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In this issue:
Contact Us : Audi Sponsors the Constantia Valley Association In 1932 four independent car manufacturers - Audi, DKW, Horch, and Wanderer merged to form the modern day Audi AG Company. They used the symbol of the 'Four Rings' to represent their merger - the definitive badge that is still in existence today. They were later joined by the famous NSU brand in 1969. The Audi R8 is named 2008 World Performance Car and World Car Design of the Year. Last year the RS4 collected the World Performance Car Award so that is two in a row in the performance category for Audi. We are pleased to announce that Audi are now official sponsors of the Constantia Valley Association and believe that the pairing of our organisations delivers the message that the Constantia Valley is all about award winning performances from our wine farms, restaurants and places to stay. Audi Claremont owned by Rob Booth is the only independently owned Audi dealership in Cape Town and with Rob on site clients are assured of always receiving quality service. We look forward to introducing you to Rob who is also a Constantia resident at the next membership function. Rob can be contacted on 021 657 7111.
We have negotiated a collective deal with a company known as POD SA (Point of Destination South Africa) to have an official CVA page on their website that features a 2 minute internet video on the Constantia Valley, as a tourist destination. The deal offers some exciting benefits to our CVA members all of which will be revealed at the next member function being held at the Alphen on the 19th May.
No, no, please don’t groan at the word CRIME…. I know it is an unacceptable part of life but the good news is that there are people within our community who are working their “behinds” off trying to come up with solutions and actions to keep the Constantia Valley safe. We need to support them and be proactive within our community because in the end it is to our own benefit. On behalf of BKM we request that our CVA members to do their bit by signing up. The more members BKM have the more sway they have with the powers that be. All you have to do is go to the web home page http://www.bkmwatch.org.za and if you reside in BKM area then register at top. If not, then click on Guest register http://www.bkmwatch.org.za/sp_register.aspx. The website features all sorts of useful information and updates. During May I will begin approaching members with reference to the creation of the 2008/09 brochure that will be launched in August, please start thinking about your existing advertisement and any changes you need to make especially with regards to contact details Exciting Website Upgrades for All Members
I attended my first SA Wine Route meeting, on behalf of the Constantia Valley Wine Farms earlier on in April and what an interesting day it was to listen to all of the activities the wine regions are putting together from a wine tourism perspective. Wine tourism is a huge industry and the spin offs for those fortunate enough to be positioned close by to the wine farms are vast. The Constantia Valley is the oldest wine making region in the Southern Hemisphere and as a result our wines are in great demand. Support our wine farms by going to the cellars not only to taste but to also purchase your wine and then tell everyone how fantastic it is! The more we promote the wine in our area the more visitors we are going to attract and this can only be of benefit to all of us.
Steenberg Vineyards
Constantia Uitsig
Constantia Glen
Klein Constantia
After a cool, late spring our harvest began on the 12th of February. There were a few scary moments when rot threatened to rob us of our hard-earned grapes, but careful management of the vine canopies by the vineyard team averted any disasters. At this stage the Sauvignon Blanc looks good, lots of citrus flavours and some nice tropical notes too. A lighter style wine this year due to the lower alcohol, but I think it is going to cellar very well. Our Chardonnay is still fermenting in barrel so too early to say although there are some cracking individual barrels at this stage. On the whole the reds are impressive, with very mature tannins and ripe fruit characters. The long, cool growing season has helped to provide balanced fruit which should ultimately lead to some very elegant wines. Lastly, the Vin de Constance. This year we made some important changes to the way in which we harvest the berries. Over two tons of completely raisined berries were picked one by one and placed in special tanks with sieves to recover their sweet nectar. Each harvester can harvest approximately 10kg per day, compared to 20 times that when harvesting ‘normal’ grapes. “Something to ponder with your next sip of Napoleon’s favourite tipple!” Adam Mason Groot Constantia
Overall the relative cool ripening condition resulted in awesome fruit expression on white as well as red wines. The best performing white is Sauvignon Blanc and best performing red is Shiraz. Come taste the fruit of the vines.” Mery Uribe Buitenverwachting
Constantia Glen has just received the good news that the Constantia Glen Sauvignon Blanc 05 has been accepted for the 2008 Nederburg Auction! This is great news and they will therefore have 40 cases at this, the premier of SA wine auctions on the 21st and 22nd September. Don’t forget we have a host of new members and we ask that you please make them feel very welcome at the Member Function. Look out for: Jakes in the Village, Theo’s at Constantia Village, Leapfrog Property, Elephants Eye Lodge, Greens at High Constantia, Wang Thai at High Constantia, The Noble Grape at High Constantia, Cape Town Fish Market Steenberg Village, Barbarellas at Constantia Village, Rohms Consulting and Simon McCullagh Architects cc.
On a most beautiful Saturday in March, Groot Constantia hosted 25 teens from Gugulethu – affectionately known as the Gugs kids - for a day of winemaking and fun. Straight after a breakfast of hot-cross-buns, the formalities were kicked off with a quick cellar tour to illustrate the production line process involved in the making of the wine. The kids then piled onto the tractor's trailer, heading out into the vineyard, the mission to pick 22 crates of shiraz! After the required quota had been met, everybody piled back onto the trailer for a ride back to the cellar. Outside the cellar on the grass an informal discussion with the kids about the effects of alcohol was had while the braais were lit to prepare the afternoon lunch of boerewors rolls. All 22 crates were destalked by hand and crushed by 50 excited feet. I think this took far longer than the kids expected and only the promise of a hot boerie roll and coke gave them that last burst of energy to finish the job. The wine has since completed its fermentation in an open fermentation bin. The skins were pressed in a basket press and the wine will mature for about 12 months in a 225litre French oak barrel. We intend to bottle the wine, with a label designed by the teens and auction it off at a fundraiser for this outreach program early next year. Michelle Rhodes, Groot Constantia
‘Ad, you’ll never guess what just happened to me’ said the excited voice on the other side. ‘You saw the Rooikat take an Egyptian Goose in mid-flight?’ I said wishfully. ‘No a Fish Eagle dropped a trout almost on my head! I was driving through the vineyard when this thing sommer fell out of the sky! I thought it was a falling branch at first then I saw it lying there on the ground about six meters ahead of me. The eagle made a few turns and flew off.’ ‘A sign from above?’ I chuckled. ‘Jussie man, we’re blessed’ he said ‘this is going to be a special day.’ It is only a 15 minute drive to work from where I live, so by the time I arrived Flo had had time to recompose himself. We were all pretty jittery inspecting the kissies of grapes as they came out of the vine rows. Not an ounce of rot and super flavours, was the general consensus. Flo presented the doubly unlucky fish from his bakkie. It looked like something Jamie Oliver had prepared with a full-body rub, only it wasn’t coriander and black pepper but granules of decomposed Table Mountain granite that had adhered on impact. ‘We’re going to have to wash that off before we braai it’ said Lowell. Then he was off to the local bakery to get the croissants. We keep dry vine cuttings handy for moments like this, so with not too much effort we managed to produce a nice bed of coals on which to braai the butterflied trout, drizzled in lemon juice and a bit of salt. Now I wonder which wine would go really well with that? Adam Mason, Klein Constantia
Jooles and the CVA Team |
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“The Steenberg harvest has been very long and certainly challenging – the last fruit from Constantia Uitsig only came in this morning! Our yields have come down quite a bit, posing even bigger ‘out of stock’ problems with the forthcoming new vintage. Both Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc Reserve are looking great, as the lower yields brought with much better fruit concentration. Nebbiolo looks fantastic this year – it’s been a bumper crop, and the stuff in the tank is just utterly delicious – lots of fruit concentration, and lower tannins!” 
“2008 was an exceptional year with many challenges, but that makes wine making worth it.
“2008 harvest started off with the usual pleasure of picking the Method Cap Classic grapes, albeit a few weeks later than we would normally pick them. Quality was some of the best that we have harvested in recent years after a prolonged wet winter of 2007. Sauvignon Blanc was picked for the first time on Lower Zonnestraal vineyards from 3 different blocks and picked at different times to ensure freshness and berry ripeness. Red wines produced were a lot less in volume than the previous years due to rot creeping in from the continual rains and humid conditions. I look forward to the aging of the reds as I think that the fruit concentration will be better from a longer ripening process.” David van Niekerk 
“What started out as a slightly earlier harvest for our first grapes turned into one of the longest and most rewarding. Our Sauvignon Blanc blocks show incredible depth of flavour and we managed to get most of our grapes in before the rains. On the red side we were fortunate to have a long, cool and dry ripening period and this has resulted in superbly aromatic wines with deep colours and supple tannins. Early indications are that the quality of this 2008 vintage has surpassed the excellent 2007 wines. The Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot wines are notably dark and brooding and have intensity coupled with a fine structure. The Petit Verdot and Malbec have out-performed last year and are opaque and delicious. The Cabernet Franc wines are ripe and luscious and show an unmistakeable mineral streak so typical of Constantia Glen wines.” Karl Lambour
“Well, we claim that Constantia is one of the coolest viticultural areas in South Africa, and this year it more than lived up to its reputation. Our hottest day was in March, when the mercury reached 33ºC for a few hours. Not even during the February heatwaves did we experience temperatures above 30ºC …. remarkable considering that within 50km of us some places recorded highs of well above 40ºC during the same period.
“2008 started with moderate temperatures and a few hot days as well as a bit of untimely rain. There were tremendous challenges in the vineyard and cellar, persistent rain in the early season created some rot problems.
“The 2008 season commenced with an exciting cold and rainy 2007 winter, offering the vines a prolonged hibernation period. Spring time was equally fresh with above average rainfalls. The trouble started later in December when lighting and rain hit the valley over Christmas. The extra nitrogen caused during lightning resulted in abnormal foliage growth and disturbed the balance between fruit and leaves. After the Christmas vacations our staff had to work extra hard to “open up” by removing leaves from the vines to allow for better wind circulation and sun penetration. The continuous rain over the final ripening period combined with warm summer days brought on botrytis (noble rot). This reduced our crop and put on extra pressure on the harvest team. Our staff had to select the healthy bunches for the cellar, while botrytis effected grapes where left behind for our Noble Late Harvest. The red cultivars also developed nice and slow, while most vineyard blocks were healthy and delivered good quality. On top of the reduced crop due to the wet condition, we also battled with our baboon troop from the Constantia Mountain. The crop on some lovely Chardonnay vineyards where reduced by 40 – 50%. Winemakers Hermann Kirschbaum and Brad Paton really had their nerves tested this year. Hermann says “glad this one is over, but apart from the tough conditions there are some pretty smart babies in this cellar”. Lars Maack
Imagine twenty five excited kids, each armed with a pair of harvesting secateurs, running amok in Block 17 - Shiraz – on the Groot Constantia estate, harvesting grapes under the warm African sun. I know what you are thinking “Horror!” “Child labour has been outlawed since early last century!” But let me start at the, well…beginning.
I am not superstitious, but when fish start falling from the sky I reassess my position. It was about 06.30 in the morning, and I was finishing the last few strokes of my shave when I heard the phone ring. I knew it would be Flo, probably asking where the hell I was. We were harvesting the Perdeblokke and the picking team had come in early. The stakes were high.
Autumn at the Alphen – The response to this event was fantastic with the majority of places being booked on the day the invitations were sent out! We look forward to seeing you and we wish to thank the management and staff at the Alphen for hosting this event. We are certain that it will be a great night for all.