The cellar and vineyard team took a hard-earned short break. I took some time off to spend with my family and focus on my other passion in life, fishing and now it’s back to the farm to continue working on the amazing 2023 vintage.
2023 Harvest did not come without its challenges. Growing season started off with a very dry late winter and spring that quickly turned into a hot and humid summer. Definitely not typical Cape Agulhas weather. This abnormal weather lasted all December with significantly less wind in comparison to the last 4 years. The Holiday makers did not complain it was the perfect rosé drinking conditions.
We only started harvesting Sauvignon Blanc we were about 30% into our harvest when the first cold front hit us on the 20th of February 2023. This delayed harvest with about a week before we could get back on track. The rest of the harvest continued around the mood and tempers of Adamastor leading to the wettest harvest in South Africa since 1977. By now we have learned to work with the unexpected temperaments of Adasmastor but this year he had a friend butting in were not needed. “Loadshedding” I think this must have been one of the biggest challenges. Although we have generators to help, one of our machine’s needs to be switch off or on along with the outages. It was like being back on pajama drill.
By the 22nd of March the final grapes were brought into the cellar, and you could feel the stress levels starting to drop throughout the farm. As I reflect back on the 2023 harvest, I raise a glass of Strandveld Pofadderbos Sauvignon Blanc to this years dedicated, hardworking vineyard and cellar teams for their contributions in bringing in on of the biggest harvest to date. I believe this vantage will still bring many more to celebrate.
Warm wine regards,
Cellar Master
Conrad Vlok,