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!
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!
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!
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.
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!
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.
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!
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