Greetings Vondelingers,
Harvest has been going well. We finished picking the white grapes yesterday and now we are into the reds at full speed. Everything is about a week to 10 days late, which is fine.
This is our picking plan for the next few days (below) on the board in Matt’s winery lab.
We pressed the Bowwood pinotage this week. Great fruit character, lovely PHs and interestingly, spontaneous and complete malolactic fermentation during normal alcoholic fermentation. It smelt and looked delicious.
The pinotage in Emile’s cellar looked great as well.
My partner, Anthony Ward, has been visiting this last few weeks. He very much enjoyed seeing the big D9’s sub-soiling (ripping) where we plan to plant new vineyards in August. It’s the only chance one gets to really loosen the soil in 25 years, so it’s a very important task.
It’s very exciting to announce the release of our new wine cans. As outdoor events and festivals gain more popularity after COVID, we think they will be ideal. Well done to our winemakers, Matthew and Emile for putting the whole thing together. This is not available to the general public yet. Keep an eye on our online shop.
Mathew has also been extremely excited about his new eggs. Currently full of Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay.
Finally, I couldn’t end without commenting on what we think about the Russian/Ukrainian situation. Truly horrifying.
I thought this picture summed it up:
Until April, enjoy this truly beautiful month of March, in the slightly cooler South African sunshine!
Julian
