www.cellartales.com

 Friday,February 24th – a French evening in an old cellar, maximum 20 people @ R250.00 per person 4 course meal

Saturday, February 25th – Food and wine pairing in the vineyards, maximum 20 people @ R200.00 per person

Sunday, February 26th – Picnic at the river CHILDREN WELCOME , maximum 50 people @ R100 per basket for two

CONTACT LIZELLE @ 023 6162835 for further details or bookings

http://www.arendsigfarmhouse.co.za/

 For bookings or equiries, please contact Mariana on tel. 023 616 3746 or Lizelle on tel. 023 616 2835.

All red varietals are destemed into small open top bins where we will take out all the green stems.  The bins will go back into the cold storage room for four days, where pre- maturation will take place.  During pre- maturation color will be extracted from the whole barriers.  After this the bins will go into the winery.  Than I will handle each varietal on its own unique way threw the wine making process.

I started making the Arendsig Single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 3 years back.  It has been a huge success.  The first and 2009 vintages were sold out with bottling.

“This wine has mint and plums on the nose, the palate is rich, full, fruity and a structured on the mid pallet.  The wine will do well with maturation”.

The Cabernet Sauvignon is fermented dry on the skins and after this will be kept on the skins for 8 weeks, post maturation.  Malolactic fermentation will also take place during this period.  This will round the mouth feel and give the wine tannin that is polymerized.

After the 8 weeks, the skins will be pressed down. All the free run with press juice gets drained down into a tank, to clarify.   Now the wine goes to barrel for 12 months, maturation.  My selection of barrels are mainly older, in order to bring out the natural flavors from the vines.

During maturation the wine will be tasted to make sure it gets bottled at an optimal stage.  Bottling happens on farm, using a mobile bottling unit.  The wine bottles are also labeled by hand.

Wine Analysis

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All red varietals are destemed into small open top bins where we will take out all the green stems.  The bins will go back into the cold storage room for four days, where pre- maturation will take place.  During pre- maturation color will be extracted from the whole barriers.  After this the bins will go into the winery.  Than I will handle each varietal on its own unique way threw the wine making process.

Shiraz vines need to struggle to make a good wine.  I am glad that I have the perfect spot on our farm for this cultivar.  The vineyard is planted on a slope that is exposed to afternoon sun.  This terrain consists of stones and rocks and very little soil.

When I think Shiraz, I think Spicy, Pepper, strawberries, grapefruit and structure.  My Shiraz is not dry-fermented on the skins to create a better palatable wine.  I make use of a basket-press to press the skins. The press juice will be moved into a tank were it undergoes the last stage of fermentation. Malolactic fermentation will start naturally after fermentation.  This helps to round off the wine.  Now the wine goes to barrel for 12 months maturation.  My selection of barrels is mainly older, in order to bring out the natural flavors from the vines.

During maturation the wine will be tasted to make sure it gets bottled at an optimal stage.  Bottling happens on farm, using a mobile bottling unit.  The wine bottles are also labeled by hand.

Wine Analysis

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All white varietals are crushes destemmed into isolated, close draining tank.  Than I will handle each varietal on its own unique way threw the wine making process.

Only 1000 roots have been planted next to my last row, in my single vineyard Shiraz block.  The only varietal that is not classified as single vineyard on my portfolio.  The idea behind these vines are to create a special Natural Sweet wine that can be used, in a special way with cheese, to end off the evening.

This wine has  notes of Naartjies, Pineapple and Citrus, backed with a round, soft, elegant pallet.

The grapes gets picked at a high Balling (density of the sugar in the juice) of 28 to start the fermentation with.  With the high sugar level, the wild yeast struggles to dry ferment.  This will give a natural sweet wine with a sugar above 30 grams.

I use mainly free- run juice to make this wine. The free- run drains into small tanks.  This juice clarifies naturally over night, at 6°C.  The clarified juice is raked off the lees into a tank where the fermentation process starts.  Fermentation starts naturally with wild yeast from the grapes.  The wild yeast normally starts fermentation at 12°C.  When the temperature reaches 18°C, I decrease the temperature again to 12°C and put the fermentation juice into barrel for the barrel fermentation process.  French oak barrels are used, but not new wood.  The characteristics of the vineyard are better expressed by using older barrels.  When fermentation is done the wine will mature on the lees until bottling.  This normally takes about 12 months.  After this period I stabilize the wine and bottle by making use of a bottling unit on farm.  The wine bottles are also labeled by hand.

Wine Analysis

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Every grape are selected and picked, by hand, from one single vineyard Block.  They are than packed onto pallets in 10 kg crates into the cold storage room.  Here I will keep the grapes for one day to chill down to 6 degrees.

All white varietals are crushes destemmed into isolated, close draining tank.  Than I will handle each varietal on its own unique way threw the wine making process.

“My biggest challenge from our Terrior”.

This is a grape varietal that needs a vigorous canopy, cool climate, do not like to be stressed, good structured soil and special care through out the wine making process.

To achieve this I started with the Soil.  The soil was extremely rocky, but because of our diversity we took deeper loamy (leem grond) soil and slush (sluk) from the dam to create the write hard bead for the vines.  We chose a strong route stock, Ramsey, to enhance the growth and used a micro irrigation system to cool down the micro climate during hot summer days.  The South Easter does the rest.  Also the fact that the vineyard is facing towards the morning sun gives me an optimal climate.

Through the wine making process, I work reductive using CO 2 and VSO2 according to my PH to protect the juice from oxidation.  In my small draining tanks I will give 4 hours skin contact before I drain of the free run juice.  The Juice will be kept in small tanks in suspension for 3 weeks to extract flavors from the green lees.  After this process the juice gets clarified, racked off and inoculated with native yeast to start the fermentation.  Fermentation will start and be monitored at a constant temperature at 12.5 degrees.  After fermentation the wine will be kept on the lees for 4months according to taste.  Once I am satisfied I stabilize the wine and bottle on farm with a mobile bottling unit.  The wine bottles are also labeled by hand.

Wine Analysis

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Every grape are selected and picked, by hand, from one single vineyard Block.  They are than packed onto pallets in 10 kg crates into the cold storage room.  Here I will keep the grapes for one day to chill down to 6 degrees.

All white varietals are crushes destemmed into isolated, close draining tank.  Than I will handle each varietal on its own unique way threw the wine making process.

If I have to claim one cultivar that is meant to be planted in our valley it must be Chardonnay.  This grape variety is well suited for our Limestone soils.  This specific block faces morning sun and receives our everyday South-eastern breeze during summer.

I pick this vineyard in three different stages.  The first pick adds tightness to the mid pallet and more citrus notes on the nose.  The second pick gives the balance and bring the first and last pick together.  The last pick adds complexity and tropical pineapple notes.

I use mainly free-run juice to make this wine.  The free- run drains into small tanks.  This juice clarifies naturally over night, at 6°C.  The clarified juice is raked off the lees into a tank where the fermentation process starts.   Fermentation starts naturally with wild yeast from the grapes.  The wild yeast normally starts fermentation at 12°C.   When the temperature reaches 18°C, I decrease the temperature to 12°C and put the fermentation juice into barrel for the barrel fermentation process.   French oak barrels are used, but not new wood.  The characteristics of the vineyard are better expressed by using older barrels.   When fermentation is done the wine will mature on the lees until bottling.  This normally takes about 12 months. After this period I stabilize the wine and bottle by making use of a mobile bottling unit on farm.   The wine bottles are also labeled by hand.

Wine Analysis

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