Firstly, the soil is cleared and plowed. After that, careful measurements are made in order to ensure that the rows of vines are as perfectly straight as can be. This allows for easier harvesting later on. As you can see, measuring out an entire block is quite a process in itself!

Donald Mouton, our farm manager, gave the Cinsault planting team a short lesson on the effect that differently dug holes have on grapevine root systems.

In some heavier soils, unless one digs a hole in just the right way, the roots can become constrained and aren’t able to grow in the way that they should. This impacts the ability of the plant to absorb nutrients from the soil, which in turn affects the health of the vines, and ultimately the taste and quality of the wine.

Finally, the new Cinsault vines are planted! After all of the digging and measuring, seeing a field full of the final product is a sight to behold. These vines are destined to become bush vines, and will only be able to be harvested in 2020.

We’re already looking forward to it!

The post Planting a New Vineyard | Cinsault appeared first on Fairview.

This week, our Fairview Piekenierskloof Grenache was named one of the top 20 South African Grenache Noirs by renowned South African sommelier Higgo Jacobs. In his review, Jacobs writes that “There is no doubt that Grenache is regaining popularity, especially among the trending wine lists and ‘hipster bars’ worldwide” and that “there is a great variety of styles coming from the category in South Africa”.

At Fairview, we have a long history of Grenache, being one of the first farms in the Cape to introduce this Mediterranean-style variety. For our Top 20 pick, we’ve carefully cultivated a home for old Grenache bush vines along the Piekenierskloof mountains where, with extreme weather conditions and poor soils, the high lying vineyards undeservedly reward us with a profound style of wine. Having provided the backbone to some of our finest blends, we are proud to bring this single variety to the fore. If you’re new to reds, this is a foolproof place to start, offering a lighter style wine with plenty of red fruit and soft tannins. It’s also a lovely winter or summer wine – perfectly at home a little chilled!

Our Fairview Piekenierskloof Grenache is available for R115 a bottle on our online shop. Click here to purchase.
To read Jacob’s full review, click here.

Piekenierskloof wine region in Citrusdal

The post All Hail Grenache! appeared first on Fairview.