Our labels were designed by the talented graphic design team at Jane Says, headed up by creative Victoria Peter. Victoria has worked closely with Charles over the years, honing in on his vision and executing work across a variety of briefs and designs. The competition seeks to reward the best design and packaging for bottled wine made in South Africa and judging criteria include originality of concept, execution, shelf appeal and effectiveness as a piece of communication. A total of 44 entries were received, 28 of these emerging as finalists.

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“Our 6^th Addition to the Single Vineyard Range”

One of the key philosophical traits Fairview has orientated itself around is to always push the boundaries of traditional winemaking through ingenuity. For decades, Charles Back and our team have done this by planting varieties that are best suited to their surroundings. Their newest release, Stok by Paaltjie Grenache, is one such variety, being the 6^th addition to our Single Vineyard range and enjoying a new wave of appreciation among locals.

“Our Stok by Paaltjie is so called as, translated from Afrikaans, it means Vine by Post. Vine by Post is a unique trellising system, whereby the vine grows upwards along an individual supportive pole, giving each vine time to develop its own tiny character. This is how the grapes to make this wine were grown,” explains chief winemaker, Anthony de Jager. “The vineyard itself is also one of the most striking on the farm, rich with soils that have been chiselled, shaped and terraced over the course of nearly two millennia.”

The vineyard in which the Stok by Paaltjie grapes are grown is small and steeply terraced, bustling with animal life and natural fynbos growing in and amongst the vines. For this reason, Charles and our team decided to bring the exceptional origin of the wine to the fore, by opting to hand illustrate the terraced vineyard on the bottle’s label.

This Grenache has a bright red colour with intense fynbos, red fruits and sour cherry notes on the nose. The palate is elegant, with wild strawberry and savoury aromas and effortlessly integrated tannins on the finish. Stok by Paaltjie makes a masterful match with charred lamb chops, spicy Moroccan tagine and Spanish classics like paella.

As a firm advocate for the versatility of this cultivar, Charles had the vision – and the patience – to wait until the Grenache grapes were ready to bring you the maiden bottling of this block. With only exceptional parcels of the vineyards hand harvested and meticulously basket pressed, this limited Single Vineyard wine is undoubtedly worth the wait.

For now, Stok by Paaltjie is exclusive to Fairview’s online store, Fairview Cellar Door (http://cellar.fairview.co.za/stok-by-paaltjie-grenache.html) and is priced at R235 a bottle.

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