There on 1.5 hectares our Pinot noir vines drive their roots deep into stone & clay to produce an unforgettable wine.
A tiny wine farm in touching distance of the small coastal town of Plettenberg Bay with two comfortable, pet friendly self-catering cottages: That Place & Ons Hoek.
That Place
That Place is a comfortable self-catering home where you can spend a good, relaxing holiday. Wide balconies show forest and pastoral views, rich bird-life,and, if you are lucky, elephants wandering through their paddocks across the valley!
Ons Hoek
Ons Hoek is filled with our parents books, treasures and knickknacks. This warm and comfortable house is for your exclusive use.
Wine of Origin
Plettenberg Bay – It’s a Feeling!
And it most certainly is! Hip, hop and happening, long silvery sandy beaches, crisp seas, whales and dolphins, nature trails, animal sanctuaries, horse rides, a plethora of welcoming hotels and lodgings and, well, wine … it’s a destination as diverse as you’ll find anywhere, embraced by the majesty of the Tsitiskamma mountains with Mount Formosa keeping a benign eye on us all.
A Vision of Vines
The remarkable naturalist, ornithologist and explorer William John Burchell (1781 – 1863) noted during one of his many travels up and down this area between 1810 and 1815, that the land here in Plettenberg Bay could be conducive to the production of wine.
The Vineyards of Plettenberg Bay
The first vines were planted at Bramon to much scepticism in 2000. The first harvest took place in 2004. The first Sauvignon Blanc Method Cap Classique bubbly in South Africa was produced by Mr Bubbly himself, the acclaimed wine maker Pieter Ferriera.
Wine of Origin: Plettenberg Bay
In 2006 we became a Wine of Origin Region with distinctive MCC and wines that convey a sense of place - wines and bubblies of great merit, award winning, accessible and delicious.
The WineMaker of Plettenberg Bay
For Plettenberg Bay’s emerging wine industry, having a cellar master of the calibre of Anton Smal is nothing short of a gift from the gods.
Growing Good Grapes
"Good wine is made in the vineyard”. This is a phrase you often hear when you mix with winegrowers. My guess is that the winemaker in the cellar might want to articulate this idea slightly differently
The Optimal Output Is …
I went to a Pinot presentation and workshop hosted at Bramon and run by Jan Boland Coetzee. I met some interesting people and tasted some pretty fine wine.
The Rhythm of Work
Farming is really hard work. It takes a particular kind of stamina to do field work. Most “farmers” are really farm managers who direct labourers to do the necessary work.
It’s Quality
The scale of wine farming is like everything else: as you produce more, so your average unit costs drop. But it is also true that as you produce beyond a particular quantity, you endanger your quality.
Do not despair!
Miraculously, almost all of our first vintage was sold before we could blink. This gave us a useful cash boost at a good time because we had decided to increase our planting.
Pinot Noir
Pinot’s real home is Burgundy and if you know the grape you probably harbour the desire (as I do) of one day driving through the Cote de Beaune, stopping at every small and large estate and speaking with the growers and winemakers there and tasting their wines.
Stamina & Bonding
In between spraying and suckering (stripping excess side-shoots), you need to be weeding. The well-prepared soil of the new vineyard quickly becomes a forest of weeds and vines hate weeds.
Training the Vines
The vineyard started to look like something. Especially when we stood at the end of each row and looked down it, the vines seemed to be doing well.
Disaster: Nematodes
Because we had started so late in the winter, the vines were already in bud-break when they went into the ground and it was thrilling to see the fresh light-green, almost yellow leaves bursting out.
Pinot Noir it is!
We identified a part of the farm which we thought would be best-suited for the vines and contacted Hennie Terblanche to do the clearing and to prepare the soil. He had done similar work for another grower in the area and we plunged into the process