One year after designing the Cape Dutch Style Lodges to enrich the Aaldering estate, the lodges have been inaugurated with a first night stay of Marianne & Fons Aaldering. “We get to enjoy many beautiful moments at the winery, but this new experience topped it all. The serenity of the vineyards at sunset after a lively day in the cellars, and enjoying a bottle of our Pinotage Blanc on the lodges’ private terrace, was an experience beyond what we always dreamed of…”.

You too can indulge yourself with a relaxing stay at the Aaldering estate. We’re now open for bookings and love to welcome you to our luxury winery lodges in the versatile Cape winelands!

To all the wine aficionados around the world Christmas is synonymous with browsing through our personal wine cellar to pick that seductive wine which is now at its best and shopping for wonderful new wines to treat our guests with. We have the Aaldering bottles, in all of its 8 varieties, polished up for you to enjoy during this festive season and we are happy to support you with any advice on wine and food pairings as well as our variety of Aaldering gift packages.

The 2014 vintage is looking good. We experienced sufficient cold winter weather and higher than average rainfall, which guaranteed good conditions for bud burst and our dams and soil water content are at full capacity, which bodes well for the spring and summer season going forward. Bud burst during spring was initially even; however an extremely cold September resulted in bud burst generally 7 to 10 days later for some varieties. More unfavorable and cold weather recently resulted in less fruit set, therefore less grapes volume wise. Hence 2014 vintage is likely to be a smaller one volume wise than 2013, but with our team naturally combating these conditions with the correct treatment, we can assure you that we have a good quality 2014 crop at hand!

In the cellar the next action is that of preparing the 2011 Shiraz and Pinotage for bottling, as well as taking the 2013 Shiraz and Pinotage to barrel for its maturation. All in all we keep ourselves busy in the vineyards and cellar to be making each Aaldering vintage better. I’m happy to inform you that also the latest scores given by Neal Martin for e-robertparker have confirmed this too. Our Shiraz and Pinotage have received straight 90 points scores, a result we are much honored with!

During a series of Masterclasses Meat & Wine we pair the best cuts of Holland’s top quality meat supplier Nice to Meat with the premium range of Aaldering wines. Chefs and Sommeliers of Holland’s top gastronomy restaurants were pampered with 7 courses during the informal yet educative lunch. So what is paired with our Aaldering barrel-fermented Pinotage Rosé you would ask? A delicious fusion beef-sashimi with light wasabi and soy sauce…

Are you a Chef or Sommelier and would you like to attend a Masterclass Meat and Wine? We look forward to welcome you. Please contact femke@aaldering.co.za.

With thanks to the efforts of our new colleague Johnna Zeng in China we are very excited to now be exporting the first container of Aaldering wines there. The partnership with our Guangzhou-based importer was officialized this month during the Hong Kong Wine Trade Fair where the international wine industry gathered to give another impulse to the dynamic and developing Asian wine market.

After the busy wine fair, where amongst others top Sommelier and WOSA Sommelier Cup finalist Jordi Chan tasted our wines, an intimate wine dinner was held to celebrate the cooperation on the remarkable banks of Hong Kong.

Americans love their steak and South Africans love to braai, hence the ultimate cross-over was organized by WOSA in a number of US cities. Our Californian importer Bruno Laclotte from Hillside Wines & Spirits presented our Shiraz, Pinotage and Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot to over 400 wine lovers. The South African Chef annex Braai-Master Hugo Uys served tasty preparations of beef and ostrich to match with the beautiful wines, in sunny Los Angeles. Our wines are available at Wine House, Wally’s, and Bristol Farms, the best specialized wine stores of California.

Our continuous investment and effort in quality as well as sustainability over the past few years has paid off greatly. We are proud to announce that we are now certified with the illustrious ‘Enviro Wines’ seal. The accreditation acknowledges Aaldering Wines as being part of the elite group of Integrated Production of Wine (IPW) producers. In order to obtain the IPW status, all South African wineries are audited by Enviro Scientific. Their normal pass rate is 65% for sustainability on both farm and winery practices and wineries that score 75% and above are invited to the top-class ‘Enviro Wines’ group. Only 5 other South-African wineries have the same distinction, therefore hats-off to our vineyards & cellars team who have accomplished this ambitious goal.

“With the first blends of the 2013 wines now finished I am in a better position to give my thoughts on the 2013 vintage. South Africa enjoyed optimum weather conditions last year and therefore reached a record crop. Our country produced 4,8% more than the previous record in 2008. At Aaldering however we maintain a strict regime in the vineyards for balancing our vines and not letting them over produce. I get a bit ‘scissor-happy’ when I’m thinking of the top quality which I want to achieve.

The cold and wet conditions in winter 2012, and the conditions of flowering and berry set were phenomenal to create a healthy crop. Ideal growing and ripening conditions of moderate temperatures and cool evenings also had a large contribution to the high quality level. The 2013 wines, which are already in bottle or about to be bottled, are looking nothing short of stunning! Fruit purity, elegance and great acidity is personified in this vintage. Also the red wines which will be barrel-aged for 22-24 months are showing traits which are particularly exciting for the integrity and age ability of the wines. I will keep monitoring each barrel closely so you will enjoy nothing but the best the 2013 vintage has to offer.”