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Part one: CNN Africa video on oldest vineyards in South Africa. Part two: CNN Africa video on old vine heritage. Part three: CNN Africa video on the Old Vine Project.

Christa von Le Chevallerie, whether because of her German extraction or not, generally comes across as unsentimental but she was clearly displeased with the sand-mining trucks barreling along the backroads of the Paardeberg early this past Saturday morning. Von Le Chevallerie is one of the leading growers in the area, her 20ha of vineyard suppling the likes of Chris “Butch” Alheit, Peter-Allan Finlayson of Gabriëlskloof, the Mullineuxs and Donovan Rall. She’s making a go of

Om te verstaan hoekom spesifieke wyne meer uitsonderlik in karakter en mondsensasie as ander is, moet mens eenvoudig net proe. Die eerste 2018 US Woordfees Ouwingerd-erfenis-wynproe het op 6 Maart 2018 by Spek en Bone plaasgevind waar sjef Bertus die ouwingerdwyne gekomplementeer het met van sy beste wynkroeg-tapasgeregte. Sjef Bertus Basson ’n Uitgelese groep van 32 gaste wat spesifiek belangstel in die uniekheid van ouwingerdwyne (gemaak van wingerde wat 35 jaar en ouer is

The Old Vine Project (“OVP”) is inviting the public to enter footage of old vines, 35 years and older, both photographic and drone. BRIEF: Present the essence of an old vine through the unique texture and structure of the vine Express the individuality of an old vine Capture the timeless atmosphere and personality of an old vine Entries may include images of single vines or blocks Entries should specify where the image(s) was/were taken Image files must be 200 dpi and betwee

Harvest time - take regular samples of your grapes, or taste regularly, as a heatwave during one weekend can push the grapes from 21 to 23 B! Do the last bit of removal of green, delayed bunches in red grapes to even out maturity levels. Start planning your cover crops - remember that a good cover crop is the first step in restoring soil health. A mixed cover crop always better that single crop. Think about post harvest fertilizer - the most important time to fertilize. Or

I wrote a blog entry about two months ago about a Chenin blanc vineyard we are rescuing - you can find it here. So it is time to update you on the progress of this vineyard. It is doing excellent! The bit of attention we gave it showed real good response. I took Pieter Walser of BlankBottle there in the beginning of November to show him the vineyard (BlankBottle will be making the wine from this restored Chenin blanc vineyard planted in 1974) and to introduce him to the farme

“So, this block here, 47 year old Chenin blanc, still doing OK, I guess. Pushed out about 27 tons a Ha last vintage” …. Jaco and I looked at each other and shared the same thought “Doing OK? 27 tons a Ha at that age?” We agreed in the bakkie driving to the next vineyard, this is no country for small time thinking. Lutzville viticulturist, Hugo Lambrechts, is guiding us to a few old blocks within the Lutzville Valley and the Koekenaap Ward. The hidden vineyards we discover

This certainly is like no other November we know – it is dry and the first really hot day (39°C) was on the 30th October. With two really hot weeks on the horizon, we need to manage our vineyards carefully. When confronted with a dry season, like we have been for the past two years, there are certain elements that one cannot oversee. Soil water content management is critical, and you can manage your soil moisture even if you don’t have irrigation. Weeds are public enemy numbe

I recently attended an Old Vine Project (OVP) tasting lead by André Morgenthal and Jaco Engelbrecht. The aim of these tastings is to create awareness around the preservation of old vineyards by promoting sustainable viticulture - this is clearly an industry initiative. The wines we tasted were superb and the discussion around this topic is fascinating. André tells us more about what the Old Vine Project is all about. How did the idea of preserving the old vines come about; wh

It’s a good time to enjoy good ol’ old vine Zinfandel. There’s a little bit of chill in the air, leaves are turning color, and the mind drifts off into memories of brown spices, baking pies, stews on the stove, bread in the oven, ugly sweaters. But enjoy those wines while you can; because – as we mentioned in a previous post, Last Rites for Lodi’s Old Vine Growths – decently priced old vine Zinfandel grown in Lodi (the home of more old vine plantings than anywhere else in Cal

The Phillips Family Issues Dire Warnings Imagine a Lodi without old vine Zinfandel. It’s not an impossibility. This issue always comes up in years when yields are down, as they were in 2017, 15%, 25%, or even more than 50%. This time around it comes in the middle of an economic clusterfudge: Sales of $10-and-under varietal Zinfandel continue to drop, winery supplies of fermented juice are backed up to the hilt, and White Zinfandel is no longer setting the wine world on fire (

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The first commercially produced Pinotage was released in 1961 under the Lanzerac label, vintage 1959, made from grapes sourced at Bellevue and Kanonkop. There is currently 164.45 Ha of Pinotage vineyard, older than 35 years. In celebration of Pinotage Day, the Old Vine Project team paid a visit to the 4 oldest Pinotage blocks, still in production. Meerendal – planted in 1955 This block was planted with the original Perold cuttings, with the first single bottling in 2005

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUfaeyJcFf8

It was around 14:00 on Monday the 25th of September that I received a phone call from farmer and wine enthusiast André du Toit, the same guy that enjoys and embraces my energetic (and mostly crazy) ideas to farm and develop on his farm, evident with our new project for the vine garden of Grenache, Carignan and Cinsaut, plotted and designed with my drone, in the rugged granite soils of the Paardeberg. The reason for the phone call was the following: He saw vineyards budding in

Most vineyards are growing at a blinding pace by now. Varietals like Sauvignon blanc are slow starters – but watch out, they catch up VERY fast in the mid-term. With the dry season that we are currently experiencing, there are some key factors that one must be aware of. The new growth of a vineyard is like a buffet to insects, and with hardly any other food source available due to the drought, they will have a field day in the vineyards. You will find loads of insects in the

Date: 02 August 2017 Time: 19:00 - 20:30 Address: DeWarenmarkt, 20 Ryneveld Str, Stellenbosch Price: R750pp - only 30 seats available There is currently widespread interest in wines made from old vines (35 years and older). These older blocks are part of our South African heritage and it is clear that these wines most often taste different. During a recent old vine wine tasting for media and independent wine trade, it was clear that these wines contribute significant

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