Our vineyards run up the eastern slopes of the Saronsberg Mountain. The mountain is also known as “the rainmaker” thanks to the rain-shadow effect created by the peak. Protected from the buffeting of the Cape’s summer South-Easter, the elevated vineyards are also raised from the heat of the valley floor and benefit from the cool airflow that descends the mountain slopes by night.
We chat to our winemaker, Stephan de Beer, about what's been happening in the vineyards this spring in preparation for the summer harvest.
“Up till this point it has been a very wet spring,” says Stephan. We dealt with some extreme weather conditions, such as wind and rain. Our main goal was to keep the vines strong and healthy. At the moment the new shoots are forming and we’re removing the unwanted shoots, which is a process called suckering.”
“The new vines have all taken well and we foresee a bright future with beautiful quality grapes from these vines.
“We will likely start harvesting grapes very early in the new year.”
2017 is set to be an exciting vintage. Vintages are paramount to the style of Krone Méthode Cap Classique. “At Krone we specialise in vintage only as we believe each vintage tells a story on its own,” says Stephan. “Not every vintage is necessarily the same due to the weather and climate differences. So each vintage is special in its own way.
“A NV (non vintage) will consist of more than one vintage in the blend so for example you’ll find 2004, 2005, 2006 all in one blend.”
From the vineyard to the cellar: “The new lab has recently been finished as well as our new barrel cellar,” continues Stephan. “The secondary production facility is looking great and will be finished shortly.”
Finally: “We’re are busy bottling the last wine of the year, which will be packed into our underground coves to ferment and bottle-age for 12 months before being disgorged.”