February 2025 Updates

The mini tornado that struck Wannamal
February 2025
Written by Katrina Miller

A wild highly isolated storm (aka mini tornado) whipped through Wannamal and Mooliabeenee this month. Although it brought some rain (~6mm), it came with very strong gusts of wind that tore large branches off trees, ripped out trees completely, took roofs off sheds and cut power lines. Evan was on his way back from Margaret River dropping off grapes but fortunately made it home before the storm hit. The Bindoon-Moora Road was closed because a live power line had snapped on the road and tree branches were strewn everywhere. Tennis at Wannamal got canceled that night for obvious reasons but fortunately there was no damage to the newly resurfaced courts, however, it looked like a war zone in paddocks around that area. We lost power for 24 hours and had to get the generator going the next morning to get the coffee machine started and keep everything fresh in the fridge. Fortunately, our farm was not in the thick of the storm so we had far less damage than those further north though we still had plenty of cleaning up to do with the tractor afterwards. This was the first summer rain event we have had on the farm for three years and it was nice to have something to settle the dust and cool things down.

Farm happenings

Wine

• Finished harvest of red grapes (Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon), which means no more driving to Margaret River for a while. We had lower than average yields from both varieties though had ample fruit to make this year's vintages whilst maintaining fruit quality.
• We tasted our Shiraz and Cab Sauv 2024 vintages that are still in oak barrels though now blended between old and new oak. The consensus is that they are delicious. 
• We received our new French oak barrel for aging our 2025 Chardonnay. 
• Our Chittering Chardonnay is now stocked at Little Eeden Farm Honey, which is just around the corner from our farm.
• We are chipping away at jobs at the winery, particularly the vineyard revitalisation, which consists of tearing dead vines off wires and chain sawing the trunk off. Though a big win is the lawn around our cellar door, which is looking very green and lush after Glen and Evan fixed the retic, planted more lawn seed and fertilised several months ago.

Sheep

• Ewes are in great condition coming into the end of summer aided by late spring shearing of merinos, the cooler summer, supplementary feed and paddock rotation. 
• The rams were removed from ewes and are taking a well deserved break
• The remaining lambs from last year have been controlling weeds in the vineyard since harvest finished.

Flowers 

• We are very excited to sell our first load of eucalyptus foliage to a wholesale florist in Perth. This is a very rewarding experience for us, as it has taken a long time to get to this stage with setbacks from last summer.
• We look forward to planting the remainder of the flower farm out in mid-autumn this year. We have ordered some more stock but a significant amount of plants will come from Evan’s nursery.