We have been blessed with an unusually cold winter this year, and the majestic Stellenbosch mountains have been capped with snow for quite a few days now. Above average rainfall (298 mm in the winter months) has filled up our dam and saturated the vineyard’s soils. The vines are sleeping and not a leaf is visible. Like skeletons of their summer growth, they lie and wait for the warmer temperatures of spring to bud and start their process of rebirth.

It’s a less manic time of the year in the vineyard, but there are still crucial tasks at hand. Continue Reading

This season, Aaldering Vineyards & Wines is launching a magnum Pinotage Rosé. And, for the first time, we have opted for a transparent glass bottle so that the bright colour of this rosé is beautifully visible. The wine is themed – another Aaldering first – specifically around the concept “Women of the World”. This theme has been translated into a colourful painting by Dutch artist Maureen Knobben. Continue Reading

After the severe drought of 2018, the following year brought us a good old-fashioned Cape winter: cold and wet. Thanks to Mother Nature’s bounty, the vines built up sufficient reserves for the growth season. And even the budding season – from September 2019 till January 2020 – was colder than usual, which laid the foundation for good natural acidity and optimal phenolic ripeness in the grapes. Continue Reading

After 15 years of dedication and passion for creating high-quality wines, and numerous awards under our belt, Aaldering Wines has carefully crafted a unique wooden box to serve as the packaging of our flagship wines.

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There are few things more beautiful to a viticulturist’s eye than a neatly pruned vineyard in the middle of winter, with a good stand of cover crop between each row. A good, winter cover crop programme is essential in controlling weeds, improving the soil structure and even in building up the soil nutrient levels as well as beneficial soil microbes.

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Our estate is well-known for our Pinotage, and we take great pride in maintaining – and exceeding – our standards when working with this unique South African varietal. So we are very pleased to bring you the 2018 vintage, a beautiful exemplar of Pinotage named “Outstanding” by Wine Advocate (USA) and rated “Platinum” (95+) on the SA Wine Index.

The 2017 growing season that produced this vintage was marked by severe drought in our region, but this gorgeous wine is evidence of the proverbial silver lining! The cool, dry year and long winter nights ensured a longer period of ripening, which in turn enhanced minerality and added finesse to the vintage. The drought also caused the vine to send its roots deeper in search of water, and this is always a good thing for the future hardiness of the plant.

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The harvest this year was bookended by unusual events outside of our control: A cooler than normal December and January meant that we started a week later, and the national lockdown announced in March meant that we harvested the last varietal in just two days. The results were exceptional but we’re going to try to get a bit more prepared next year, we’re thinking of buying a new harvesting system as the harvesting process will become more efficient. If you are also interested, you can find agriculture harvester products here. And if you need used farm equipment like a compact tractor attached with a 4in1 bucket or agricultural duty motors, then you may consider getting some from Pre Owned Farming Equipment or agricultural duty motors supply services.

Harvest started late, on the 30^th January, because of these summer cool spells. This was, in fact, good news! It led to a higher natural acidity in the white wines as well as the Pinotage. The Pinotage was picked earlier and at a lower sugar content – to make our Pinotage blanc and Rosé wines. An anomaly was the fact that Chardonnay ripened earlier than the Sauvignon blanc and was harvested first.

The growth season had been abnormally wet, with quite a few days recording more than 10 mm rainfall and high humidity – the perfect conditions for downy and powdery mildew. We were blessed to escape such diseases, while the rest of the industry struggled with fungal infections and ensuing grey rot of the berries, with the very susceptible Chardonnay badly affected.

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There are many myths and stories to answer this question, but as social media did not exist back then, it is biased to pin it to so many claims. Maybe you should choose the story you relate to.

One of my favourites is in Persian legend, King Jamshid banished a lady of his harem, causing her to become downhearted and contemplate suicide. Going to the king’s warehouse, the woman sought out a jar marked “poison” containing the remnants of the grapes that had spoiled and were now deemed undrinkable. Continue Reading

The name Sauvignon Blanc can be loosely translated as “wild white” in French. It is
one of the most popular varieties of white wine in the world, and one of the top five
most planted varieties in South Africa. It is produced throughout the country, with
Stellenbosch listed as the biggest production area, followed by Robertson, the
Swartland and Worcester.

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I am not here to dictate to Mother Nature, nor will I ever complain about what she gives. She sets the rules, we adjust. But having only just seen the back of a three-year drought (our worst yet), I will say that we’ve become well acquainted with this Mother’s more demanding side. And in the process, proven that listening to her cries and demands is a pretty good idea – and the key to an excellent harvest.

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