The vines are growing with gusto and vigour. And with the harvest around the corner, watering programmes will have to be managed carefully and a beady eye will have to be cast on the ripening bunches.
Our distribution teams will have to ensure that stock levels remain replenished: no-one wants to run dry in the holiday season, and a wine producer cannot afford to be off the wine-lists or the retail shelves.
With communication being of the utmost importance these days, our social media teams will be working to ensure the voice of Du Toitskloof does not go silent. And with the hundreds of thousands of international and local tourists pouring into the Western Cape, our tasting-venue and Melissa's will not be quiet.
But it is all our pleasure, and we love being busy and active while we know that the most important people to us - our customers - are enjoying our wine at this special time of the year.
Brand Ambassador
For the next year Du Toitskloof has aligned itself with Hannes van Wyk, a popular actor, television presenter and author who has written a book on 40 of South Africa's best-known women. Vroue na aan my Hart was launched in Cape Town last month, and while Hannes is promoting this gorgeous book around the country, Du Toitsloof will be sponsoring his national events. Our wines will be served to the throngs of fans who attend his book launches and signings, and at each event the Du Toitskloof brand will be present and visible.This is a great way to market wine. Wine is about relationships and people. Associating yourself with an influential and popular individual - such as Hannes - is a terrific way to introduce your product to a larger audience in a personal and original manner.
Hannes, who also presents the kykNet TV show Kwela, has been a Du Toitskloof fan for years. "It is definitely my wine of choice - Sauvignon Blanc in the summer and a smooth Shiraz when the weather cools," he says. "I am honoured that this wine brand has decided to be associated with my book and my brand. We will have a great time together introducing ourselves to a wide range of South Africans, to both our mutual benefit. It is going to be a lot of fun, with some very special people. Is that not what wine is all about?"
We are the new Owners of Land's End Wines
In a major development, Du Toitskloof has obtained the well-known Elim wine brand Land's End. Land's End, especially known for its cool-climate Sauvignon Blanc wines, is one of the pioneering wine labels that put the unique Elim region on the map.
According to Marius Louw, our CEO, the Land's End brand will allow Du Toitskloof to offer wines in the premium sector as a complement to the current range of quality value-for-money wines it produces from grapes grown in the Breedekloof.
"With a well-known premium brand such as Land's End in our portfolio, Du Toitskloof Wines will be able to engage at the top-end of the market as well as continuing to supply our very popular value-for-money ranges to the everyday wine-drinking public," says Louw. "This will not only add value to our business model, but also to our image as a progressive and forward-thinking South African wine company."
The first two wines that Land's End's new owners will put onto the market are a Sauvignon Blanc and a Shiraz. Sticking to the brand's ethos, grapes for Land's End wines are be sourced from Elim with the option of incorporating other sites in the Southern Cape.
"We won't be playing around with the brand's soul, i.e. a quality wine made from grapes sourced in the cool climate of the southernmost vineyards in Africa," says Louw.
At harvest grapes are trucked in cooling units to Du Toitskloof's cellar at Rawsonville where they are vinified by cellarmaster Shawn Thomson and his team.
The new Land's End wines are currently available in the Du Toitskloof tasting room, so make sure you are the first to try them.
Happy Holidays
From all of us at Du Toitskloof, we wish you all the best over the festive season and a relaxing time with family and friends. Take care on the roads - never drink and drive - and remember that you are always welcome at our winery. We are as much about wine as about people.
Melissa’s @ Du Toitskloof Festive Trading Hours:
Friday, 16 December 2016 09:00 - 20:00 Saturday, 24 December 2016 09:00 - 13:00
Sunday, 25 December 2016 CLOSED Monday, 26 December 2016 09:00 - 17:00
Tuesday, 27 December 2016 09:00 - 17:00 Saturday, 31 December 2016 09:00 - 13:00
Sunday, 01 January 2017 CLOSED Monday, 02 January 2017 09:00 - 17:00