Two Bud Spur

Marine scientists Craig Mundy and Karen Miller purchased Two Bud Spur vineyard in 2006 as a stress release from their day jobs (they still work full-time, managing the vineyard in their spare time). Their viticultural expertise came from voracious reading of books and scientific literature, and the management of a nearby 0.5 pinot vineyard in the lead-up to the '06 vintage, an experience that led directly to their purchase of Two Bud Spur. This vineyard has had a chequered history, with its present name between 1996 and '03, then Grandview Vineyard '04 to '06, and from '07 onwards back to its original name. The vineyard had been run organically, but with disastrous results: disease, weeds, nutrients, canopy management and pruning issues all required attention, as did the boundary fences and not-quite-complete trellis. Craig and Karen were emboldened by the fact that, as they say,‘it couldn't get much worse, so there was not much risk of ruining anything'. They depict a two-bud spur on their label, the base architecture for all spur-pruned vineyards. -JAMES HALLIDAY