Superb conditions, almost ‘too good”. Thinning to control crop size was critical and resulted in a successful harvest. We bottled a small quantity for Gate 20 Two in February, for release October 2009. Our Pinot Gris was a component in Mt Difficulty Pinot Gris 2008 (Estate Wines)

2009: A cool wet season made it a challenge for both viticulture and winemaker. However, we had a very good fruit set which paved the way for excellent clean fruit and a successful harvest. We will bottle both Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris from this season under Gate 20 Two.

Harvesting time is controlled by the winemaker. Clones on individual blocks within the vineyard are picked and stored separately for later tasting and blending.

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Technical information

Viticulture

Clones: 115/777/667/5
Rootstock: Swartman 101.14 330.9
Plants per hectare: 2500
Row Spacing: 2.5m
Plant Spacing: 1.67m
Fruiting Wire: 1m
Spur pruning
Trained to VSP
Desired crop attained by shoot and bunch thinning
7 irrigation zones allow for irrigation and fertigation to soil type and plant need
The site’s hilly contours mean frost fighting is not required
The canopy is managed by wires

2008: Superb conditions, almost ‘too good”. Thinning to control crop size was critical and resulted in a successful harvest. We bottled a small quantity for Gate 20 Two in February, for release October 2009. Our Pinot Gris was a component in Mt Difficulty Pinot Gris 2008 (Estate Wines)

2009: A cool wet season made it a challenge for both viticulture and winemaker. However, we had a very good fruit set which paved the way for excellent clean fruit and a successful harvest. We will bottle both Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris from this season under Gate 20 Two.

Harvesting time is controlled by the winemaker. Clones on individual blocks within the vineyard are picked and stored separately for later tasting and blending.

The pick of the summer

The resulting wine is blended each season from selected clones within the vineyard. Hand work is predominant – pruning, shoot and bunch thinning, bud rubbing, leaf plucking, and harvesting are all by hand. Gate 20 Two is a certified sustainable vineyard and all due care is taken to adhere to those independent standards.

The vineyard was gradually established between 2001 and 2004. It sits on an almost square site surrounded by conservation land on steep to rolling land with views towards the striated cliffs of the old gold-mining reserve to the South, up the Kawarau gorge to Queenstown to the West. Across the river, the Clutha valley stretches to the Lindis with the spectacular Pisa and Dunstan ranges flanking West and East. The homestead sits in the midst of the vines, ensuring close attention to vineyard management. The intimate relationship with the vines and the work involved in production is deeply satisfying. It’s a place that we love,- to wake up each morning to such superb vistas is an experience well beyond the ordinary.

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Technical information

Most of our crop is contracted to Mt Difficulty winery, but our desire to extend the quality achieved in the vineyard through to a finished wine led to the Gate 20 Two brand, with the aim of creating first class wines of distinction. Viticultural expertise, our particular site’s unique climate and soils, and the experience and finesse of our winemaker are a great base from which to achieve this result. We seek to produce exceptional wines which will always have a limited release. Grapes for Gate 20 Two are from selected vines. Even on a small vineyard soil, slope and clone type combine to produce distinct flavours from particular blocks. The wines made will reflect that terroir.

It’s pretty much a family affair on our vineyard. Our viticulture is ably managed and directed by Robin and James Dicey, our winemaker is Matt Dicey, and we do as much of the work towards achieving quality as we can ourselves. The Dicey family have a longstanding relationship with Bannockburn and extensive knowledge of it’s various terroirs. They have been an integral part in the development of this region. We all aim to produce intense rich flavours from vines that are managed for low yield and high quality harvests.

Gate 20 Two is owned by Pauline and Nigel McKinlay, who fell into the business purely by the accident of purchasing a house site in Felton Rd. and discovering that, if Bannockburn is regarded as the jewel in Central Otago’s wine-producing crown, then Felton Rd. is the star. It seemed a waste to not make use of such a wonderful site. And so it began!

Find out more about our vineyard and our wine selection.

Gate 20 Two is a family owned 5 hectare vineyard, situated on rolling slopes at the base of the spectacular gold diggings in Felton Rd. Bannockburn in Central Otago. This is an area of extraordinary beauty, surrounded by rugged thyme covered hills and mountains, lakes and rivers. It is also an area rapidly gaining recognition as one of the few areas in the world able to produce pinot noir of stunning quality and complexity.

"Looking down on the vineyard soaking up the Autumn sun"

Bannockburn was the first grape-growing region to be developed in the Cromwell Basin – it is slightly warmer and has more frost free days than other areas in the region, and the mix of claybound and gravelly soils assist in giving the wines good structure and produce some luscious flavours. We have 3 hectares of Pinot Noir and 2 hectares in Pinot Gris. Gate 20 Two wines are made exclusively from these grapes.

Bannockburn is tucked under the Carrick Range in the lee of the Southern Alps. It has annual rainfall of around 320mm, is hot and dry in summer with long sunshine hours, and can be very cold in winter. The long dry autumns, combined with a large diurnal range – hot days, cool clear nights – encourage the slow ripening of the distinctive fruit flavours this area is famous for. These are vines on the edge as the climate can veer from one extreme to the other in rapid succession and yet the notoriously fickle pinot noir vine seems to enjoy this variety This is the most Southern vine-growing region in the world. The 45 degree latitude and continental style climate makes it similar to other fine pinot noir regions.