In the cellar, there is a lot of fermentation going on. We are busy, amongst other things, fermenting viognier, chardonnnay and sauvignon blanc in barrel. Below you can see the bung we use during barrel fermentation which allows the carbon dioxide to be released.
We have harvested a mix of red and white grapes this week. On Monday we took off some sangiovese and barbera, both Italian varieties. These varieties are destined for our Elbar Wine. A question that came up during the harvest day was about the addition of the 'r' to 'Elba'. Originally, we named the wine after the Italian island Elba, as a symbol of the Mediterranean. We hadn't intended to export the wine, but some of our importers really liked the wine and thus exports ensued. Changing the name slightly is a preventative measure on our part because we know that the Europeans can be a bit sticky on geography specific names. We don't want to get a year or two down the line and have to change the name entirely!
On Tuesday we harvested some chardonnay from vineyards we have established in the Hoewhoek area (close to Elgin). The thinking behind these vineyards is that we can have a component from a cooler climate, to add complexity to the wine. Wednesday saw us harvesting the last of our merlot and on Thursday we harvested some bush vine chenin for the small amount of Special Late Harvest that we produce. For Special Late Harvest we let the grapes hang a lot longer than we would in order to get the sugar up.
Enjoy the weekend- I know I will.
SB
3 comments:
I wish it was me in that tub of grapes!!!
Hi Simon,
It's quite fascinating to know you have vineyards in Houwhoek. Usually apple country (I come from Grabouw, very close to Houwhoek and Elgin) as the weather is suited to that.
Was it sort of an experiment or is it a tried and tested method of yours?
Growing vineyards, specifically Chardonnay, in a cooler climate is a fairly new thing for us. That being said, it is definitely a tried and tested method; take regions in France and Germany where it is a lot cooler than say the Paarl region. It is becoming more common in South Africa too, with wine producers searching beyond the traditional wine areas. To my knowledge there is a fair amount of growth in vineyard plantings in the Elgin area. Net on this, we have high hopes for the quality coming from Houwhoek.
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