This year has been great. I have been up and down trying to make it in my career while still trying to update my blog. I was invited by Distell to South Africa to experience the Nederburg Harvest 2019.
When it comes to wine making, harvesting is one of those processes that are integral because everything has to be perfect. Wait for a few more months during summer and the grapes ripen raising the sugar content in wine. Every winemaker knows what they expect from their wine and they often check the grapes and come up with the exact time to harvest. The winemaker will measure things like acidity, tannin levels and sugar in the grapes
However, because of global warming and climate change, there has been a shift in the time when the grapes should be harvested. Essentially in the Northern hemisphere, grapes are harvested between August and October while in the Southern Hemisphere, it takes place between February and April. Weather plays a big role in when the grapes will be harvested.
I made it to CapeTown with a few Kenyans in the wine industry. Distell had invited about 28 guests from all over the globe. However, there were also many South Africans who came for the harvest.
A Crash Course on the wine
Before we went to the harvest, we went through a proper wine tasting where we got to interact with the Nederburg Range. I honestly did not know how extensive this range was and I was only familiar with the Manor House and the Wine Masters Range.
Read my Post on the Wines here
We started with the white wines and then went to the reds.
The white wines we tasted.
- Nederburg Manor House Sauvignon Blanc 2018
- Nederburg Anchorman Vintage 2017
- Nederburg The Beautiful Lady Vintage 2018
The red wines we tasted.
- Nederburg Motorcycle Marvel Vintage 2016
- Nederburg Vintage 2016
- Nederburg Two Centuries Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
Watch my video for more on the tastings and wines here
The Winery
After that we went to see the winery. Which the biggest wineries I have ever seen. The sheer volume of the fermentation tanks & barrels was mind boggling. There were tons and tons of wine!
Ferried by Tractor to the Nederburg Farm
We were ferried to the farm by tractor. We got our hands dirty. We picked grapes & ate little when picking. It was a team affair as teams worked together to fill their bins. One thing I loved about this activity was that there was an incentive. There were some treasures hidden in the farm. So people picked grapes as they looked for the “hidden treasures”.
After we harvested the grapes, we got to stomping. We then had a great sundowner with bottomless wine and endless food. The best way to crown a hot day of harvesting grapes was with a feast and live music. I had forgotten how much I loved live music.
