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Once the harvest is complete it is tempting to forget about the vineyard and focus on making wine, however, this time is exceptionally important for the vines and future vintages. The period in focus is after the ripe fruits have been harvested and before the leaves start to fall from the vines.

During this time the vines are hard at work storing carbohydrates in preparation for winter when they move into a dormant phase. It is during this busy time when the leaves are still healthy and green that they are photosynthesising and looking for as many nutrients as possible to prepare for the cold.

De Grendel’s 2022 harvest has set a record for the largest intake to date but, more than quantity, it is the early signs of excellent quality that have the De Grendel winemaking team in optimistic spirits about the new vintage.

With De Grendel Sauvignon Blanc 2022 already bottled and the rest of the 2022 vintage in various stages of maturation in the cellar, De Grendel cellar master Charles Hopkins and assistant winemaker Morgan Steyn reflected on the high points and challenges of harvest 2022.

Tokara has won international acclaim with its handcrafted XO Potstill Brandy bringing home a second Brandy Masters Gold Medal.

Tokara, the prestigious family-owned wine estate in Stellenbosch, has won international acclaim once again with its luxurious, handcrafted XO Potstill Brandy bringing home a second Brandy Masters Gold Medal.

This annual competition is presented by The Spirits Business, the leading international spirits trade publication based in the UK. The highly contested 2022 Brandy Masters rewarded the finest brandies on the world stage with 120 entries judged by a panel of spirits specialists.

Johann and Peter de Wet, third generation owners of De Wetshof Estate in Robertson, didn't acquire an approach to sustainability on their family farm, they were born with it.

Danie de Wet, who made De Wetshof the first wine estate in the Robertson Valley, inherited an ethos of conservation from his father, who bought De Wetshof in 1949.

A philosophy of respect

Since taking ownership of the farm known as De Wetshof, three generations of the De Wet family have realised their responsibilities as custodians of a unique natural environment.

Noble Late Harvest is a special wine where a magical transformation takes place in the vineyard. It is a specific sequence of events that enables the “T” Noble Late Harvest to be made, let’s take a closer look at this iconic wine.

The term Late Harvest is used for wines made from berries that are left on the vine to gain extreme ripeness which drives up the sugar levels. In unique conditions, these ripe bunches pick up a fungus called Botrytis cinerea, which grows on the skins and slowly causes the very ripe berries to dehydrate. In the viticulture world, this fungus is known as Noble rot, hence Noble Late Harvest.

It is always exciting to find a range of wines that encapsulates a combination of elegance and value for money, making for the perfect everyday drinking wines. Ken Forrester’s Petit range is exactly this, so let us take a closer look.

This range is fruit-forward and offers an easy-drinking example of each of these varietal driven wines. The range has a wide selection with three dry whites, a natural sweet, three dry reds, and a rosé, you are guaranteed to find a wine to please all tastes.

Diemersdal, the sixth-generation family wine estate in Durbanville, South Africa, won one of four Gold medals handed to Cape wineries at this year’s Concours Mondial du Sauvignon Blanc held in Portugal. The Journal Sauvignon Blanc 2021, a barrel-aged rendition of this variety for which Diemersdal has become world-renowned, was awarded Gold as well as being awarded the Revelation Trophy for Best South African Wine on show.

Concours Mondial du Sauvignon Blanc is the most important international competition for Sauvignon Blanc wine and this year attracted 1 120 entries from 23 countries.

Since our first vintage, Haute Cabrière has specialised in the exploration of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes.

After 35 harvests, we continue to love this magical time of year and the promise of a new vintage. As thunder and rain mid-March heralded the start of Autumn, the team at Haute Cabrière is busy picking the last of the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes for the 2022 vintage, and we’re sharing how this year’s harvest has unfolded…

2022 Harvest Challenges

We talk about the terroir of a wine being its foundation, and terroir is greatly affected by Mother Nature.

De Wetshof’s Bateleur Chardonnay 2020 just won "Top 10 Chardonnay in the World" and a Gold medal from Chardonnay du Monde.

De Wetshof’s Bateleur Chardonnay 2020, an iconic South African white wine, has been adjudged one of the top 10 wines in this year’s Chardonnay du Monde, the world’s leading competition for wines made from the noble white grape of Burgundy.

Some 546 wines from 32 countries were judged by a panel of international experts at Château des Ravatys, the wine estate of the Pasteur Institute at Saint Lager in the Burgundy wine region of France. The panel only awarded 56 Gold medals.