Wine lovers; spare a thought for the humble barrel. It has been around for a very long time, at least since the days of Imperial Rome, and it has been used in winemaking from the middle ages or earlier. In those times it was nothing more than a storage vessel.
The soothsayer said to Caesar, “Beware the Ides of March”, to which the great man blithely answered, “The Ides of March are come.” The reply was prophetic, “Aye, Caesar, but not gone.” This was according to the imagination of Shakespeare but what followed is a matter of historical truth. Before the Ides had passed Caesar was a bloodied corpse. What are the Ides and when are they important?
Those who grow grapes in a cool climate fear frost and at Pegasus Bay we certainly toss and turn in our cots at night during late spring and early autumn. A spring frost can kill the tender new shoots, leaves and inflorescences (flower buds).
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