No Images? Click here news | october 2018 As the great South African poet and author C Louis Leipoldt said, October is that most beautiful of all months. And currently we have no reason not to believe the great man's words. Spring is underway, and a rather splendid one. Just like other parts of the Western Cape, De Wetshof experienced welcoming bouts of rainfall during winter. Not quite as much as we'd like - and need after the past four years' drought - but enough to provide good moisture to the deep-lying roots of our vines. The rain was accompanied by icy temperatures that saw many a dawn stopping the thermometer at freezing point, with the nearby mountains covered in snow. And so these wintry conditions have led to a beautiful spring. The vines are resplendent in their emerald green shoots and leaves, the cover crops are dense and the soils are glowing with health. This all means that it is down-hill to next year's harvest which, by the looks of things, will be a week or two later than 2018. Soon the cooling breezes from the southern oceans will begin to fan the vineyards. In the cellar the tanks are being emptied, the barrels prepared. One more harvest to look forward to, and during such a beautiful month it all looks great. THE SOUTH AFRICAN spring is also known as Awards Season for the local wine industry as the results from various wine competitions are announced in varies degrees of pomp and ceremony. The Veritas Awards is one of the more illustrious of these, and by achieving the highest rating for unwooded Chardonnay at this year's Veritas, De Wetshof becomes arguably the most awarded unwooded Chardonnay producer in South Africa. This year three of the top awards in the unwooded Chardonnay category went to De Wetshof for our Limestone Hill, Danie de Wet Sur Lie and Bon Vallon - all these Gold Medal-winning wines were from the notoriously hot and dry 2018 vintage. Johann, Danie and Peter de Wet at this year's Veritas Awards The fourth Gold medal for De Wetshof went to the Nature in Concert Pinot Noir 2017, adding to the award for Best Pinot Noir at this year's Terroir Wine Awards. De Wetshof has dominated the Veritas unwooded Chardonnay category since 2015. Last year Limestone Hill and Bon Vallon 2017 won the only two Gold medals in the unwooded-section. In 2016 the Limestone Hill 2016 received the only Double Gold medal, with Bon Vallon 2016 and Limestone Hill 2016 (Woolworths) achieving Gold. And at the 2015 Veritas, only two Gold medals were awarded in this category, namely De Wetshof Limestone Hill 2015 and Limestone Hill 2015 (Woolworths). Another top wine competition, the Michelangelo International Wine&Spirits Awards, also recognised De Wetshof Limestone Hill 2018 by awarding it with a Gold medal. At this show, however, our Riesling out-performed the Chardonnays by garnering a rare Double Gold. These awards not only recognise consistency of quality, but we see them as an important indicator to the consumer as to wines recognised by panels of knowledgeable judges. The importance of these competitions for both the industry and the wine-lovers cannot be under-estimated and we are honoured with this year's results. They underscore our commitment to site-specific winemaking and the focus of the cellar team. NEWS of another - and much different - award for De Wetshof reached us all the way from Japan. De Wetshof Limestone Hill Chardonnay 2017 was entered into the Tokyo Oyster Wine Competition where local sommeliers and chefs were out to find what wine from around the world is the best to accompany a fabulous dish of fresh raw Japanese oysters. As we know, the Japanese are extremely serious about their seafood, so we can accept the fact that matters were not taken lightly at this competition. According to our agents in Japan who entered the wine on our behalf, the Limestone Hill 2017 was awarded Best Oyster Wine 2018 at the Tokyo Oyster Wine Competition. De Wetshof’s resident oyster love, Danie de Wet, was especially pleased at the award. "I have had the pleasure of enjoying enough great South African oysters with our Limestone Hill to state that I and the Japanese judges share more similarities in taste than what I had ever thought possible," says Danie. "I have not had the pleasure of experiencing such a wide variety of Japanese oysters, but am very happy that they are deemed good enough for our unwooded Chardonnay. I hope that this award for our wines will allow those living in the Land of the Rising Sun to get a better taste for South African wine in general. It is a fantastic food culture, and if our wines can complement that, great times lie ahead." Johann de Wet recipient of the JOHANN DE WET is this year’s recipient of the Giepie Rossouw Trophy, an honour annually bestowed upon a leading figure in agriculture from the Robertson region. The award is named after one of the farming community’s pioneering figures who played a major role in establishing Robertson as, among others, a powerhouse of South African viticulture. At the awards ceremony Johann emphasised the importance of this honour as in wine farming, it is all about community and regionality. "Like any other winery in the vicinity, De Wetshof has to thank the region and the people of the region for where we are today," said Johann. "Awards such as the Giepie Rossouw emphasise this and on behalf of De Wetshof I am humbled to accept this honour." AS MENTIONED at the beginning of this newsletter, it is a wonderful time to meander through the Robertson Wine Valley. Our doors are always open where you are welcome to taste our range of wines and experience the country atmosphere of a working wine farm where hospitality is as much a part of our signature as Chardonnay. We look forward to welcoming you. Kind regards, |