Croydon Port Festival

Check back on the blog for news about the Croydon Port Festival 13 March 2008.

Beyers on Croydon's wines

The soil and climate of Croydon makes it ideal for the production of red wines of outstanding quality. The layered clay soil with its rocky topsoil and the cool sea climate reminds me of Bordeaux which is one of the most distinguished regions in the world for the production of top quality red blends.

We aim to concentrate on Cape blends at Croydon and I hope that the name Croydon will be as world-renowned one day as Bordeaux.

For our Cape blend we will use Pinotage, our very own South African variety, as the basis, together with varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot and Shiraz. From these components we will endeavour to make a wine which is as balanced and classic as the distinguished Burgundy, with a bouquet of pepper and spice unique to the wines of the Rhône Valley but which will have our own distinctive purple fruity character.

A complex blend that could be aged successfully for years, but that could equally well be enjoyed as a young wine. We shall have to experiment for at least another ten years before we have enough understanding of the vines at Croydon to know precisely what percentage of each grape variety to use, the type of oak, how long the wine should be in wood, how long on the skins and at what temperature the wine should be made. We look forward to a gratifying time of experimentation for everyone at Croydon.

Beyers Truter.

Home owners enjoying the harvest!

Corius played host and wine maker to home owners of all ages last week as they personally joined in with the 2008 harvest. They also took some of the pictures you can see above.

From the vineyards to the tanks 2008 style

The 2008 harvest went straight from the Croydon vineyards where they were harvested and into the tanks. The wines will then be moved into barrels for maturation.

This picture is taken from inside the winery, looking down on some of the tanks.

The 2008 harvest - some pics...

Home owners joined Corius and Beyers for the 2008 harvest last week.

Croydon's 2008 harvest invitation

Croydon is getting ready for the 2008 harvest. Join Corius and Beyers at the winery tomorrow for the harvest from 5:30 - 7pm. Invitations are going out via email.

Call Charmain 011 843 3610.

According to Sawis’ (S A Wine Industry Information & Systems) first estimate of the 2008 grape and wine harvest on 4 December 2007, the harvest will be 1053 million litres – approximately 0.4% more than in 2007. This brings the average wine production over the past 10 years to 933 million litres.

DOWNLOAD SAWIS PRESENTATION

The 2008 wine grape harvest is assessed at 1 357 168 tons according to the harvest estimate by the industry (producer cellars and viticulturists). This is a 0.4% increase from the 2007 harvest.

Districts
The Worcester district is expected to have the greatest harvest at 330 000 tons, followed by:
• Olifants River: 207 267 tons
• Robertson: 196 740 tons
• Orange River: 179 381 tons
• Paarl: 157 025 tons
• Stellenbosch: 123 499 tons
• Malmesbury: 119 603 tons

Klein Karoo is the district with the smallest harvest, with a decrease of 7% from 2007 at 43 653 tons. The harvest in Orange River shows the greatest increase of 11% from 2006.

Source: www.sawis.co.za

Join us 20 February from 7pm for food and wine with Mariette Crafford. More information on the site soon.

Mariëtte Crafford has been a freelance journalist, editor, translator and food writer since 1980. Come meet this author who will take you on a journey to the Northern Cape town of Kakamas, with its bright sunshine, wonderful people, fresh produce and scrumptious dishes.

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