ColdWet Winter becomes Spring!

The quiet months of winter are now almost over and my last two blogs on our harvest and the new fermentation tank seem so long ago.

 

In the mean time our vines have gone through most of their dormancy time. This is the time when the plants ‘rest’. It is a time before which root growth is most intensive but also a calm time in which we can catch up on other farm work before starting with one part of our craft, the pruning beginning of August. It marks the beginning of a season and is the instance where we choose which buds and future shoots we leave it also marks the time we already chose which crop load (the amount of grapes we harvest) we roughly want and which fertility we plan to achieve. It is a skilled craft and it is the first instance in the coming season where we have influence on the quality of the grape and the end product.

 

It does somehow seem a bit odd to think that the things we do now will only be drunk by our consumers in form of a well crafted much loved wine in four years from now. That is what it takes us to finally finish what we’ve started now in August 2008.

Starting with the red harvest

Finally after a long wait and much anticipation we are now harvesting our red grapes. Have a look at the Poplars trees on the second picture left. All leaves have virtually fallen. Last week's rains gave us another fright and a scare. The risk of botrytis was though blown away by the very strong south easterly wind over the weekend and we are once again lucky of looking forward into another beautiful 3 years of making stunning wine from the grapes harvested today. The grapes you see here are Shiraz grapes.

Our NEW free run Sauvignon Blanc Tank!

This will be our first vintage where we will have a free run Sauvignon Blanc wine. This means we won’t have any harsh pressings done to the wine, i.e. it has a different quality, a better one. Just have a look at the new tank. Isn’t she a beauty? Well she doesn’t look different to any other tank except if you know her secret. She is actually two – one on top of the other. The bottom one is 7500liters and hosts the free run wine and the top 2500liters is for the pressed wine. The pressed wine we sell off as bulk and we only bottle the free run. A real plus and we are so excited we can’t wait tasting it when it is finish not only because of the free run, but also for the fact that the last few days have shown to prove what we were expecting (see further down in the blog) our probably best vintage ever!

HOT Topic on the Platter guide - read the link

The John Platter, I love it, I use it, the South Africans love, the South Africans use it and the whole world loves and uses it. It is a professional guide and a big help. BUT although we are relatively happy with our ratings one has to be circumspect about valuing these ratings too much. Although they are done by really well known and good professional tasters all extremely well versed with wine there is a weakness to it. Read my comment at the bottom of this LINK with the hot topic discussion at Wine.co.za on Platter's ratings.

Wedderwill is starting to harvest

FINALLY! We are very excited to start with our harvest. It has taken a long season this year before we could start with the nicest time of a farmer's and winemaker's life - the harvesting. 342 days have passed since we picked the last grapes almost a year ago. 342 days of preparation for this harvest starting off with post harvest irrigation, cover crop planting in the rows for organic mulch, pruning, suckering, tipping and canopy management in summer.
Now it is already the 19th of February, which is three weeks later than we usually harvest. But this is because of all the rainy surprises of this season and the considerably cooler temperatures. On Friday we started our first small bit from block 3 and are finishing today with the rest of the Sauvignon Blanc in block 1.
We are extremely happy with this vintage and believe it might very well become our best Sauvignon Blanc ever. Excited we look back at a season that has given us slow growth and berries high in perasines which are Sauvignon Blanc’s typical flavour components.

Harvesting White 2008

Shiraz - our new & old world style combination

If you are looking for a stunning combination of old world style and new world style, a combination of forrest berries and spyciness or a stunner with a hint of chocolate then you end up choosing our wine, the Wedderwill Shiraz. Solely made from estate grapes on biologically treated vineyards this Shiraz packaged in a goundbreaking innovative square bottle is available for purchase at our website wedderwill.co.za.

Style: A rich and pepper-spiced fusion combine with soft savoury notes on the nose. Dark berries and violet with just a hint of organic earthiness is also subtly present. Black and white peppers carry through from the nose to a palate further enhanced by a game & ‘fynbos’ spice. The dark berries and violet become dark chocolate, achieved through a subtle, crafted blend of oak and tannins. A mineral follow through from the earthiness in the nose reflects the wine’s unique terroir. Altogether subtle, soft and round with good aging potential.

Origin:The Wedderwill Estate grapes for our Shiraz are selected from the Watersedge blocks and from the House block. These blocks, in clones of SH22B, 1A & 9C, were planted between 1999 and 2001, and are situated on top of the eastern Schaapenberg Ridge. The soils are deep and are made up of Oakleaf, Clovelly, Villafontes & Cartref, and the climate is primarily cooler temperatures with strong winds.

Classic Red - classical style bordeaux type blend

We produce this classic red wine because we believe - and past vintages have proven so - that our area under viticultural practise being the host to all our estate grown cultivars required for this blend is of exceptional quality. Other wines from this area have proven their part. Due to the relatively cooler climate but yet with many intense heat units we can produce a wine hinting to typical old world style bordeaux blends. It is the 'classic' wine in our compact product range of three wines. To purchase it visit our website wedderwill.co.za.

Style: A classic, elegant Bordeaux cultivar wine arises through finely-balanced tannins and oaks. Whiffs of cassis and plum notes play harmoniously on the nose before stronger plum undertones, courtesy of the merlot, enrich the palate. A succulent spiciness resonates on both nose and palate, while the organic ?mineraliness? of our terroir is evident in the form of dark, mushroom-forest floor flavours which adds a distinctive earthiness.

Origin:These grapes are chosen from seven different blocks, giving a very versatile selection of styles, clones and cultivars. The blocks of clones are from CS46C & 1C, MO343A and others, where some are our oldest blocks, planted in 1997, and the younger ones being 2001. All of them are situated on the slightly north-facing slopes on the eastern Schaapenberg Ridge, a slightly warmer section of the farm. Most of the Cabernet blocks are planted on oakleaf and clovelly soils, except for two blocks on glenrosa soils.

Sauvignon Blanc - completely new style

Our Sauvignon Blanc has a style unknown to SA, something completely new. We've got the perfect terroir for it and that's why we make this wine. To purchase this wine visit our website wedderwill.co.za

Style: The typical, mineral-richness of the farm is evident again in this subtly complex wine. Whiffs of nettles, gooseberries and tropical flavours combine on the nose with hints of asparagus, green peppers and 'figiness'. The notes grow and build and linger on the palate and are excellent expressions of the rich terroir of Wedderwill. A zingy, crisp liveliness combined with a great ageing potential make this an excellent wine to collect and keep.

Origin:The very versatile variety of grape comes from a south-facing slope, with strong soils of Oakleaf, Clovelly and a little Tukulu giving us a wide selection of excellent grapes to choose from. We only choose the most suitable grapes off these blocks, with only the highest quality for our small production volume. These blocks are characterised by cooler temperatures, low radiation and winds. As seventy-percent of our Sauvignon Blanc vineyards have been recently planted, we believe these have great future potential in increasing our quality.