This is what the Croydon Vineyard Estate is all about... A working wine farm with houses set amongst prime vineyards producing some of the top red blends Beyers Truter is renowned for!Friday morning (05/02/2010) sees the start of a very busy day on the estate. The secret to living in this lifestyle is to be able to join and experience a harvest and the start of a new season in the heart of the winelands. The true essence of the estate has kicked in with the first grapes being picked, driven to the seller and then the process of winemaking can begin.
This process started a long time ago when the winemaker prepared the vineyards and now the harvest is ready! From the vineyards the grapes are transported to the cellar all on-site and then the grapes are stripped from the branch and leaves. Only the juice and skins will move onto the next face. While the grapes come in the staff is hard at work preparing the tanks. They are washed one more time and then the grape juice start to flow! The grapes will now go into the tank and be moved by hand on a regular basis to make sure air flow through the grapes helping with the fermentation process. This process will take place every 2 hours around the clock! In your bigger wine farms this is done with machinery but being a smaller boutique wine estate everything is done by hand.
In the back round the barrels are waiting and the bottles are ready for the new harvest to come in. This age old tradition is one that started 100’s of years ago and here on Croydon Vineyard Estate the tradition of true winemaking is still going strong under the watchful eye of Beyers Truter and Corius Visser.
The word from the on-site winemaker is that the grapes are looking very well. They have a full dark colour and the sugar levels are very good. These grapes are now in the hands of some of SA’s leading winemakers to produce top quality blends for and from the estate. Something that the homeowner living in this estate can share in!
You can become part of a culture of age old winemaking when you live on this signature working wine farm. For more information, cellar tour or property related questions please feel free to come and visit us or phone the resident Seeff agent.
Compiled and photos by Gerhard (Resident Seeff Agent) 076 590 7758
