Hello there, Vondelingers!
Spring is in full flow here and everything is exploding all over the place, especially the vineyards. And if you are unlucky enough to be susceptible to hay fever, then sneezing and spluttering becomes a common occurrence. My youngest child also turned 20 on October 1st, which I have secretly found alarming! Where does all the time go?
In September we attended the 44th Nederburg Auction, with 2 of our wines going on auction. The 2013 Vondeling Rurale Methode Ancestral was sold for R5,800 a case and 20 cases of the 2013 Babiana was sold in four lots. I loved the selection panel’s comments about the Babiana: “Deep and classy. Fat, unctuous and elegant. Really deep and fine. Perfume and length. Super”. There were 8 panel judges, 4 of which are British Masters of Wine.
Matthew and I also attended Cape Wine in Cape Town where we were exhibiting. It’s the South African wine industry’s largest trade show to mostly foreign buyers and happens every third year. It’s fascinating to meet buyers from all over the world and get their feedback when tasting the wines. They all seemed to think that the premium wines being produced in South Africa are extremely good and incredible value…especially Vondeling.
We were very proud to win a big prize for the Vondeling Bowwood Pinotage 2015 in the Michelangelo International Wine& Spirits Awards. We walked away with the JF Hillebrand Trophy for the Top Scoring Pinotage in the competition. Credit goes to the whole team in the vineyards and in the winery. Babiana, Petit Blanc Chenin Blanc and Merlot Reserve also received gold medals.
Just before Cape Wine, we entertained our customers from Mauritius which was a group led by our importers Scott’s. Magnus braaied some delicious meats and Mariaan laid on a fantastic dinner in our function venue, accompanied by our latest vintages from the Vondeling cellar.
Finally, last week I presented our wines at the Pezula Private Estate in Knysna, which was hosted by our beautiful Eastern Cape agent, Lindy Turton. It was a fabulous evening and it’s great that our sales are really getting going in the Garden Route district.
October, November and early December are undoubtedly the busiest times in the vineyards, so everyone is beavering away like mad. Let’s hope the weather plays its part as well to make 2019 a great vintage.
Have a great month and don’t forget to enjoy life. It goes quickly!
Julian
