The 2015 harvest started on 22 January 2015. This is a full 3 weeks earlier than the 2014 harvest, meaning the Cape has been sunny over the summer period! Early morning the hand-picked grapes were from our Pinotage vines, destined to be pressed for the exceptional Pinotage Rosé that gets to be barrel-fermented partially. Everybody has been waiting for this day for months now and you could feel the excitement in the vineyard! Harvest workers were all smiling and constantly chattering, ready for the big day and in the cellar the team was getting ready to receive our first grapes. The fruit quality was impeccable and the 2015 harvest looks very promising.

The months leading up to harvest has been full of planning and a lot of hard work. We started a turn-around approach in the vineyard to make wines of the highest quality.
Firstly we installed soil moisture probes to measure the water content of our Hutton and Clovelly soils. This empowered us to irrigate only when really necessary and also to concentrate those attractive flavors we are after in our wines.
Secondly we started measuring stress levels of our vineyards by using a pressure bomb (an instrument measuring water stress) to understand and manage our vineyards a lot better. This enabled us to make sure the vines are functioning at their best to give us the best end results.
Lastly, we started using satellite images by using drones to understand the effect of different climatic conditions on our vineyards. We will now be better equipped to make decisions that directly influences the quality of our wines.
The end result is that we are raising the bar and giving our loyal Aaldering wine enthusiasts even better quality wines to enjoy!

The impressively transformed Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam added another value to their extraordinary art collection, a fine dine restaurant called Rijks. Executive Chef Joris Bijdendijk signs for the culinary art and occasionally hosts world-famous chefs. It was Africa’s best female Chef Margot Janse from Le Quartier Français (San Pellegrino Top 100) that impressed hundreds of guests with her interactive interpretation of one of the museums finest paintings, Johannes Vermeers’ The Milkmaid, and other signature dishes that excelled in a fusion of both South African and Dutch ingredients. Special attention also went out to matching wines of the same top quality, for which our Aaldering Estate Lady M 2014 was carefully selected, hence the happy faces of both Margot and Fons at an exquisite lunch at Rijks.

Cape summer is still showing it magic. Dry weather and sunny days draws our luxury lodges’ guests outside to the terrace to enjoy breakfast in bright rays of sunshine and a refreshing morning breeze, overlooking the dam and Devon Valley’s vineyards. No one else better than our Lodge Manager William personally makes your eggs exactly how you love them most. The temperatures expect to keep well above 25°C for the coming 2 months, so make sure you will be ordering a sunny side up from the terrace this season still! We would be looking forward to welcoming you there!

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