Posts Tagged ‘South African Wines’
Bouchard Finlayson Vineyards
Thursday, June 4th, 2009
Some very modern things are happening in an ancient valley called Hemel-en-Aarde near Hermanus. The eponymous Peter Finlayson is a quiet deep man of the earth for whom wine is all consuming. From humble beginnings and bucket loads of foresight and quiet confidence a short number of years ago, Bouchard Finlayson Vineyards now produces in a state-of-the-art cellar the Pinot Noir preferred by a majority of South Africans according to a recent survey. And its not too far behind with its range of Chardonnays, now being served in First Class
De Grendel Wines
Wednesday, October 21st, 2009
In the early 1970s when I had just returned from the UK and cookery school, I cooked a meal at De Grendel for that political icon, Leader of the Opposition, Sir de Villiers and Lady Graaff for an important political dinner. It was all very formal and black tie. The great love of Sir Div’s life was his prize winning dairy herd – De Grendel Wines was a dream to be
De Wetshof Estate
Thursday, June 4th, 2009
Developments on the Estate include soil mapping to identify the correct terroir for the varietals planted in De Wetshof’s vineyards which vary from the alluvial soils near the Breede River, which runs through the estate, to lime-rich slopes of the surrounding hills and mountains. Danie works with international viticulturist, American Dr Phil Freese and local expert Francois Viljoen, who is well versed in local conditions in the meticulous planning of the new plantings.
Social responsibility for their workforce has resulted in computers being used in the Estate’s crèche, pre- and after-school care centre. The crèche was started in the late 1980s and the care centre