Friday, February 16, 2007

Thursday 15th February 2007

With 62 tonnes of merlot being harvested today, there was bound to be a mishap or two!
This is usually a time where one would expect to perhaps overfill a red wine tank, but Ludwich did a remarkable job in keeping track of which overhead tank was being filled! The merlot was being harvested so quickly that tractor driver Pieter Nero had to join the machine harvest team to transport the grapes to the cellar. Joel Booysen couldn’t keep up with only one trailer and we didn’t want any unnecessary oxidation taking place.

I heard the commotion even before I was called on the radio. Somehow one of the hinge pins had come loose at the back of the trailer, and as Pieter lifted it to tip the load into the hopper, the stainless steel bin slipped sideways and came to rest at an awkward angle against the wheel. We struggled for at least an hour, using the forklift and brute force to try and get the bin back into position on the trailer. Eventually we resorted to taking out both hinge pins and the hydraulic jack, and started the process of emptying the bin by hand as the photo of Leon and Tim alongside shows. Once empty we used the forklift to position it again on the base of the trailer, some quick welding on my part and we were back in business!

Earlier one of the interns managed to get the squeegee caught in the auger that transports the pressed grape skins to the compost trailer– luckily it wasn’t his leg!
None of the cellar staff had much time for lunch today. Graham, however, found the time to make this 'designer' sandwich!

Jordan Farm Map

At long last, our new farm map arrived, so now you will be able to see which vineyard blocks I am talking about! This has been a few months of surveying, where literally thousands of points were plotted, covering every part of the farm.





Wednesday 14th February 2007



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.

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Tuesday 13th February 2007



There is a time in every vineyard’s life when it is time to say goodbye!

"You say yes, I say no
You say stop and I say go, go, go Oh, no
You say goodbye and I say hello Hello, hello
I don't know why you say goodbye
I say hello Hello, hello
I don't know why you say goodbye
I say hello"

These lyrics written by Paul McCartney sum up our very emotional decision to take out the sauvignon blanc vines on this 25 year old E-facing vineyard. Economically we should have taken this decision 5 years ago! We have learnt how to coax reasonable flavours from these vines, but at less than 5 tonnes/ha, and with the gravelly soil better suited to Cabernet Sauvignon, it was time for the vineyard to bow out gracefully.

As we still weren’t harvesting after the weekend rain, I took my last own ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ of block 6 ( on the slope above the cellar) before the harvest team cut off all the shoots in preparation to remove the vines, roots and all. Joel then took the mulcher along the rows, which cut the foliage into a fine mulch. The photographs show how well this works when the shoots are still green. Had I waited another few weeks it would have mulched the canes with difficulty.

One of the most important points to remember with leaf-roll virus control is to remove all the roots and leave the ground fallow for a few years. Failing to do this could result in the re-infestation of leaf-roll in the new young vineyard due to terrestrial species of vine louse (mealy-bug) that over-winter on the remaining roots.

Monday 12th February 2007

Lucinda, our Namibian harvest intern and I spent a few hours taking samples in the vineyards from early in the morning. Back at the winery lab, we could analyse and taste the effects of the 36 mm of rainfall. Predictably, the sugar levels had dropped up to 1 degree brix in some cases, the acid levels had dropped and the pH had increased. The juices also tasted slightly flat and lacked a concentration of flavour. Experience has taught me that with balanced vines not suffering any stress, this is only temporary. It is still a nerve-racking time though and we make the decision to take more samples tomorrow. To date we have harvested 230 tonnes and are only a quarter of the way through the harvest.

Just before lunch, Peter Clinton, President of Vinnovative Imports, (Jordan Winery’s USA importer) arrives with Mick Swain, our Chicago distributor, for a tasting and tour of the Jordan cellar and vineyards. The difference in temperature from vineyard to vineyard is quite remarkable– there is easily a 5˚ C difference from one side of the property to the other, with the South-facing side being the coolest. The picture alongside shows Mick (on the left) standing with Peter looking across at one of our terraced south-facing chardonnay vineyards, the view that inspired the sketch on our label. “Being a geologist in my previous life has enabled me to plan the whole property according to soil type and slope” I explain to Mick. This is why we are able to specialize with certain varieties on particular soils and slopes, and with Jordan being one of the few properties around with N-, S-, E- and W-facing slopes, we have been lucky enough to win international awards for both red and white wines.

Friday 9th – Sunday 11th February


“Raindrops keep falling on my head” by BJ Thomas kept playing over and over in my mind since Thursday night’s rain. The lyrics, written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David are almost synonymous with the Film “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” and the weather has been more suited to curling up in front of the TV to watch a movie classic than harvesting grapes in the middle of February!

"So I just did me some talkin' to the sun
And I said I didn't like the way he got things done
Sleepin' on the job
Those raindrops are fallin' on my head, they keep fallin'
But there's one thing I know
The blues they send to meet me won't defeat me
It won't be long till happiness steps up to greet me"

Happiness for me was to check the rain gauge every few hours – we needed some rain to keep the dust down, and yet too much could delay or downgrade the vintage. Alex Dale and Paul Cluver came for dinner on Friday evening with our mutual USA importer, Peter Clinton of Vinnovative Imports ( http://www.capewines.com/) Judging by our stack of empty bottles the next morning, and the groans coming from Peter, I guessed that he had more than just raindrops falling on his head!

By Sunday, 36 mm had been recorded, a rainy long weekend for the cellar and for the first time in 15 vintages at Jordan, everyone had two easy weekends in a row!

Friday, February 9, 2007

Thursday 8th February 2007

On average, each person in the picking team harvested a metric tonne (1000kg) of grapes today! This meant a bonus of R2-15 per lug box (18kg) for everyone, and with a massive cold front expected by nightfall, we needed to get the Chenin into the cellar ASAP. We issue a Jordan coupon (like the ones in the picture alongside), every time a lug box is emptied into the trailer, and there is incredible rivalry to see who picks the most grapes in a day. Coupons are jealously guarded, hidden from prying eyes in overall pockets, bras and scarves, and with a previous vintage, ‘Rasta’, one of the vineyard workers kept his in a bank bag tucked away with his cell-phone in his hair!

Wednesday 7th February


Chenin Blanc is often referred to as South Africa’s Cinderella grape!

Today we harvested the block of Chenin Blanc on the hillside just behind our house. After cold settling and racking, we will be using Vin 13 yeast to make a fresh and fruity styled wine, which will later be blended with Sauvignon Blanc as the primary component of our Bradgate Chenin /Sauvignon Blanc blend. Unbeknown to many, Jordan has done particularly well with barrel-fermented Chenin, garnering two gold medals as well as the Chenin Blanc Trophy last year for South Africa’s best Chenin at the South African Wine Trophy Show. This is made from a 25 year old, shy-bearing vineyard planted on our cooler south-facing slope and because it is later ripening, is still at least a week or so away from harvest.

Every evening we all get together for supper, with Rachel, our Jordan Marketing Manager, cooking a meal for up to 20 people! During the meal, (and before everyone goes back to the winery to clean up), we have a ‘blind’ tasting where we taste some great wines from all over the world. Jordan cellar staff, family and harvest interns are put through their paces as they try to deduce what wines I have put in the line-up!

Julie and Iain Anderson have been helping us with our harvest videos (see the latest Jordan videos at http://www.winefilms.co.za/winefarms/Jordan/Jordanharvest.html ) and joined us for one of these tastings. Included in the line-up was a 2004 Pinot Blanc from Germany and a fantastic 1987 Cabernet blend from Iron Horse in California, the first wine that Kathy and I helped bottle when we worked there! I also selected a 1976 Roodeberg from our cellar which coincided with Sjaak’s birth year. The wine had matured well and showed remarkable fruit and structure for a 31 year old drink!


Thursday, February 8, 2007

Tuesday 6th February 2007

Tuesday 6th February 2007

As a teenager I enjoyed reading Antonia Ridge’s ‘For Love of a Rose’, a story about the creation of the famous Peace rose. Today we had our own variation on this theme – ‘For love of a Rosé – a wine for peace!

Over the last two years, many of our customers have asked us to produce a rosé, so last September, when Kathy, Sjaak and I visited France on a study tour, we tasted as many highly regarded dry rosés as possible. Kathy and I also spent some time in Provence and along the Rhone, determined to find the style of rosé we wanted to make - a serious, dry style, fruity yet without the alcoholic character found in rosés which are made by bleeding juice off very ripe grapes to concentrate a red wine. We soon realized that the best rosés are made in the vineyard! We therefore pieced together our ideal flavour profile of selected Jordan shiraz, merlot and cabernet sauvignon vineyards, with a possibility of some full flavoured cabernet franc to add some juicy red-berry spiciness.

Neil Young could easily have meant to add an accent on the e when he wrote the song ‘Love is a rose!’ “Love is a rose (é) but you better not pick it – it only grows when it’s on the vine. A handful of thorns and you’ll know you’ve missed it …”

Determined not to miss our maiden rosé, Elaine (Jordan bookkeeper) and Luzanne (Jordan Tasting Room Manager) joined Kathy at the press.

The first vineyard to be harvested today was a French-clone merlot, and soon the cellar was filled with the aroma of red berries and spicy green olives. We had previously crop-thinned the vineyards earmarked for rosé and also green-harvested the blocks in early January to ensure even ripening and extra concentration.

Choosing the ideal length of skin contact time is always a bit stressful, as one loses colour during the fermentation process – two hours later, we decided to press.

Monday 5th February 2007


Farming doesn’t stop during harvest!

We have to constantly monitor stress on all our vineyards,
and to ensure continued strong growth on our young vines, I decided to drip-irrigate our highest block again. The photo alongside is of our newest Sauvignon Blanc vineyard, planted close to 400 metres above sea level. One can clearly see how the drippers wet the reddish clay-loam soil. We use pressure-compensating emitters which are inserted into the dripper lines during manufacture – each delivering 2.2 litres of water per hour directly at each vine.

The height above sea level means that it is a very cool, elevated site, ideal for Sauvignon Blanc. From the vineyard one can see 5 different wine regions, and also look out over Table Mountain and Table Bay on the Atlantic Ocean side as well as over False Bay on the Indian Ocean side. The downside is that we need two pumps in series to pump the water almost 250 metres higher than the winery elevation!

This picture is taken alongside the young vineyard looking towards Table Mountain, Lions Head and Signal Hill. The Cape Town airport buildings are visible to the left of the photograph, illustrating the fact that Jordan is one of the closest farms to Cape Town!

Wednesday, February 7, 2007

Friday 2nd February 2007

JJ Cale’s “I’ve got Friday on my mind” reminded me that we could still distinguish the days of the week from each other! Previous vintages have taught me that after a while, every day is a Monday, and we haven’t reached that level of exhaustion yet.

Graham Fisher, the last member of our 2007 harvest team, arrived directly from his early morning flight from the UK and was immediately thrown in at the deep end! Through our association with the Dart family who own Stanlake Park Vineyard and Winery in Berkshire, (close to Windsor Castle), we now also sell Jordan wines from their 15th century tasting room. (For more information visit http://www.stanlakepark.com/ ) They are producing some exciting wines which is why they are being watched like hawks by the Champenoise concerned about the effects of global warming! Graham, the Stanlake Park viticulturalist has joined us for the vintage to gain a bit more cellar experience.

With the team all assembled on the same spot for the first time, we were able to take a photo of us all on the press.

Let me introduce the cellar team to you:

Front:
left to right – Vanessa ‘Snoopy’ Robertson (Spice to some!), Ludwich ‘Vlekkie’ Jacobs, Clive ‘Smiley’ Engelbrecht (no relation to Jean Engelbrecht!), Leon ‘Wollie’ Janse van Rensburg, Tim ‘elastoplast’ Hoek, Dennovan ‘Abdul’ or ‘Jan van Riebeek’ Daniels.

Back:
Left to right – Sjaak ‘Tintin’ or ‘Sharkie’ Nelson, Kathy ‘Kattie’ Jordan, Gary ‘Kerrie Kerrie’ Jordan, Frans ‘Priest’ Ben, Graham ‘Pommy’ Fisher, James ‘Jumbo’ Briqua, Lucinda ‘Lufthansa’ Heyns.

Thursday 1st February 2007

Everyone was relieved that we only had 9 tonnes of sauvignon blanc to hand–harvest today, as we spent much of the day racking the sauvignon blanc juice that had been cold-settling for two days. 38.5 tonnes of grapes harvested on the 30th had yielded 23 000 litres of free-run juice (597 litres/tonne) and 4040 litres of press juice (105 litres/tonne).Not only do we keep the press fractions separate, but every vineyard is pressed and settled separately to ensure the highest quality.

Clarification of the juice takes place by letting it settle under gravity for two days at between 8 and 12˚ C .Racking involves the decanting of the juice from the sediment and this sediment that forms at the bottom of the tank is then put through a lees filter to recover the juice. This can be up to 10% of the volume or more depending on the skin contact time - the longer the skin contact, the more sediment that needs to settle.

This photo shows Frans Ben, our cellar foreman at the lees filter with a solid cake of lees about to be discarded.

Tuesday, February 6, 2007

Wednesday 31st January

The name, ‘Iron Maiden’ doesn’t refer to Margaret Thatcher in her youth! When I walked into the cellar as the first chardonnay of the year arrived from the vineyard, and heard the group’s new album “Different World” playing over the presses, I realized that the maiden vintage of our newest chardonnay block was destined to be tank fermented!

One has to ‘think like a grape’ when making chardonnay. The chemistry of sauvignon blanc grapes is vastly different to that of chardonnay. With sauvignon, we reckon that 6 to occasionally 12 hrs skin contact are necessary for maximum extraction of flavour. In the case of chardonnay though, 5 months on the skins in the vineyard is long enough! At Jordan, our ideal analysis on tank-fermented chardonnay grapes is a sugar of between 22.5 and 23˚ brix, total acidity of 8 g/litre and a pH of 3.3 or less. It is the juice flavour complexity that determines whether it will be tank or barrel fermented.

As I walked down the rows sampling various vineyards, I realized that the harvesting pace would have to slow down for the rest of the week. There would only be enough work to keep the hand-harvesting team busy and there was no sense in just ‘bringing it all in’. Maximum flavour comes to those that wait, and judging the right moment to harvest provides as much stress for a winemaker as that experienced by a 747 pilot on take-off or landing!