A grape to glass day with Van Ryn brandy

Another early rise for us on Wednesday to get to the Van Ryn distillery near Stellenbosch by 8am and then into a bus for the trip to Opstal Winery in Slanghoek valley to see the brandy grapes being harvested, taste the must and some of the rebate wine from the tank from an earlier picking during the week. Then it was back on the bus for 2 superb brandy tastings and lunch at Van Ryn. It’s a hard life...

Bleary eyed journos were delighted to find small scones and muffins with good coffee awaiting us at Van Ryn before we boarded the bus to Breedekloof.

The Van Ryn tasting room, empty at this early hour

We grabbed some quick refreshment

and arrived at Opstal an hour later to be welcomed by owner and patriarch Stanley Louw

Opstal make award winning wines including the Platter 5 star Carl Everson Chenin blanc made by Stanley’s son, winemaker Attie Louw, but their main crop goes into fine brandy and they have a contract with Distell to supply it as Rebate wine. It is mostly Colombard and Chenin. It is the top quality and goes to Van Ryn

The surrounding countryside is breathtaking.

Vineyards from mountain to mountain all across the alluvial valley, where there is good elevation and a great variation in soil types. From clay, black alluvial, river sand and Kliprug to name a few. They grow 16 cultivars for wine, but that is a small segment of the business, with most of the bulk wine (5 million litres) going to Distell.

We were fascinated to see a mechanical picker in action

It goes rapidly through the vines and two experienced harvesters follow it to pick any bunches left by the machine

It is a very complex machine but, because it is so efficient, it is replacing workers. The economic factors and the need for a speedy harvest make this a necessary piece of equipment

John was invited on board to take photographs

Another Louw son runs the machine and he explained how it works

A beautiful ripe bunch of Colombard grapes. We tasted them on the vine and they are not pungent or even very sweet which, apparently, is very good for Brandy. No sulphur is used at all in brandy making.

And there are lots of bunches on each vine. The machine demonstrated picking two 90 metre rows of grapes – they picked 2.7 tons in about five minutes, it was extraordinary

The mechanical harvester underway and the harvesters following to get any stray bunches

Grapes are gently shaken off the vines and come into the hopper fed by an Archimedes screw. The loose leaves and other detritus are blown off and separated

at the press of a button

Piles of pips and grape stalks that will become compost

Then a hopper is driven to the machine

and the grapes are offloaded and sent immediately to the cellar

where more leaves and stalks will be removed

The hopper tips the grapes into the destemmer

A worker makes sure the area is cleared of the stems as the destemmer works. The remaining grapes and juice then go through a cooler system into the press and then into fermentation tanks.

We taste the rebate wine, which is fermented for 12 days, but is not clear as this is how it goes into the brandy making system. It was floral, with peaches and jube jubes on the nose, grassy and tropical with a dry finish on the palate, so you can see hints of what it might become as brandy. Then some of the juice from the grapes we have just seen picked. It was nice and fruity but not as sweet as wine grapes, which need more sugar

Winemaker Attie Louw tells us what they do with the juice next. Next to Attie is William Stacey, who sources grapes for Distell

Time for a glass of Opstal’s Sauvignon Blanc Sec Sparkling wine with brunch

Some lovely mid morning snacks to fill in for the breakfast we had no time for

served in the restaurant area at Opstal, which is used for functions

The Platter 5 star award for the Carl Everson Chenin blanc

And then it was back on the bus to Stellenbosch and the Van Ryn distillery

We meet the Master Distiller Marlene Bester

The original Potstill is still (sic) in operation

No brandy was being produced that day, as they were awaiting the delivery of new harvest rebate wine, but the pot stills had all been cleaned and polished

The distillery filled with pot stills and one column still at the end of the room

Make a trip to Van Ryn just to see one of the experienced coopers ply his trade of making barrels. It is so skilled and so interesting.

Trimming a barrel stave by eye with a very sharp adze

And it fits the form perfectly. Years of experience here

How they steam the barrels to get the staves to bend

And he plays us his tune as he knocks the hoops on to the barrel.

Into Die Paradys executive tasting room used only for very special occasions. They know how to make us feel special!

We taste the five stages of brandy making from L to R. From the low wine after distillation with water and solids removed. 2. After the unwanted heads and tails are removed. 3. Matured for 3 years. 4. A 10 year old at 38% alcohol. We have not done this tasting before and it was very instructional. Especially as you can see the growth of the aromas and flavours and the depth of what the low wine will eventually produce.

Brink Liebenberg, the Group General Manager of Spirits Production, tells us about Van Ryn as a company

We stopped for some lunch

Mini bagels, mini pita breads filled with chicken and tzatsiki, and spinach stuffed buns

Wraps, olive tarts, fruit tarts and chocolate brownies

And finally, the piece de resistance. We tasted through a selection of Distell brandies. All Potstill brandies, except for the first one which was a 3 year old blended Viceroy brandy. Van Ryn have won the Best South African Brandy award 11 times. This is judged by international judges

Lots of sniffing and gentle sipping. We tried to guess which brandies but no one was that experienced. John did guess Flight of the Fish Eagle correctly! Dayne Stern who handles the Van Ryn PR account for Corporate Image is on the right next to Lynne

These were the brandies we tasted, in order of tasting, L to R. They are all quite different and we all had our favourites. Unfortunately, it is difficult if your favourite costs R1500 a bottle: the Van Ryn 20 year old, which was remarkable. It has wood smoke, salt, honey and milk chocolate on the nose. It’s liquid honey and citrus on the palate with warmth on the edge of one’s tongue; long, complex and many layered. The 12 year old Van Ryn also charmed us with its dark caramel toffee nose with complex berries, cherries and chocolate. On the palate, layers of brandied fruit, sophisticated and complex with wood smoke, herbs and honey with a dry finish. At R570 a bargain for a 12 year old. Both were awarded 5 stars in Platter

We had a marvellous Day. Thanks to all at Van Ryn and especially for the 12 year old Van Ryn Brandy we were given to take home

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© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2015

The third harvest at The Vineyard Hotel

We were summoned to the Vineyard at 7 am on Monday morning for a glass of fresh orange juice or some bubbly and marshalled into helping harvest the rows of grapes that grow alongside the Lieesbek River. Our vine had over 24 bunches this year, smaller than last year and they had been sulphured to stave off the rot. We await this year’s wine (being made at Meerlust) with great interest

The nets have been lifted and we can see the good harvest of grapes that need picking in this tiny vineyard. The good news is that soon they are going to extend the vineyard with some Chardonnay vines which will be planted on the property at the top of the vineyard, which they also own

A glass of freshly squeezed orange juice to wake up the senses. Many lug boxes wait to be filled with the grapes.

It's a good harvest

This is the vine that we look after, filled with bunches of ripe sauvignon blanc grapes

More awake, we can't wait to get going

It’s not difficult, it’s a bit sticky and you just have to watch those sharp secateurs

Busy, busy. Candice Bresler of The Phoenix Partnership and Kerry Sutherland of Waterford Estate

Lynne doing triage on the bunches, removing the bad grapes

Filling up our lug box

Roy Davies GM of the Vineyard Hotel, and Kerry Sutherland tweeting about the Harvest

We finished in less than an hour so it was time for a good glass of Simonsig Brut MCC

The matriarch of the Vineyard Hotel, Kitty Petousis helping herself to a healthy breakfast

Lots of lovely things available for hungry harvesters

Lynne veers more to the savoury side

And with breakfast, more Simonsig to refresh us

Yes, we think this is a much better use for the jam pot

Bottles of the last two vintages. We were finished by 9 and could go back to work

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© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2015

Durbanville Feast of the Grape

The Feast of the Grape was held this year at D’Aria farm.  It was a very popular and good “one venue” festival, with all the local farms showcasing their wines, lots and lots of different food stalls and much else besides to amuse the visitors, including grape stomping. 

Karin de Villiers of Klein Roosboom with one of her chefs and their charcuterie platter

A warm welcome from Benny Howard on the Meerendal stand

There was lots of seating this year and, thankfully, lots and lots of umbrellas as it was a hot day

Or you could picnic on the lawn on beanbags

People at tables enjoying the wine, food and the live music

The De Grendel team

These Sauvignon Blanc Slushies were remarkably popular. You could have them with or without alcohol

A new concept for us, Biltong pies. They were a bit small though

Good Namibian biltong was also a popular choice

Pony rides for the children

People having fun

And building their relationships

All the essentials of a festival - Wine and water

Martin Moore, Cellarmaster at Durbanville Hills about to start his presentation of some older Durbanville reds. He began with a harvest joke: What is the difference between a winemaker and God? God doesn't think He’s a winemaker

He was ably assisted by Lombard Loubser of Bloemendal

Presentations by Martin always hold the attention of the audience as he is full of good information and irreverence, and amusement

“So he said..”

Martin gave us a very informative view of the wines we tasted, including information about the harvest of that year, the terroir, their constituent parts and quality. It is always a great opportunity to taste older wines from a specific area that have been kept correctly and are ready for drinking. We learn a great deal.  Several of these have won major awards

These were the wines we tasted. The Altydgedacht Pinotage 2011 is full of spicy dark fruit with a soft velvety mouthfeel. The Pinot parent shows with plums and cooked cherries and enjoyable chalky end.  The Diemersdal Reserve 2013 has sweet vanilla wood, a herbal nose with cassis and cherries.  Major cassis on the palate, it shows long restrained flavours with slight acidity on the end, held together by wood.

We liked the 2011 Kleine Roosboom which was spicy with sweet fruit and some umami notes with red and black cherries and some mint chocolate. It is ‘sappig’ (juicy) and worth drinking now.  The Meerendal Merlot 2004 has After Eight mints on the nose and triple fruit layers with nice wood and a tomato cocktail end. SA can make good Merlots. The Durbanville Rhinofield 2008 Shiraz (made by Martin) has buchu, spice and black pepper on the nose with warm chilli, turmeric and coriander seed hints on warm cassis fruit and soft chalky tannins.  Eminently drinkable, this wine got into the Vin du Mond Top 10.  D’Aria SV has only 2% of Viognier added to the Shiraz but it shows well. Nice soft sweet fruit, very feminine floral notes, violets, rhubarb and red cherries with chalky tannins on the end.

It was good to taste Bloemendal’s (to be released later this year) 2013 Shiraz as an extra. It has marzipan, pepper and chocolate over red fruit, it is a very concentrated and layered red wine, still chalky but has the guts to go far, with umami tomato cocktail on the end.   Is this a Durbanville identifier?  We usually notice salt, but probably more on the white wines

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© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2015