I did not predict that my day would start with me on a tractor under the scorching sun.
I had never been to Cape Town and who knew that my wine tourism projects would start with an invite for Cape Wine 2015. I had always wanted to visit Stellenbosch because of the innumerable articles, pinterest pins and blogposts that I had read about that magical place. Be careful what you wish for because you might get it. For the first two days, we were staying at Life & Leisure Gardens in Stellenbosch and I got to soak in all the views. I was in awe as we drove through the streets and I was that person taking too many photos and videos.
On this day, we were going to Waterkloof Wines located on Sir Lowry’s Road Somerset West, to have a taste of organic farming. Sited atop an incredible range, this farm has the best location to produce magnificent wines. The vines grow on the rocky soil which is ridden with minerals. What caught my attention was the biodynamic farming that Waterklooof wines has put in place. They avoid using conventional farming methods including fertilizers and pesticides. I realized that they plant their vines along with legumes and plants that have root nodules. If I take you back to biology class, plants with root nodules help to fix the nitrogen in the air and transfer it to the soil for the vines to use.
There was so much to learn and since the farm was expansive we had to ride a tractor from point to point. The farmers even make their own manure from organic things as bizarre as fish, chicken manure, cow and sheep manure and egg shells. They also use compost manure and they let it sit in pits until it is ready for use. I won’t go into the technical details, I will just show you in the photos below. There was something about knowing that I was drinking organic wines, that made me sip them more heavily.
The drive.
Paul Boutinot
The unique flora
The view from the tractor.
A lesson from the tractor.
Green manure.
More manure.
