Do you love Pinotage #2?

February 16, 2012

Harvest 2012,Pinotage,Wine Making | Tags: , , , , — Corlea Fourie @ 8:26 am

The previous post showed Heinie talk about the season. This post then my report on deciding to pick our Pinotage.

We will be sorting the grapes this morning after it has been cooled off in cold storage overnight. And so the journey begins…

 

Do you like Pinotage?

February 15, 2012

Harvest 2012,Pinotage,Uncategorized,Wellington | Tags: , , — Corlea Fourie @ 12:09 pm

You wouldn’t be able to ask me the question above…because I do and I am biased. But luckily there are a quite a few of my kind who do love good Pinotage, and with an better understanding of the grape and the vine, a whole new generation of wine lovers will be seeing much more of these examples.

Abraham Izak Perlod was born in the Cape and schooled here in our own home town, Wellington. His life story sounds like something between Indiana Jones and Darwin. Imagine being asked by the government to go and expand the Capes range of grape varieties… After a scouting mission he brought some varieties back from overseas (a whole 177), but then he also started establishing new ones. Pinotage was borne from a crossing between Pinot noir and Cinsaut. Unlikely parent to this special local grape.

I have always felt that we have a very special connection with Pinotage here in Wellington. We have ample sunlight and a long growing season that fits Pinotage very well (not taking away that there are some awesome cool climate Pinotages out there). The vineyards that we use for the production of our Bosman Family Vineyards Pinotage, is from the farm Lelienfontein in Wellington. It is the same vineyard that is used in the production of the Wellington Wines La Cave Pinotage (a connection that we are very proud of).

We went to the vineyard on Monday to have a look at the grapes before harvest. I`ve added a video of Heinie Nel, our viticulturist, on his thoughts about the 2012 growing season in regards to the Pinotage. Will keep you updated on the harvest itself in the next post.

*Disclaimer: For more lovely news and facts on Pinotage please consult the new South Africa Pinotage Wine Guide published by the Pinotage Association and also Peter May`s book “Pinotage : Behind the Legends of South Africa`s Own Wine”

 

Of thinking outside the box…

February 6, 2012

In the news,Wine Making | Tags: , , , — Corlea Fourie @ 9:41 am

Interesting news last week was a lot of writing about natural wines and cases in New Zealand, Australia and South Africa where wines have had problems getting through export panels (here in South Africa called the Wine and Spirits Board). Read Jamie Goode’s perspective on his blog here.

These wine were usually made in new innovative ways, and or more traditional ways resulting in wines that were “different”.
At Bosman Family Vineyards we have had the same experience with one of our wines. Called Liquid Gold by our Wine Club members, it went through a round of rejection before we could start selling it. The wine was ready for bottling when our Swiss importers came for their yearly visit. They demanded a shipment on the spot, and we were happy to comply. The following week the wine was rejected.

Said wine (a mere 2600 x 750ml) is made from one of the most awesome wine regions in South Africa – the Upper-Hemel-en-Aarde ward, near Hermanus. It is a 2010 blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. With a lovely golden hue and secondary flavours from being fermented and matured in oak – it definitely looked different than a Rose. It was obviously also not a Blanc de Noir.

After a kind letter of explaining what the thinking was behind the wine and with good, clean analysis the wine was passed in the end.

Another wine which also has a ranging track record in regards to approval is the “Coffee Pinotage” style. As a student getting involved with this wine style in 2003 at Diemersfontein and then subsequently in other cellars it has happened time and again that this style is not always looked upon favourably by the individual tasters in these panels. This while, as a wine style, it has clearly been accepted by a greater group of consumers.

Interesting how these “different” wines usually are the ones with a following. As a winemaker I have however always felt that the Wine and Spirits Board has given the wine the benefit of the doubt, in the end. Long live progressive thinking in regards to wine and wine styles.
Cheers!

*Disclamer: Writer is married to winemaker Bertus “Starbucks” Fourie to whom the “Coffee Style Pinotage” is attributed.

 

Harvest update End of January

January 30, 2012

Adama White Blend,Harvest 2012,South Africa,Wellington,Wine Making | Tags: , , , , , — Corlea Fourie @ 2:17 pm

Looking back in my notes for 2011, by today – last year, we had taken in our Chardonnay vineyards and the first bit of Chenin blanc for our Adama White blend. This year I have only taken in one barrel worth of old bushvine Chenin without irrigation, which in the heat wave two weeks ago, wouldn’t have made it. And then also the Chenin blanc for our base wine.
This is the view from my office this morning: Cloudy and overcast, but a bit humid.

So we’ve been to the vineyards and what an exciting morning! The Chenin Blanc looks lovely (sun kissed, freckled, sweet but with a lovely level of tartness). See the picture below. I can only imagine what it’s going to look like in the press.

And then for the highlight of the morning – Pinotage testing! The vineyard in question is the same one used by Wellington Wines for their La Cave Pinotage – a wine that has earned them a spot in the inaugural Top 20 Pinotage Classification. It is also the vineyard from where the grapes came for our Top100SAWines lauded Pinotage 2009 and the Cape blend “Erfenis” 2010.

I learnt something new about our viticulturist today. Except for his acute fine eye for detail – he does not like snakes. He spotted the skin of an enormous snake between the rows in our Pinotage vineyard. Luckily at that point we had made up our minds about the grapes. Here is a picture of a part of its tail that fell off when I picked it up. Nice to know our vineyards are bustling with the sounds and the signs of nature.

 

ONE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S TOP 100 WINES

April 20, 2011

Events,South Africa,Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , — Corlea Fourie @ 9:48 am

Bosman Family Vineyards have been successful in achieving Top 100 status during the recent Top 100 South African Wines Challenge.
What makes this achievement special for us is that both the wines that we entered and judged by the international panel lead by Tim Atkin (MW), were placed on the coveted Top 100 South African wines list.

These wines are:
• Bosman Family Vineyards Pinotage 2009
• Bosman Family Vineyards Optenhorst Chenin Blanc 2009 (bush vines planted in 1952)

The entries were judged rigorously by the panel and the top scoring wines were then selected as the Top 100 South African wines.

Petrus Bosman, is thrilled with the result: “We are very grateful and believe that the vineyards used to produce these wines are very special. For years, they have proven themselves and have always produced superior quality wines. It is fantastic that this quality is being acknowledged.”

He went on to commend his wine making team: “Our winemaker, Corlea Fourie, and her winemaking team have been fantastic in their approach, dedication and focus, working hard with our viticulturist, Heinie Nel, to achieve the very best quality possible. My sincere thanks go out to them for their commitment and enthusiasm.”

For the full list of Top 100 wines follow the Media24 link here.

 

What Peter is saying about Bosman Pinotage…

March 14, 2011

Food & Wine,Uncategorized,Wellington,Wine Making | Tags: , , , — Corlea Fourie @ 6:05 am

We were privileged to have Peter May come visit us on his recent trip to the Cape winelands. For those of you who do not know Peter, he is the founder of The Pinotage Club, an international cyber-based fan club for wines made from the Pinotage variety. Peter was awarded Honorary Membership of the producers Pinotage Association in 2004 and was a judge at the annual Pinotage Top 10 Competition in 2004 and 2005. Peter is a wine writer, educator and author. His book PINOTAGE: Behind the Legends of South Africa’s Own Wine has just been published. 

A lot has happened since his first visit in 2007 when we were busy with our maiden vintage. Since then we have caught up in London and now again at our Lelienfontein cellar. 

Read his post in his popular blog -The Pinotage club, here.

The Pinotage 2009 will only be released at our annual Release weekend in September later this year, but as in the past, we have a reservation list.

Thank you Peter for your comments and that you are spreading the word about a truly amazing grape variety. 

Cheers!

 

Pulp Fiction…

February 15, 2010

Uncategorized | Tags: — Corlea Fourie @ 4:12 pm

Or maybe not! The pulp I`m referring to is that of Pinotage. Beautiful purple/crimson  juice-maybe the most rewarding cultivar to work with purely because of  the instant gratification of oodles of colour. Loving it!

 
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