With the cherry harvest picked and the last box sold, the owners of Eldorado Orchards at Londrigan near Wangaratta can look forward to the autumn harvest of their grapes.
Paul ‘Bear’ Dahlenburg and Laurie Schulz have steadily built the fruit farm since first planting their orchard 20 years ago and still pay tribute to other producers who helped them start.
“We planted out this farm from scratch; however, Wandin Valley farms gave us great support on how to grow the trees and sell fruit,” Mr Dahlenburg said.
“The biggest asset of the area is the magnificent soil; it is free draining and perfect for cherries.”
Of the half-dozen cherry varieties grown at Eldorado Orchards, most of them responded well to last year’s excessive rain.
“The weather impacted across some of the varieties and others survived well,” Mr Dahlenburg said.
Mr Dahlenburg and Ms Schulz now turn their attention towards their winery Eldorado Road Wine, for which their 10ha vineyard grows the variety Nero d’Avola.
The drought-hardy grape from Sicily was planted after much consultation with international winemaker Allesio Planeta, who is renowned for his expertise in Sicilian viticulture.
The property’s vines also required attention in response to last year’s rains, with Mr Dahlenburg having spent the spring pruning plant canopies to help with disease control.
“It’s important after such rain to lower the humidity in the vines, and we do this by removing the bottom six leaves to open the canopy up and allow air flow,” he said.
The canopy management has resulted in flourishing, healthy plants, bearing what looks to be a good upcoming harvest.
The availability of pickers is also a boon to the business.
The shortage of backpackers felt around the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic has never been a problem at Eldorado Orchards.
“We have always relied on long-term local pickers,” Mr Dahlenburg said.
“They are a regular and reliable source of staff; we also employ a few of the local kids to help with the harvest.”
Eldorado Road Wines are sold at the winery’s cellar door in Beechworth.