Tuesday 30 Jan, 3:15 am. Piekenierskloof Pinotage is my destination this morning. There’s always the chance of having the rare privilege of the Stellenbosch traffic light green spell – I’ve had it a few times where I could do 64 km/hour straight through the whole of Stellenbosch – 8 green Traffic lights. This is a treat that turns a 3 hour drive into 2 hours and 15 minutes. The picking team arrives on the farm at 6am and they need “kissies” (lug boxes) – my job in harvest. That, and making the call of when to pick.
These vineyards don’t come easy. Over 20 years I’ve been building relationships, searching and experimenting with hundreds of vineyards from almost everywhere. This is the second year I am making wine from this specific Piekenierskloof vineyard.
With the 2023 in barrel, I still have no idea of where I’ll be selling it. And this is the crazy part of our business. We don’t identify a gap in the market and cater for that. We make whatever we like and hope and pray there are enough people out there that will appreciate our effort! It takes 3 years… And this means that by the time we start selling the first bottle, we have 1 vintage in barrel, one in bottle and one ready to be released. No lack of commitment from our side.
When I’m finished picking today, the full lug boxes will go onto my trailer and bakkie and roughly 3 hours later (mostly spent on the phone organising more pickings) I should be back at the cellar and the grapes will be safely tucked away in our cool room.
Tomorrow at 6am, my team will be processing crisp, cold grapes. As for me, I will be on repeat, for 100 days from the first picking to the last one.
All the best! – As dit pap reën moet jy skep!