Nitida Hand Made Wines

Our most recent recruits RJ and Getha have both demonstrated true Nitida tenacity in their first year with us. RJ has just returned from a harvest at Chateau Angelus, a Premier Grand Cru Clesse in ST Emilion, France. It sounds like a life-altering experience “everybody lives for wine” and “the food is just fantastic”. On the red wine side, this area specialises (like Durbanville) in Merlot led Bordeaux blends to produce elegant fruit driven styles with only a touch of cabernet. Adding to this “intravenous” learning curve, he had to cope with the consequences of recurring downpours during his first harvest. Despite a hard year, he finds himself head-over-heels in love with Durbanville and with working on a small farm where he can be involved in every aspect of the vineyard and cellar.

Getha has had just as hectic an initiation, running our farm events including a monthly “farmer’s market”, a once-off African cultural circus show, our spring sauvignon blanc festival and hosting a number of duathlons and cycling races. She has fended off the “harvest grumbles”, braved our sopping wet and treacherous dirt roads all winter and even managed to remain fairly relaxed as she sneezed her way through the high pollen counts of spring. After all of this she still declares herself to be happy.

Jacus and Elrina’s children are growing up so quickly. Their Christmas present last year is crawling at high speed and showing keen intent to walk and talk. Liebe is very excited about starting at big school on the farm next year.

Henriette paid a short visit to Southern Africa to see her family and arrange her wedding.

The Vellers have had an “interesting” year and have considered writing “Durbanville does Dallas” if the right publisher appears. Our children have all worked really hard and reaped the rewards they deserve, they are all healthy and remind us daily how lucky we are. If we ever forget this, a beautiful sunset with a glass of Nitida sauvignon blanc in hand is not to be sneezed at.

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Durbanville Wine Valley Association

For further information on what to do in our beautiful valley, please contact us on 083 310-1228 or e-mail info@durbanvillewine.co.za .

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Swartland Wine Route Western Cape

Close enough to get to, yet far enough to get away….Escape the hustle and bustle of city life and discover one of the wine gems of the country – the Swartland Santam Wine Route.  Located within an hour’s drive from Cape Town, visitors will be enchanted by the warm hospitality, award-winning wines and great cuisine.

The route was established in 1986 and stretches from Paardeberg in the south to the Berg River in the north and encompasses the beautiful Riebeek Valley and the towns of Malmesbury, Piketberg and Porterville.   The Swartland Santam Wine Route is an ideal day trip destination from Cape Town, while tourists heading towards the West Coast, Northern Cape or Namibia along the N7 will also find a detour along the Swartland Wine Route a delightful journey of discovery.

With its rolling hills and sweeping vistas of wheat fields and vineyards, the vastness of the Swartland provides visitors with the opportunity to relax and absorb the essence of this region.
In the Swartland, visitors are welcomed as family and are guaranteed to leave with a story to pass along.

Each producer offers guests a uniquely different experience due to the geographical diversity of the area.  The route currently has a total of 20 members, including co-operatives, private cellars, garagistes and wine merchants.  Explore the winemaking history of the region at some of the historic estates or enjoy exquisite wine experiences at modern tasting rooms. Smaller wineries present intimate wine tastings in rustic cellars, while family concerns dating back generations will welcome visitors with the customary Swartland hospitality.

The Swartland not only offers sublime wines, but also plenty of exciting outdoor activities, value for money accommodation options and exemplary cuisine at a diverse selection of restaurants in the region.  Olive production forms an important part of agricultural activities in the region and many wineries offer a variety of olive products for sale.

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Cloverfields Wines

Cloverfields Wines

In 1978 Pietie Marais, the third generation of the family and owner of this wine farm in Robertson, married his wife of Irish descent, Liz.

She not only bore him three sons, but brought with her an omen of good luck, hope and love. It is precisely these elements portrayed by the four leaf clover, that is now symbolized through the family emblem.

The four leaf clover is a universally accepted symbol of good luck with its origin ages old. One leaf is for HOPE, the second for FAITH, the third for LOVE and the fourth for LUCK.

In 1620, Sir John Melton wrote: “If a man walking in the fields find any four-leaved grass, he shall in a small while after find some good thing.”

The mystique of the four leaf clover continues today, since finding a real four leaf clover is still a rare occurrence and omen of good luck.The Marais family, seventh generation descendants of the French Huguenots who arrived in South Africa in the late 1600’s has farmed in the Robertson Valley for more than a hundred years.

When the family first arrived in the area, it was thought that conditions were unsuitable for the growing of grapes. Sheep and ostriches were the main farming activities. The Cloverfield section of the farm was bought by Pieter Marais in 1917 from his neighbor Duncan Barry. The old oak tree still standing is the only evidence of a shepherd’s hut that once stood there.

The discovery of cold fermentation soon showed that exceptional wines could be made here. The Marais family became pioneers in wine making in the Robertson area, producing their first wines in 1945.

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Stellenbosch and its Wine Routes

Welcome to the Stellenbosch American Express® Wine Routes, one of the biggest tourist attractions in the Western Cape. The original Stellenbosch Wine Route was founded in 1971 and has been promoting its members for more than 30 years.

Today the new Stellenbosch American Express® Wine Routes represent more than 200 wine and grape producers within the boundaries of the Stellenbosch Wine of Origin classification. The Wine Route is divided into five sub-routes.

Our new, improved MAPS will guide you on your tasting tour. You may start at any cellar of your choice and include as many as you like. The entrance to each cellar is clearly signposted with the Wine Route logo.

Daily wine tasting, cellar tours and sales are offered at most cellars and many of these have restaurant and picnic facilities. Some cellars offer tasting by appointment only. Please refer to each of the member listings to view the facilities offered by individual cellars. Wine can be purchased at the cellar door. Your purchases of any given quantity can be delivered locally or internationally.

We have been preparing for your visit for more than 320 years! Visit us now and experience the finest wines, warm hospitality and memorable moments. The Greek philosopher Plato remarked : ‘Nothing more excellent or valuable than wine has even been granted by the gods to man’.

Enjoy your Stellenbosch Wine Routes experience!

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Caroline's Fine Wines

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South African
Reds
Cabernet Sauvignon
Merlot
Pinot Noir
Pinotage
Shiraz
Red Blends BordeauxStyle
Other Red Blends
Unusual Red Cultivars
Whites
Cape Fortified Wine
Chardonnay
Chenin Blanc
White Blends
Cap Classique
Sauvignon Blanc
Unusual White Cultivars
Dessert Wines
French
Alsace
Bordeaux
Burgundy
Champagne
Loire Valley
Rhone & Southern France
Southern Regions
Italian
Liguria
Piedmont
Tuscany
Veneto

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Ingwenya Country Estate & Wine Route

Ingwenya Country Escape wine route offers a unique experience of wine shopping.
You are welcomed to the Wine tasting were you can taste all South African Vintages in store for you.

You can then either relax for a luncheon in the Wine garden whilst waiting to shop your box or two of your favourite wines of the day at the Wine Emporium

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South African Wines

In keeping with the spirit of renewal in the South African wine industry, in recent years over 40% of the vineyards have been replanted as the industry has realigned its product to compete globally, moving from volume production to noble cultivars and quality wines. South African vineyards have been dominated by white grape varieties but the trend now is towards a more market-driven balance between white and red.

Noble varieties which have been cultivated increasingly in the past few years include Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, which produce top-class white wines, and Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Pinot Noir. A significant proportion of our red wine vineyards are currently very young – 52% are under 10 years old.

Some of our oldest grape varieties (also called cultivars) date back to ancient times and were developed from wild vines. The original wild vine belongs to the genus Vitis and it is generally accepted that it was cultivated for the first time in Asia Minor, south of the Caspian and Black seas. All the wine grape varieties cultivated in South Africa, which were originally imported from Europe, belong to the species Vitis vinifera. Unfortunately the roots of European vines are susceptible to an insect disease called phylloxera and, in order to avoid it, they are often grafted onto American rootstock which is largely resistant to the insect.

A vine yields its first crop after three years and is fully productive after five. On average, the South African vineyard is replaced after 25 years but this depends on factors such as the area in which it is situated and how heavily it has yielded. Generally, its lifespan may be anything between 15 and 30 years although vines as old as 100 years still in production can be found.

The vine is a remarkable plant which lends itself to selection, propagation and grafting factors which make possible a continuous improvement in both plant and quality. Although most of the vine varieties cultivated here today were originally imported, up to now six local crossings have been released. The best known of these is a red variety, Pinotage, a hybrid of Pinot Noir and Hermitage (Cinsaut), which is cultivated locally on a fairly large scale.

The Worcester Region has the most vineyard plantings (19% of all vines), followed by Paarl and Stellenbosch (17%), Robertson (14%), Malmesbury (12 %), Olifants River (9%), Orange River (9%) and Little Karoo (3%).

The Worcester Region also produces the most wine (24%), followed by Olifants River (17%), Robertson (14%), Paarl and Orange River (12%), Stellenbosch and Malmesbury (9%), and Little Karoo (3%).

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Wine Country

What is the most popular grape cultivar produced on earth? Where is it from? Where does the South African wine industry feature on the worldwide wine map? Is Pinotage such a groundbreaking wine?

All these questions and more, answered right here.

In South Africa, our largest production most famous wine grape cultivars are Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Colombar. A much larger portion of the South African terroir is conducive to the growing of these grapes.

But, I believe this has created an enormous mis-perception of wine producers and top grape cultivars globally among the general wine loving people in SA.

You see, many of you would be profoundly surprised to learn that the top wine grape cultivar in the world is Airén, a white wine grape grown predominantly in Spain.

It amounts to roughly 30% of all wine grapes grown in Spain and spans a massive 756 000 hectares. [The Airén vine has an unusually low vine density (around 1500 vines per hectare), and so its vineyards cover more area than any other grape variety in the world.]

This should explain its ability to outrank a popular cultivar such as Cabernet Sauvignon, second largest grape cultivar in the world spanning 701 000 hectares across predominantly France, Chile and the USA.

How does South African wine grape production size compare with the world? Let’s see. Our top cultivar, Chenin Blanc, spans across 19 100 hectares across mainly Worcester, Malmesbury and Paarl. In 20th position on the world wine grape cultivar list, Cataratto Bianco Comune spans across 107 200 hectares. [Quality over quantity, right?]

While South Africa’s industry is very small, ranking in at only 16th with about 1.5% of global plantings it is our production and quality that sees us at 7th position, accounting for 3% of the world’s wine.

What are the white vs. red wine grapes by area ratio? In the top 20 wine grape cultivars in the world by area, 9 of the wine grapes are white wine grapes, while 11 are red wine grapes. In the top 10, 4 are white wine grapes and 6 are red wine grapes.

Another thing I think that would have the general public confused is the perception that Pinotage is our main export to the international market. Yes, we were the first to introduce Pinotage to the world, but in terms of production, Pinotage, a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsaut (grown under the name of Hermitage in South Africa) ranks a mere 8th on the top 20 cultivars in South Africa with Cinsaut individually ranking at 10th and Pinot Noir a mere 18th spanning only 577 hectares.

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Wines of South Africa

All the cultivars used in South Africa belong to the Vitis vinifera species which was originally imported from Europe. Although most of the cultivars cultivated locally today were originally imported, various unique South African cultivars created by crossing varietals have been released. The best known is the red variety Pinotage, which is a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsaut. Also attracting attention is the white variety Nouvelle, a crossing of Semillon and Crouchen Blanc (better known as Cape Riesling).

Approximately 75 cultivars have been approved for the production of Wines of Origin. Each cultivar has specific characteristics regarding its adaptability to the soil and climate, and the suitability of its fruit for the production of a wine with a specific style or of a specific quality. There is thus a close relationship between the cultivar, origin and the wine itself.

The use of the name of a grape cultivar on a label is authorised in terms of the Wine of Origin Scheme and only the cultivar names attached may be used. The name of a grape cultivar may be used if 75% (85% from 1 January 2006) of the content of the wine originates from that cultivar. It is prescribed that, if a wine is to be exported to the European Union, 85% of its content has to be from that specific cultivar.

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