As the sun sets on another harvest, we reflect on the challenges that we faced and the exciting start to another year of wonderful wines. Despite the dry conditions of the last couple of years, we have managed to produce stunning grapes with minimum Botrytis, and even this we put to good use as we produce the first Nobel late harvest in six years!
Harvest time attracts a lot of attention, not only from local residents but also from local wild life as can be seen with the bees joyfully buzzing from bunch to bunch. It is always a joy to see bees in our vineyard, as it is a good indicator of a healthy balanced ecosystem, and proves that we don’t use harmful pesticides. Bees make other insects feel safe, which is crucial to prevent pests from harming the vineyard, for example, bees promote the growth of plants that attract beneficial species of beetles that feed on harmful spiders and pests. Bees also pollinate fynbos that helps balance the PH of our soil.
Something that we are all excited about, and that you can look out for in the near future, is our new dry Pinot Noir Rose. We have found that, apart from Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir works very well with our Terroir. To celebrate our unique taste, we will be releasing our new dry Pinot Noir Rose around the end of May.Another measure that we have taken to improve yield during these dry times, was to use protective netting around our vines. As with the example below, to promote balance in our ecosystem, we decided to only cover the bunches with minimum interference. This resulted in a minimum loss of grapes from eager starlings. But let’s be honest, who can blame them for wanting to sample our delicious grapes.
