Harvest 2010

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

Harvest 2010

The Helderberg Wine Festival was designed to showcase some of the local wine farms with events the public could attend and in the process get to know some of the quality wines that the area has on offer. Croydon Vineyard did not stand one step back and decided to put a fun filled weekend together.

Another stunning sunrise over the Helderberg Mountains with rays of sunlight against the green vineyards of our estate. The day is filled with events like the barrel tasting with the release of the 2009 vintage and red blends, pony rides, penguins, jumping castles and for a touch of class some musicians playing some classical music. The homeowners were invited to a true “potjiekos” event and what better way to spend the days with the other residents than around a fire, good food and wine! Yes we must have a winner so well done to Casper Steenkamp. Second was Emile Burger and 3rd the blue bull team alias Engelbrecht. About the blue bull shirts and flags we won’t say too much down here in the Cape!

All in all a great weekend and something we all look forward to in the next years to come. Home owners all agreed: what an event! If you could not make it you sure missed out on a good weekend. Well done to Corius Visser and his team for putting on such a show! I am sure the home owners and visitors were stunned by the estate and what it has to offer! As the sun sets and we look back we realise we must be some of the most privileged in our beautiful Cape Province to live on this working wine farm.

Music and entertainment with Jak de Priester

Summer fun around the winery

SANCCOB plays Croydon a visit

Eating and drinking outside in the sunshine

Early morning and the estate is a buzz. Flags go up, little farm stalls are set up, waterslides are out, all set for a top notch day.

Events included two shows by popular artist Jac de Priester, wine tasting, pony rides, water slides, olive tastings and all in all a weekend filled with fun for the family. A treat for the kids was the penguins of SANCCOB while the parents could enjoy a relaxed morning in one of the most spectacular settings in the Western Cape. How can one not fall in love with this beautiful part of our country and how can you not make your home in this friendly and safe environment? All the home owners and visitors agreed: this must be heaven: good wine, good food, good friends and good weather! The day was ended in the lifestyle centre with a dinner along with am interactive performance by Jac de Priester.

Thursday getting ready for the festival

Corius is spending all his time and efforts with the staff the past week to get the estate in tip top condition. Everything is set after some hard work. There is excitement in the air as the stage is set for a busy weekend at Croydon Vineyard Estate!

THE HELDERBERG WINE FESTIVAL INVITES YOU TO JOIN IN THE FUN

THE HELDERBERG WINE FESTIVAL INVITES YOU TO JOIN IN THE FUN
AT THE CROYDON VINEYARD ESTATE FOR

CROYDON FAMILY DAY

Date: Saturday, 24 October 2009

Time: 10h00 – 18h00

Vineyard tours by Beyers Truter and Corius Visser at 13h00, 14h00, 15h00 (Child minders will be available to watch over the kiddies while parents are at play)
Barrel tasting featuring the new releases of 2009 vintage made by Corius as well the range of Cape Blends available;
Jac de Priester shows @ 10h30 and 17h00 at R230 per head including either breakfast or light supper (pre-booking essential - NO ENTRANCE FEE TO THE FESTIVAL).
Children’s activities: Pony rides, slippery slide, jumping castle available for children
SANCCOB Penguins – Learn about these extraordinary creatures and meet Columbine, an African penguin – 13h00 -14h00

Contact details: Charmain Krotz at the Croydon Vineyard Estate, telephonically on 021 843 3610 or via email on info@croydon-estate.co.za

Date: Sunday, 25 October 2009

Time: 11h00 – 14h00

Barrel tasting featuring Corius Visser’s new releases of the 2009 vintage as well as the range of Cape Blends available
Children’s activities: Pony rides, slippery slide, jumping castle
SANCCOB Penguins – Meet Columbine, an African Penguin and learn about these extraordinary creatures. Show time 12h00 – 13h00
Listen to classical music performed by musicians

Contact detail: Charmain Krotz at the Croydon Vineyard Estate, telephonically on 021 843 3610 or via email on info@croydon-estate.co.za

TICKETS TO HELDERBEERG WINE FESTIVAL ON SALE AT THE ENTRANCE @ R75.00 PER ADULT. CHILDREN FREE. ALL TICKETS SOLD IN AID OF ROUND TABLE SOMERSET WEST

Croydon featured again in Business Day

Click on article to enlarge.

Join Jak de Priester for a musical experience in the intimate surroundings of the Croydon Vineyard Estate Cellar.

When: Saturday, 24 October 2009 at 10h30, a light breakfast

Saturday, 24 October 2009 at 17h00 an informal dinner.

Where: Croydon Vineyard Estate, R102, Somerset West

Cost: Tickets @ R230.00 per head. (limited to 60 seats)

To book for your seat at one of the shows, contact Charmain Krotz at the Croydon Vineyard Estate, telephonically on 021 843 3610 or via email on info@croydon-estate.co.za

For more info on the artist, go to www.jakdepriester.co.za

DON'T MISS THIS UNFORGETABLE EXPERIENCE!

Message from Winemaker / Boodskap vanaf die wynmaker

Snoeityd is amper verby, maar daar is nog tyd vir die jaarlikse snoeidag. Ons nooi u hartlik uit, met ‘n snoei skêr in die hand te kom kyk en leer hoe ghoeroe Beyers Truter dit doen.

Datum: 12 September 2009
Tyd: 10h30
Prys: R60 per Volwassene; R30 vir kinders - ligte ete ingesluit.

Groete
Corius

Distant Croydon views tell a little history

Maria van Riebeeck (De la Quellerie)
For those of you that know or go into a little history the story of Maria might be of interest.

As you drive into the very spectacular Croydon Vineyard Estate you eyes are drawn straight toward the world famous Table Mountain.

The view you see is very different from the normal view we see in adverts taken from the Blouberg side!

The side you see from the estate was once called Maria de la Quellerie sleeping.

So how does it work? If you look at the photo of the sunset over Table Mountain you will see the sleeping Maria with her head on the right, you can see her hair to the far right! Then you can see her nose, mouth and neck as it goes onto her body with her hands folded on top of her body. All under a blanket! Then it goes on to the feet at the left end of her body.

I also included a few links to some information as a few things were named after her. Follow the links below to get more detail.

Maria van Riebeeck (28 October 1629, Rotterdam - 2 November 1664, Malacca) was the wife of Jan van Riebeeck, the Dutch colonial administrator and first commander of the settlement at the Cape.

She was born Maria de la Quellerie, daughter of Abraham de la Quellerie (1589-1630) and Maria du Bois (1593-?) of France. She married Van Riebeeck on 28 March 1649 in Schiedam, The Netherlands. The couple had eight children, of whom most died young.

She died in Malacca, Malaysia on 2 November 1664 at the age of 35. The South African Navy submarine, the SAS Maria van Riebeeck, was named after her. wikipedia.com

So next time you drive into the estate and your focus is drawnto this world famous landmark, look out for the shape of Maria sleeping peacefully.

This must be one of the very spectacular sides of the mountain and one that is often overlooked. We here at Croydon Vineyard Estate are proud to wake up to that view and our boutique wines are grown under her watch full eye. Maybe that is why our estate is so spectacular and our wines world class. Under the careful hand of Beyers Truter and the “lady” keeping a close eye on things.

If you want more information on the estate please email the estate agent at Gerhard@seeff.com or phone me on 076 590 7758

The photos was taken during the past week showing some of the spectacular sunsets here at the Estate.

Provided by Gerhard van Deventer (Seeff Agent)

Croydon winter pictures

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