One of the reasons we acquired a vineyard in France was to offset the risk of having all our vineyard in one climatic zone. Coincidentally we have also experienced dry conditions in the Roussillon this year, although not as severe as in Stellenbosch. We have begun harvesting at Domaine Grier and the indications are that the dry conditions have ensured healthy fruit while the yield is expected to be normal.
Nathan has gone over to assist with the harvesting. He has been working as an assistant winemaker at Villiera since the beginning of 2015 and he is excited by the opportunity to experience life and winemaking in the South of France. He will be joined by a young Italian winemaker and they will be assisting our permanent winemaking team of Raphael and Agnes Graugnard. We are looking forward to seeing what this young dynamic team can do. Jeff will be popping over in the later stages of the harvest.
EVENTS
Domaine Grier Food and Wine Pairing
The recently introduced Domaine Grier "Amuse Bouche" pairing has been extremely well received. It is an extra option that can be enjoyed in our Tasting Room for R90 per serving. It involves 4 Domaine Grier wines paired with 4 canapés and the experience highlights the benefit of combining our French wines with food. Bookings are necessary.
Fizzytherapy Summer Festival
Fizzytherapy and Fun is what you can expect at this year’s Villiera Summer Festival on Sunday, 27 November from 11am to 3pm. Embrace this good-time season by joining the Villiera family in a market atmosphere with a touch of "French Flair" to celebrate our 10th anniversary of Domaine Grier.
Enjoy complimentary tastings of our award winning Cap Classique and still wines at the different stands. Seeing that some of the most exciting and innovative food is being served out of trailers, we have invited 2 very popular food trucks that will be selling some local and French inspired food on the day.
Festival-goers can look forward to being entertained by Newton & Co performing live. "Style is a way to say who you are without having to speak", so be creative and dress the part. The best dressed guest will win a prize.
The cost of the festival is R120 per person and includes a welcome drink, a complimentary glass and tasting. Bottles of wine will be available for sale to enjoy with lunch. Bookings can be made with Ashleigh at Villiera on +27.218652002 or wine@villiera.com. To get home safely we have arranged with Uber to have cars in the area.
Awards
A recent introduction to the annual round of competitions is the Sommeliers Selection and it is arguably one of the most important. Awards are given in appropriate categories and wines that combine well with food are rewarded. Our Tradition Brut received an award for the "Most economically Savvy Fizz" and our Monro Brut received an award for "Best Vintage MCC".
The Gold Wine Awards were also recently introduced to reward outstanding wines at reasonable prices. Our reputation for overdelivering on price received a boost in this competition where we received a Gold for our 2016 Sauvignon Blanc and our 2015 Bush Vine Sauvignon Blanc. Our Merlot (Woolworths) 2014 was also awarded a Gold medal.
The SA Wine Index competition rewards quality over multiple vintages. Our Monro Brut and Barrel Fermented Chenin Blanc obtained Platinum and our Monro Red, Bush Vine Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc received a Grand Gold.
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