Bottling the Vineyard Hotel vineyard's 2016 white wine at Waterford

Once a year, we are invited by The Vineyard Hotel management to join them and prune the vines in the small vineyard on the side of the Liesbeek river in the gardens of the hotel. They have kindly made us custodians of one vine

This year, we were also invited to Waterford wine estate for a tasting of the last four years of the wines that have been made. Waterford, who are one of the four wine farms which sponsor a row of vines, vinified the 2015 vintage. We were to taste the wines and have lunch together

Warmly dressed on a chilly late winter day, we received a warm welcome from Kerry Sutherland and a glass of Waterford's Brut MCC

The beautiful entrance arch. The building is clad entirely from local stone found on the farm; they wanted it to blend into the landscape effortlessly and it does

Waterford Winemaker Mark le Roux

Invited guests and Waterford staff

Roy Davies, General Manager of The Vineyard Hotel tells us the history of vines at The Vineyard. Vines were first planted on the hotel grounds when the original property was owned by Lady Anne Barnard. In 2008 winemaker Mike Ratcliffe of Warwick Estate suggested replanting a vineyard. Warwick, Klein Constantia, Meerlust, Waterford and Simonsig came on board and the vineyard of Semillon and Sauvignon was planted. The first vintage was vinified in 2013

There were about 120 bottles this year and we all had a hand in filling one or two bottles

David Wibberley does the first bottle

Another vintage is in bottle

And the bottles get loaded onto the corking machine

Everyone waiting their turn

Kevin Arnold chatting to Lex Petousis

Winemaker Mark le Roux and Kerry Sutherland packing the wine crate

Laying down the bottles for storage

The table laid out for lunch in the beautiful courtyard

Naeema, one of the experienced staff from The Vineyard, uncorking the four vintages of The Vineyard wine

The day was cloudy but not cold. It is a beautiful venue

Mark le Roux bottling a special Waterford Chardonnay fermented in an egg. Everyone attending got a bottle. We labelled our own bottles with a gold Koki pen. There were some artistic attempts

Filling from the egg is rather complicated, you don't want to spill wine

Lynne and journalist Neil Pendock take their places for the tasting

Klein Constantia winemaker Matthew Day with the long line of tasting glasses

GM of The Vineyard Hotel, Roy gives us some background to where wine was originally grown in the Cape near the Vineyard Hotel. It was planted on the banks of the Liesbeek river as early as 1658 or 9. Jan van Riebeeck recorded in his journal, “The Commander consequently intends to plant a large part of the Bosheuvel with young vine shoots during the waning moon which is the correct time.” Bosheuvel was bordered by the banks of the Liesbeek

Enjoying the history lesson are Mark le Roux and Joachim Sa of Amorim Cork

Small portions to taste as the wine is in very short supply. L to R 2013 Blue & Black and 2014 the first grapes were picked on the 12th February 2013. Matthew Day of Klein Constantia made this wine. There were two pressings as the grapes did not fill the press. Blue has some good acidity on the palate, some elegance but is a little one note. Black was the rest of the grapes, too little for the press, so foot stomped and known informally as the toe jam wine. It is perfumed and grapey!

Winemaker Chris Williams of Meerlust tasting the wine

Roy then took us through the 2014 which was the biggest harvest yet, 240 kg which was vinified on Marklew. It's still a little miffy on the nose, but has consistent acidity, grapey with bruised apple. A wine still waiting to come true. The 2015 was made by Chris Williams on Meerlust and was judged by the guests to be the best yet. Perfumed on the nose with crisp acidity and good elegance, it's the good white blend that Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc make. We did taste the 2016 wine we had bottled that day, but it is too young and needs to develop a character in the bottle

Lunch is served ...

... and we began with a lovely platter to share of charcuterie, smoked salmon, cheese, fruit, chutneys, tapenade and good bread

Chefs in the kitchen preparing the main course. This was the quinoa tabbouleh

Chef with the braaied steaks

The beetroot

The mixed vegetables

Lots of positive discussion about the wines

Main course of fire seared fillet steak with quinoa tabbouleh, spring vegetables and glazed beetroot with a red wine jus. We enjoyed some wines from the farms involved with lunch. We particularly liked the Waterford Chardonnay.

The three 'wine makers': Kevin Arnold, the innovator Roy Davies and Mark le Roux

A platter of wicked pastries for dessert

The transport arranged took us back to the Vineyard Hotel where we enjoyed a beer on the terrace in the sun

It's obviously a great meeting place

The trees beginning to burst into spring leaf

It looks like blossom with the sunlight highlighting the pale greenness

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© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2016

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A safari tour of Waterford wine estate with Kevin Arnold

Once a year, we are invited by the management of the Vineyard Hotel to join them and other guests, pruning the vines in the small vineyard in the gardens of the hotel, on the bank of the Liesbeek river. They have kindly made us custodians of one vine

This year, we were also invited to Waterford wine estate in Stellenbosch for a tasting of the last four vintages of the wines that have been made. Waterford, one of the four wine estates which sponsors a row of vines, vinified the 2015 vintage. We were to bottle the current vintage, taste the wines and have lunch together

First we went on a Wine Drive Safari in their game viewing Land Rover, guided by Kevin Arnold, Cellarmaster of Waterford and part owner with Jeremy Ord. You, too, can do this when visiting the farm. Click here for details

We were driven to the farm by Roy Davies, MD of The Vineyard hotel, and waited in the tasting room with its warm open fire for the other guests to arrive

Than it was off through the grounds for the Wine Drive Safari. Ten passengers can be seated in the comfortable vehicle to tour this 120 hectare wine farm on the slopes of the Helderberg mountains, where only half of the land is allocated to vines

The vineyards have been dormant through the winter and are about to begin budding. Pruning is still going on in different sites. Some of the vineyards are dry land and unirrigated. You see how they embrace sustainable agriculture and how they aim to achieve an organic approach to wine farming

Waterford is lucky to have several dams and, while we have experienced drought in the last year, the dams are filling up after the recent good winter rains. You can walk on the farm and rest at this lovely bench and table under this magnificent wild olive tree

Kevin Arnold is passionate about the farm, the vines and the biodiversity of the parts which have been left untouched, where they are preserving the original fynbos growing on the blaauwklippen (blue stones), part of our rich Cape Floral Kingdom. This is the largest and most spectacular concentration of flowers and plants found anywhere on earth

Old vines, winter cover crops planted between the rows and a stand of old pine trees behind. The vines are fertilised by the good compost made on the farm from all their biodegradable waste

Coots and ducks on the dam, which also has water lilies at one end

Beyond the horse paddock, you can see the rich compost heaps

Another dam in the middle of the vineyards

We had to pass the main building, with the tasting room and wine cellars, again on our way to the other half of the farm

Neat and tidy vines recently pruned and tied for the next season

There are lovely views across the Stellenbosch valley and, on a clear day, you can see across to the City and Table Mountain

A pied crow hunting in the mist

Looking down the hill to Dornier, Kleinood and other wine farms in the valley

We stopped right at the top of the farm where they have built this platform with a table and benches. Out came some wines to taste and some snacks to pair with the wines. First, freshly baked farm bread to dip into the spicy green Waterford olive oil, some cashews, some droë wors (dried sausage) Biltong and mixed olives. A feast

If you come on the Wine Drive you will also enjoy a tasting up there. Kevin unpacking the wines

We tasted the lovely Waterford 2014 Single Vineyard Chardonnay; elegant, crisp and golden, with rich citrus flavours, some minerality and soft wood roundness

The view is magnificent and it is such a peaceful place to sit and ponder ones good fortune, especially with a good glass of wine. We hope to return in better weather.

Journalist Niel Pendock reaches for one of the white wines while Kevin tells us more about the farm

Three other Waterford wines to taste. The top of the range 8 way Cabernet Sauvignon led blend the 2010 Jem, an Oh so elegant melange of pencil shavings, dark berries and good wood, dry tannins, just the wine for special occasions and for spoiling someone; the classic Waterford 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon, filled with cassis and forest floor and the spicy full fruit bottle of enjoyment; the Kevin Arnold 2012 Ashley Anne Shiraz, named for one of Kevin's daughters.

Poplars can be invasive but they also make an excellent windbreak and up here the wind can be fierce

Steep slopes of natural fynbos

Raindrops on pine needles

And new growth. We hated leaving this quiet, peaceful eyrie, but The Vineyard bottling and lunch called. Thank you Mr Arnold, sir

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© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2016

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John Collins' wine showcase at the Cape Town Club

Another annual event that we look forward to. John Collins represents some excellent wine farms and many of them are releasing their new wines at this time of the year. This tasting was to showcase these wines and to remind the trade of the excellent quality that these farms produce 

The Cape Town Club is in Queen Victoria Street

A selection of the canapés which we were offered

Gary and Kathy Jordan with their wines. We particularly like the 2015 Nine Yards Chardonnay, intense layers of rich golden fruit with great balance, minerality and softly supporting wood. The Real McCoy 2015 Riesling has that good balance of sugar and acidity and unctuousness and no hint of terpenes

Gary chats to customers about the wines

Chris Keet showcasing his 2012 First Verse. It is the five varietal Bordeaux blend that he does so well. Elegant and textured with soft chalky tannins and good supporting wood with layers of sweet fruit, and enough alcohol to make this wine last for decades, as all his wines do

Chef and owner of Aubergine Restaurant and Auslese, Harald Bresselschmidt, with his broken arm. Perhaps he should stay off his bike! Not his drinking or prepping arm, thank heavens. He is with his sommelier, Pardon Taguzu, and Ralph Reynolds

David Sonnenberg shows his Diemersfontein wines and their 10 year old pot still brandy, with sweet prunes, vanilla bonbons and chocolate, to Tatiana Marcetteau of the Cape Grace. We liked the Carpe Diem Viognier 2014 filled with fennel spice and orange. The Carpe Diem Malbec 2014 has meaty umami wildness, bunches of soft sweet fruit and a nice buzz, such a good food wine. And the Shiraz 2015 is also showing well. Elegance from its expensive oak with sweet cherries, spicy pepper and some grippy tannin. The 2014 Merlot has no green stalkiness, being full of soft red berry fruit and spice

Bevan Newton Johnson pouring Lynne a glass of their refined Family Vineyards 2015 Chardonnay. We also liked the excellent green, layered 2016 Sauvignon Blanc. They showed three Pinot Noirs: the Family Vineyards 2015 has a pretty, perfumed nose with roses, soft red fruit on the delicate palate with a note of wood on the end. The Walker Bay is speaking loudest now, with rose geranium and umami on the nose, robust red fruit on the silky complex palate with good forward acids which will soften with time. Needs 5 years. In a good cellar. Ours. We were impressed at how good the second label Felicité Pinot Noir 2015 is and, if you love Pinot but baulk at some of the prices, this is one to look at. We suspect, with the dark wood background, that this might reward with a little age too. The Felicité Chardonnay is also worth a look as it is pumping well above its station. You will find these on many wine lists, try them

Selfie Time for Shirley Muswema with Chris Keet and his First Verse

James Petersen, sommelier, judge and wine retailer with Jeanette Bruwer of Springfield. This is always our first chance to taste and compare their two Sauvignons Blanc, Life from Stone and Special Cuvée. This year Life From Stone takes the lead with its green pyrazine elegance, but it is young. Special Cuvée is hiding, but will emerge soon. The Wild Yeast 2014 Chardonnay is extra special, layered with lees on the end. The Method Ancienne 2012 Chardonnay is absolutely as described in their notes: sweet fruit, full of lime, Cointreau and oranges

Jessica Peens and Gunter Schultz on the Kleinood stand with the Tamboerskloof tongue-tingling Shiraz 2013 - layers of fruit and spice with soft chalky tannins and a long aftertaste. The Viognier still has a lot of wood and dark marmalade flavours. The 2016 Syrah Rosé is full of candy floss

Chris Keet with Admire Koroka from Norman Goodfellows

A nice selection of seared tuna, tender fillet steak and belly pork to assuage our hunger

Small deep fried parcels of minced meat

Happy and smiling. Marcha Cooke with David Brice and Caroline Rillema

Rian du Plessis of Pick n Pay in the V&A Waterfront, relaxing with a glass of Kleinood Viognier

The Somms are having fun. Joseph Dhafana of La Colombe and his friends, who confused everyone by swapping their labels

Bevan Newton Johnson pours a glass of Chardonnay

The ladies of the wine buying trade: Linda Nobrega, Mandi Giddey of Makro, Caroline Rillema, owner of Caroline's Fine Wines and Lydia Nobrega. The Nobrega sisters own and manage the Chapman's Peak Hotel in Hout Bay

Natalie Stanley with Paul Gerber, winemaker at Le Lude, who had his Brut Non Vintage and Rosé Non Vintage on show. Both lends of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and both classic examples of MCCs

It was a very well attended tasting; the room became a little hot during the afternoon/evening

John Collins with Carol Hawkins of Norman Goodfellows

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© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2016

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