Rubbing salt into the wound created by the hail, it’s hardly rained at Bannockburn since that time. That makes it 2-1 to the elements. The vineyard’s not insubstantial dam is as parched as a quarry, having just managed to see the 2000 vintage through to a successful conclusion. The only way out for Farr and Bannockburn’s future is for me to take a holiday there, for Melbourne rain follows me wherever I travel as surely and as reliably as an obedient St Bernard.



