.: Decanter Award for Rosa Kruger at Old Vines tasting

Tuesday, October 11, 2022

Decanter Award for Rosa Kruger at Old Vines tasting

An invitation from Andre Morgenthal of the Old Vines Project to De Warenmarkt in the centre of Stellenbosch to come and taste some of the excellent wines made from vineyards that are registered with the Old Vines Project. And we certainly did taste some really fine wines as we wandered around the different stalls

It is a fascinating place and a different concept; we were very impressed
They had taken over the whole venue for the evening
Different stands with food and drink and you can pick and choose what you want

and then take a table with friends to enjoy the evening

The different stations had been taken over by members of the Old Vines Project to showcase their wines

It does resemble the Mojo market in Sea Point, but seems to have more choices and good quality

Michela Dalpiaz, whom we know from Ayama. She is now at Nomoya Wines in Paarl

Some clever cards with whiche you could download the wine details to your phone
Very valuable for the foreign wine visitors who had come for Cape Wine

Haute Cabrière winemaker Tim Hoek

Bellevue winemaker Wilhelm Kritzinger and Francois Rautenbach of Singita

Then canapes began to appear, these were mini Caesar salads

Caprese salad on a stick drizzled with good Balsamic

Nicole Kilian, Keermont sales manager, with some of the old vine wines for tasting

Oysters with a beetroot dressing

Great Boerewors

There were many international wine industry and wine media visitors enjoying the tasting of these excellent wines;
they were here for Cape Wine which began on the 5th October and lasted for 3 days

Mushroom cappelletti, they did need a sauce of some kind

Rosa Kruger with Ina Smith of the Chenin Blanc Association

Andre Morgenthal and Nadia Hefer of the Old Vines Project

We loved the slightly off the wall story of the names of these Fuselage wines;
the winemaker is fascinated with flying and planes as well as wines

Welgegund Heritage Wines in Wellington was founded in the 18th Century

Daniel Kriel, owner of De Warenmarkt introduced us to the place he has created
and said that he hoped we would come back another time
He hoped that we were enjoying the food they were producing for us to taste, and everyone concurred

It was a large crowd of wine people and media enjoying the evening
and now primed to hear to the major announcement of the evening

Nadia Hefer introduced ....

.... Tina Gellie, content creator for Decanter Magazine, who had flown in from London to present the award

She was there to present Rosa Kruger, the creator of the Old Vines Project, which has been funded by Johan Rupert,
with a very special Award from Decanter magazine. Once a year, they add one person to their Hall of Fame
and this year the award is given to Rosa Kruger for the devotion and dedication she has given to the Old Vine Project
She is the first South African and the first viticulturist to receive this prestigious Decanter award

Rosa said that 25 years ago, when she began the journey, she knew nothing about it, travelling, tasting and reading
She has worked and walked in some of the most amazing vineyards in the world
In 2013, at the 60th anniversary of the Masters of Wine, they did the first tasting of the SA old vines wines
They shone! And, in the same year, Jancis Robinson wrote the first article in the London Times about the wines

Andre has been urging her on, and building relationships with wines, vineyards, vines and terroir
They spend 8 to 9 hours a day in the field and their efforts are being noticed and appreciated
Take life at a steady pace, never stop trying to do better and never give up the fight