I exchanged e-mails with a friend down in Melbourne the other day, who reminded me that it was the first anniversary of ‘Black Saturday’, when more than 100 people died in raging wild fires across the state of Victoria. Angela and I remember it well, as it was the very day that we arrived in Melbourne…. high winds and temperatures of around 50°C (122°F), a surreal experience.

My point is that they were suffering from severe drought conditions, and this latest conversation revealed that they still are. Water is in very short supply.

I joked that they could have some water from Galicia if only we could constuct a pipeline long enough – we have had a very wet winter. It has rained almost continuously since November, and during that whole period we have not enjoyed more than a few dry days back-to-back (and certainly very little in the way of sunshine).

For the last few days however, we have been blessed with some beautiful winter weather – clear skies and cold temperatures, hovering just above freezing at night. As you will see from the forecast, this is set to continue for the next few days, with sunshine and a little cloud (fried eggs), making much more pleasurable conditions for pruning the vineyards.