Happy St Valentine’s Day!
The sky is crisp and bright, and long before the Stellenbosch Mountains are haloed in the first rays of light, I can tell that it will be a beautiful, clear, sun-filled day.
“In the heavens I see your eyes
In your eyes I see the heavens.
Why look for another Moon
Or another Sun?-
What I see will always be enough for me.” – Rumi
Red is regarded as being synonymous with Love – my ‘Lady in Red’ today is the first Merlot of 2007 being harvested for a serious barrel-aged red wine. The flavours are so intense, that the wine may end up being a component of the ‘Sophia’, a wine I specially make for the Cape Winemakers Guild Annual Auction.
What made the day more challenging is the fact that we are harvesting the last of the Chenin Blanc at the same time! The Chenin is an old south-facing vineyard that has to be hand-harvested, and the trailer loads come in a lot slower than the Merlot. After every four loads of Merlot, the whole system has to be cleaned before the next Chenin can be crushed!
Valentine’s Day also saw the first of our Jordan Harvest lunches, where once a week on a Wednesday, we invite our Trade customers to the farm to see the cellar in action.
It was great to catch up with the likes of Ian Rubin, Hein and Yvonne from Kagga Kamma as well as managers from Wakame, The Nose Wine Bar and many others. Claire Bertin (sommelier at Browns Restaurant in JHB) and Graham Fisher from Stanlake Park in the UK also joined in before they went back to work in the cellar.
Richard Chamberlain put out a fantastic harvest spread of coriander-crusted seared tuna (great with the Nine Yards Chardonnay) and rosemary marinated leg of lamb (delicious with either the Merlot or Cobblers Hill) accompanied by platters of green salads, asparagus, roasted peppers and courgettes – I could go on ….!
St Valentine’s evening saw roses and wine galore as couples descended on Jordan to picnic on the lawns in front of the winery, all organized by Tasting Room manager, Luzanne Hansen.
The sky is crisp and bright, and long before the Stellenbosch Mountains are haloed in the first rays of light, I can tell that it will be a beautiful, clear, sun-filled day.
“In the heavens I see your eyes
In your eyes I see the heavens.
Why look for another Moon
Or another Sun?-
What I see will always be enough for me.” – Rumi
Red is regarded as being synonymous with Love – my ‘Lady in Red’ today is the first Merlot of 2007 being harvested for a serious barrel-aged red wine. The flavours are so intense, that the wine may end up being a component of the ‘Sophia’, a wine I specially make for the Cape Winemakers Guild Annual Auction.
What made the day more challenging is the fact that we are harvesting the last of the Chenin Blanc at the same time! The Chenin is an old south-facing vineyard that has to be hand-harvested, and the trailer loads come in a lot slower than the Merlot. After every four loads of Merlot, the whole system has to be cleaned before the next Chenin can be crushed!
Valentine’s Day also saw the first of our Jordan Harvest lunches, where once a week on a Wednesday, we invite our Trade customers to the farm to see the cellar in action.
It was great to catch up with the likes of Ian Rubin, Hein and Yvonne from Kagga Kamma as well as managers from Wakame, The Nose Wine Bar and many others. Claire Bertin (sommelier at Browns Restaurant in JHB) and Graham Fisher from Stanlake Park in the UK also joined in before they went back to work in the cellar.
Richard Chamberlain put out a fantastic harvest spread of coriander-crusted seared tuna (great with the Nine Yards Chardonnay) and rosemary marinated leg of lamb (delicious with either the Merlot or Cobblers Hill) accompanied by platters of green salads, asparagus, roasted peppers and courgettes – I could go on ….!
St Valentine’s evening saw roses and wine galore as couples descended on Jordan to picnic on the lawns in front of the winery, all organized by Tasting Room manager, Luzanne Hansen.
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