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The 16th of February is International Syrah Day and at Ken Forrester, Syrah is key to the red wine offerings. This cultivar, also known as Shiraz in other parts of the world, had a mysterious origin story for much of its life and is one of the noble varietals, found in almost every wine region of the world.

For a long time, it was believed that Syrah came from the Iranian town of Shiraz, once the capital of the Persian Empire, and then brought to the Rhône region of France. It took a team of researchers in 1998 to do genomic studies to find the parents to be lesser-known grape varieties Dureza and Mondeuse Blanche from Southeast France. This region is where we find the Rhône wine region, which is famous for single-varietal Syrah in the North and blended with Grenache and Mourvèdre in the South.

Matthew Day is clearly at home on a farm. At the wheel of a drop-top safari vehicle Klein Constantia’s winemaker is taking me on a slow drive around the estate.

The ascents gradually increasing, the views of the Constantia Valley and False Bay unrolling in summer splendour before us. We drive past snuffling pigs and errant chickens. Klein Constantia is said to be one of the most beautiful vineyards in the world, it’s easy to see why, the natural beauty of the estate has been left unencumbered, with vines bordered by fynbos and rocky mountain deposits, and the occasional copse of trees.

Over half the property has been planted to sauvignon blanc, with more blocks being planned for the future. While the estate is well-known for famed sweet wine, Vin de Constance, sauvignon is its modern story.

We chat with a cellar each month about their business, what makes them lie awake at night and what gives them hope “Being more sustainable requires an attitude of sometimes admitting that you may have been wrong in the past and being willing to improve. We are going to make mistakes along our sustainability journey, but the intention will always be to do good,” says Paul Clüver Jnr, MD of Paul Clüver Wines.

1. Tell us more about Paul Clüver Wines?

Paul Clüver Wines is a fourth-generation family business that was established in 1896. The farm lies in the cool climate Elgin Valley, surrounded by South Africa’s first biosphere reserve, the UNESCO-accredited Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve. We have 75 hectares under wine grape vineyards, but also farm with apples and pears and have a Hereford Stud and various tourist activities.

This morning we picked the first grapes for the season and on 2 February, we celebrate SA wine’s 363rd birthday. The 2022 SA harvest is here. It is predicted to be slightly late again and slightly smaller, but I can feel the anticipation. Have you ever experienced the energy of a wine grape harvest? Here is what we expect from the 2022 harvest and a few ways in which you can become part of this special time in the winelands.

Like the previous growing season, the 2021 winter was cold and wet. Cooler and wet conditions persisted even until late December and as a result, the harvest will start at least ten days later than usual. The set of bunches and berries were good considering the conditions and at the moment Vinpro is predicting the overall harvest to be slightly smaller than in 2021, although this is not true for all regions. Yield expectations are quite varied for the different growing areas.

Such was his respect and reverence for their wines, Napoleon forced his troops to salute the vines of Gevrey-Chambertin as they marched through Burgundy, en route to a bit of strenuous French dictatorial conquering, violent mayhem and flashy blood-letting. Times are more peaceful now, thankfully, but if there are any South African vineyards worthy of a salute, a courteous nod or even a matey “howzit!”-thumbs-up, these are indeed the winelands of Constantia.

For sure, this is where the Cape wine industry began 337 years back when a foresighted Dutch fellow named Simon van der Stel picked Constantia as a pretty good place for planting vines and making wine. And with the sweet and other wines from the region being all the rage in Europe during the 1700s and 1800s – including a desired tipple of aforementioned Napoleon Bonaparte – Constantia has always given good story.

Harvest season has begun in the Cape Winelands and knowing when to harvest is a fine art. Choosing the perfect moment is a mix of style, balance and wisdom, let’s take a closer look at what makes grapes ready to harvest.

It is useful to know a bit about how a grape grows and develops. First, the vine comes out of winter dormancy and will start to bud in spring, around September. This is followed by flowering around November, where the flowers hope to be fertilised and be set to become a grape, known as fruit set. After this, the berries start growing in size and after 40 – 50 days will start a phase of ripening called veraison.

Ripening happens because of grape bunches exposure to sunlight and the ambient temperature of the vineyard.

De Grendel Proposal Hill Cap Classique Brut Rosé 2017

De Grendel Wine Estate is in the Durbanville Wine Appellation, though divorced from it by the Tygerberg Hills on whose southwest facing slopes it is situated. A mere 20 minutes from the city centre and the Cape Town International Airport.

Sir De Villiers & Lady Graaff

Proposal Hill is a hillock on the Estate on which Sir De Villiers Graaff, 2nd Baronet, proposed to his lady, Ina. This wine is a celebration of this day.

Pinot Noir Grapes ripening on the vine

A beautifully constructed wine by Charles Hopkins, the Founding Winemaker of the Estate. Made in the traditional Méthode Champenoise during which the wine undergoes a second fermentation in the bottle. 19 days for first fermentation.

Tokara, the family owned Stellenbosch Wine and Olive Estate, has triumphed at the 2021 Global Fine Wine Challenge by securing the Trophy for the best New World Bordeaux blend and Double Gold for Cabernet Sauvignon.

The highly acclaimed Tokara Director’s Reserve Red 2018 clinched top honours in the Bordeaux Blend class, while the Reserve Collection Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 garnered Double Gold. Both wines also excelled with 5-stars in the 2022 Platter’s South African Wine Guide.

The Six Nations Global Fine Wine Challenge, a new rendition of the original Tri-Nations Challenge established 18 years ago, is the only competition dedicated exclusively to the best of the best New World wines from the USA, Canada, Chile, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Many families of the wine world, predictably, ascribe their generational involvement with vineyards and wine to the grape’s elixir being for them “a way of life”. But experiencing the second flight of Franschhoek’s von Arnim clan now running their Haute Cabrière estate, one can firmly state that for this renowned part of Cape wineland family DNA, wine is not a “way” but truly is life itself.

The von Arnims’ blood, sweat and toil; hopes and dreams; their very essence of being and that place they command on earth – a place which the sun shines brightly on – is driven by nothing other than those 750ml bottles of fermented grape liquid they create. Wine grown and crafted to enrich the lives of others by a family whose soul centers around one of the most blessed, civilized and beautiful things this world has known.