{"products":[{"id":15422378377382,"title":"Epileptic Inspiration 2025","handle":"epileptic-inspiration-2025","body_html":"\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA single vineyard Semillon from Elgin. The wine is a combination of Amphora, old and new French oak fermented\/aged components.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe Story:\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Epileptic Inspiration 2013? You have no respect!\", a Swiss guy told me on a recent trip to Zurich.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSince the beginning of BLANKbottle, I have been designing my own labels. At first, it was because there was absolutely no way I could afford designers. I made use of Microsoft Word, typed BLANKbottle, placed it into a block and played around with the colours - no designing skills required at all. And, to be honest, for the first 10 years I actually didn't like my labels much (besides maybe the honesty of it). Every year, I would again have to fight off the desire to employ professional label designers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor those of you who don't know this: I started having Epilepsy at the age of 30. Then in November 2013, whilst not on medication, I had another huge epileptic fit (the second one ever). So the Dr booked me off driving and surfing, yet again. When I have a fit, what happens to me at first is that I forget everything. My long term memory returns quite soon thereafter (within hours), but I find that my short term analytical memory takes about 2-3 months to return - if at all... \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd this is how I started to design my new labels for the 2013 wines. I could not look at the computer due to the flickering screen. So I started making use of scissors, paint, Lino, pencil and old paper. And the result: I think I had a breakthrough in design, inspiration of Epileptic proportions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo the drawing and design of my own labels came as a direct result of my epilepsy. And here’s the strange part which I cannot prove - I believe that something in my brain changed due to epilepsy. Before epilepsy I had no skill or desire to draw paint etc. Now I still don’t have the skill, but at least I like my labels! All 47 of them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e","published_at":"2026-08-07T12:25:16+02:00","created_at":"2026-07-15T16:12:30+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00","vendor":"Blank Bottle","product_type":"Wine","tags":["Semillion"],"variants":[{"id":56811458887846,"title":"Epileptic Inspiration 2025","option1":"Epileptic Inspiration 2025","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":null,"requires_shipping":true,"taxable":true,"featured_image":null,"available":true,"price":"310.00","grams":1500,"compare_at_price":null,"position":1,"product_id":15422378377382,"created_at":"2026-07-15T16:12:30+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00"}],"images":[{"id":43876889198758,"created_at":"2025-06-28T08:50:29+02:00","position":1,"updated_at":"2025-06-28T08:50:29+02:00","product_id":15422378377382,"variant_ids":[],"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/8528\/4006\/files\/Blank-Bottle-Epileptic-Inspiration-copy_77b1b1ed-1f36-459e-a5f6-a831fa454df9.png?v=1751093429","width":500,"height":1395}],"options":[{"name":"Title","position":1,"values":["Epileptic Inspiration 2025"]}]},{"id":15292991176870,"title":"Frostbite at Westpeak 2025","handle":"frostbite-at-westpeak-2025","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e100% Vine Dried Sauvignon blanc\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9GFIOATeilw?si=jQqtGf8Gjub6aaGf\" title=\"YouTube video player\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2026-06-12T09:07:00+02:00","created_at":"2026-04-22T11:11:26+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00","vendor":"Blank Bottle","product_type":"Wine","tags":[],"variants":[{"id":56869358928038,"title":"Frostbite at Westpeak 2025","option1":"Frostbite at Westpeak 2025","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":null,"requires_shipping":true,"taxable":true,"featured_image":null,"available":false,"price":"695.00","grams":1500,"compare_at_price":null,"position":1,"product_id":15292991176870,"created_at":"2026-07-27T11:22:25+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00"}],"images":[{"id":44559013773478,"created_at":"2025-07-21T11:46:54+02:00","position":1,"updated_at":"2025-07-21T11:46:55+02:00","product_id":15292991176870,"variant_ids":[],"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/8528\/4006\/files\/BlankBottleFrostbiteatWestpeak.png?v=1753091215","width":500,"height":1395}],"options":[{"name":"Title","position":1,"values":["Frostbite at Westpeak 2025"]}]},{"id":15330354790566,"title":"Ultra 2025","handle":"ultra-2025","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan id=\"bb_quick_overview\"\u003eULTRA - an old bush vine, single vineyard Chenin blanc - a vintage of celebration - an outlet… something to make one's heart beat faster.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Story:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI met this farmer 6 years ago. He farms in the Swartland, on the border of Darling. He comes across as an extremely traditional kind of farmer. He is a young guy, but lives out in the middle of nowhere. I’ve only ever seen him wearing blue overalls and kaki two-tone shirts. A year ago I was sitting in his kitchen having a cup of tea. He mentioned to me that he is really excited for the upcoming weekend. When I asked why he replied: “do you know the Ultrrrra?” (pronounced with the very typical Swartland rolling r-sound). I didn’t know what he was talking about so he started explaining… and to cut a long story short, he is a closet raver. None of his neighbouring farmers know this about him, but his way of blowing off steam and getting rid of some stress is to go to Cape Town, book himself and his wife into a hotel and dance the night away! Have you ever…\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fZXeBt2q8uE?si=NLI4fR43zPNFfaLq\" title=\"YouTube video player\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn our modern day lives, stress is a reality and so many friends of mine struggle to get an outlet. And here we have a farmer, a traditional guy in the middle of nowhere with a passion\/an outlet - his way of coping with life. I think it’s brilliant.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd I felt that this is a story that needs to be told - So here you have it: ULTRA - an old bush vine, single vineyard Chenin blanc - the first vintage of a celebration - an outlet… something to make one's heart beat faster.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo I did the rave like scene sketch, grafiti-ed a DJ and got the farmer to dance - so you’ll find him in the crowd on the front label.\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2026-07-14T13:37:24+02:00","created_at":"2026-05-25T09:24:00+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00","vendor":"Blank Bottle","product_type":"Wine","tags":["Chenin Blanc"],"variants":[{"id":56527076393126,"title":"Ultra 2025","option1":"Ultra 2025","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":null,"requires_shipping":true,"taxable":true,"featured_image":null,"available":true,"price":"310.00","grams":1500,"compare_at_price":null,"position":1,"product_id":15330354790566,"created_at":"2026-05-25T09:24:01+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00"}],"images":[{"id":79213438566566,"created_at":"2026-08-13T10:06:42+02:00","position":1,"updated_at":"2026-08-13T10:06:43+02:00","product_id":15330354790566,"variant_ids":[],"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/8528\/4006\/files\/Blank-Bottle-Ultra-2023_1_e218d44c-c8be-4fd9-b0f7-4a34dc69ec76.webp?v=1786608403","width":500,"height":1395}],"options":[{"name":"Title","position":1,"values":["Ultra 2025"]}]},{"id":15354298499238,"title":"Makstokkie 2025","handle":"makstokkie-2025","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eVerdelho from the steep, schisty slopes of Riebeeck-Kasteel. (Wine of Origin Swartland) -\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e Tim Atkin 93 points\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVerdelho finds its “roots” in the soils of the island of Madeira, Portugal. It's the most planted white varietal on the island. From there, over centuries, it spread all over the world and subsequently made its way to South Africa. As an immigrant from hot and dry Portugal, it felt immediately at home under the African Sun. Its unique ability to take the extreme conditions in its stride caught the eye of winemakers.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFreshness is of ultra importance in wine. And freshness comes not only from higher acidity and low pH, but also from the aromatic profile of the wine. This is where Verdelho has the perfect balance. You can pick it early (ensuring higher acidity and lower pH) - but its aromatic profile is ripe and full, yet fresh. Even in extreme conditions. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWinemakers mostly make use of Verdelho as their secret weapon to freshen up white blends, but I would like to show you what 100% Verdelho tastes like\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2026-06-12T11:13:51+02:00","created_at":"2026-06-08T15:04:53+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00","vendor":"Blank Bottle","product_type":"Wine","tags":["Verdelho"],"variants":[{"id":56602967048358,"title":"Makstokkie 2025","option1":"Makstokkie 2025","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":null,"requires_shipping":true,"taxable":true,"featured_image":null,"available":true,"price":"310.00","grams":1500,"compare_at_price":null,"position":1,"product_id":15354298499238,"created_at":"2026-06-08T15:04:53+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00"}],"images":[{"id":43876951031974,"created_at":"2025-06-28T08:54:38+02:00","position":1,"updated_at":"2025-06-28T08:54:38+02:00","product_id":15354298499238,"variant_ids":[],"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/8528\/4006\/files\/Blank-Bottle-Makstokkie-20.png?v=1751093678","width":500,"height":1395}],"options":[{"name":"Title","position":1,"values":["Makstokkie 2025"]}]},{"id":15420193800358,"title":"Confessions of a White Glove Chaser 2024","handle":"confessions-of-a-white-glove-chaser-2024","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn short, 60% Cabernet franc with 40% Cabernet Sauvignon - all from the lower false bay slopes of the Helderberg.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Story:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo give a bit of perspective - you have to realise that at the time (2013) I didn't have a budget for a vineyard consultant. So I was forced to be creative. Strategic vineyard-site selection is where all wine begins. I was mostly focussed on many unusual varietals of which there were very little on offer, so in a way it made it easy to choose a site. You take what you can get.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut I wanted to start making Bordeaux - stuff like Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec. The Helderberg has many plantings but I didn’t have a clue how to separate the chaff from the wheat. And no money to pay someone to do it for me.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo this one particular day I was driving past a vineyard and saw something strange: the picking team was wearing white surgical gloves! I pulled off the road and asked the pickers who they were picking for. At the time there were rumours going round about these guys and I knew that they were spending obscene amounts of cash on local and international consultants in areas like viticulture and soil science - basically terroir fundi's. Their ultimate goal: to sift through the huge amount of Bordeaux vineyards on offer to pick only the very best. So I asked the farmer if I could buy the grapes as close as possible to the piece going to the White Gloves.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is my confession about how I started chasing the White Gloves. Where they bought, I bought as close to them as possible. Sometimes right next to them. It was that simple. My creative low-budget strategy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe label:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI traced the shape of my (at the time) 8-year-old son's hand and using linography, created the image for the label. The wine, like all my wines: made, hand bottled and hand labeled - by the colourful people of South Africa\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e","published_at":"2026-08-28T08:16:16+02:00","created_at":"2026-07-15T14:08:42+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00","vendor":"Blank Bottle","product_type":"Wine","tags":["Cabernet Franc","Cabernet Sauvignon"],"variants":[{"id":56809035956390,"title":"Confessions of a White Glove Chaser 2024","option1":"Confessions of a White Glove Chaser 2024","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":null,"requires_shipping":true,"taxable":true,"featured_image":null,"available":true,"price":"410.00","grams":1500,"compare_at_price":null,"position":1,"product_id":15420193800358,"created_at":"2026-07-15T14:08:42+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00"}],"images":[{"id":79807964283046,"created_at":"2026-09-09T15:22:41+02:00","position":1,"updated_at":"2026-09-09T15:22:43+02:00","product_id":15420193800358,"variant_ids":[],"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/8528\/4006\/files\/Blank_Bottle_Confessions_of_a_White_Glove_Chaser_2024.png?v=1788960163","width":500,"height":1395}],"options":[{"name":"Title","position":1,"values":["Confessions of a White Glove Chaser 2024"]}]},{"id":15211726045350,"title":"Moment of Silence 2025","handle":"moment-of-silence-2025","body_html":"\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis is an all out Wellington warm climate blend of 3 Chenin vineyards, Grenache blanc and Viognier.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe Story:\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt tastings I often get the question: \"How do you conceptualise new wines?\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlthough normally a firm believer in strategic planning, when it comes to new wines, I plan NOT to plan. You can never force a wine, you just need to follow the road you're on. The journey normally starts with a friend, which typically leads to another friend, new areas and vineyards. Ultimately I end up with a wine that expresses the journey more than the actual destination, a combination of these people and their habitat.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe perfect example of such a wine is the \u003cstrong\u003eMoment of Silence\u003c\/strong\u003e. It's been a journey of epic proportion from the first vintage in 2007 until today - the release of the 2021 vintage. It all started off with a friend, Jan de Villiers, who took me to Wellington to meet a farmer. To be honest, I wasn't too keen on the area at first but by lunchtime that day I had completely changed my view. What made that meeting so significant in hindsight, was that I was unknowingly about to buy grapes from a farm originally owned by my direct family 7 generations ago and our meeting that day took place around the original Hauptfleisch dining room table owned by my family! It was only after 2 vintages of buying these grapes and making Moment of Silence, that my mom discovered this whilst doing a family tree - quite a confirmation don't you think?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBoberg\u003c\/strong\u003e: This vineyard grows on top of the Groenberg mountain in Wellington in decomposed granite. It was a neglected bush vine Chenin blanc vineyard that was recently resurrected and now being converted into an organically farmed parcel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHangbal\u003c\/strong\u003e: A super old bush-vine Chenin blanc that grows on the lower slopes on the northern side of the Groenberg. Works really well and I foresee a promising future for this component.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTaaiboslaagte\u003c\/strong\u003e: And the last 7% of the wine is made up of a conventionally farmed Viognier Vineyard.Fermentation took place spontaneously in various vessels - Concrete egg shaped tanks, Amphore and older French oak. Aged for 8 months on the lees blended and bottled.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e","published_at":"2026-03-11T09:39:45+02:00","created_at":"2026-01-08T16:23:22+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00","vendor":"Blank Bottle","product_type":"Wine","tags":["Chenin Blanc","Grenache blanc","Viognier"],"variants":[{"id":56078100758694,"title":"Moment of Silence 2025","option1":"Moment of Silence 2025","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"8040","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":true,"featured_image":null,"available":false,"price":"250.00","grams":1500,"compare_at_price":null,"position":1,"product_id":15211726045350,"created_at":"2026-01-08T16:23:22+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00"}],"images":[{"id":77099886313638,"created_at":"2026-03-10T06:53:13+02:00","position":1,"updated_at":"2026-03-10T06:53:14+02:00","product_id":15211726045350,"variant_ids":[],"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/8528\/4006\/files\/Blank_Bottle_Moment_of_Silence_25.png?v=1773118394","width":500,"height":1395}],"options":[{"name":"Title","position":1,"values":["Moment of Silence 2025"]}]},{"id":15221426815142,"title":"Master of None 2025","handle":"master-of-none-2025","body_html":"\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003cspan id=\"bb_quick_overview\"\u003eA red blend of Wellington Grenache, Piekenierskloof Grenache, Breedekloof Cinsault, Stellenbosch Pinot Noir, Swartland Fernao Pires, Elgin Sauvignon Blanc, Stellenbosch Viognier, Stellenbosch Chardonnay, Wellington Viognier and a Stellenbosch White Blend.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Story:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt was one late November evening in 2017, when my then-assistant Julia and myself were blending the initial vintage of Master of None 2017 - and it was no minor feat I can tell you. Master of None is any mixologists’ dream. The 2022 vintage is a blend of no less than 11 cultivars from 8 different wine regions:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e- PIEKENIERSKLOOF - Palomino and Grenache noir.\u003cbr\u003e- DARLING - Cinsaut.\u003cbr\u003e- WALKER BAY - Grenache noir.\u003cbr\u003e- WELLINGTON - Grenache noir.\u003cbr\u003e- BREEDEKLOOF - Cinsaut.\u003cbr\u003e- STELLENBOSCH - Chenin blanc, Pinot noir, Verdelho and Chardonnay.\u003cbr\u003e- SWARTLAND - Verdelho, Chenin Blanc and Fernão Pires.\u003cbr\u003e- And finally, for some spice, a very very little bit of ELGIN Weisser Riesling, Semillon and Sauvignon blanc.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith 75% of the wine comprising of lighter-in-style reds, the baseline of the wine is on the lighter side of life. It's very much still a RED wine in my eyes, but the contribution of the whites to the mid palate is what makes this wine special. You can expect a chilled red that is going to entertain your guests all the way from the swimming pool right through to the main dish where it can hand over the baton to a more suitable contestant.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe Story of Master of None:\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs we were sitting there that night in 2017, we were discussing the contents of a very controversial article that had just come out. It was written by a UK wine critic. He was very concerned about this BLANKBOTTLE winery; how could they be making more than 40 different wines in all styles imaginable? He was of FIRM opinion that, in the wine world, one needs to specialise. That you have to choose a direction regarding wine style and stick to it - dissect and improve until the day you die.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor the most part, I agree with him. 99% of wineries own the land they cultivate their grapes on. I, however, started making wine in my friend’s garage. I don’t own land and am therefore not bound to a specific area.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith “MASTER OF NONE” we acknowledge that viewpoints differ. We tell stories of places and people, to inspire and entertain. We might be a “Master of None” in the eyes of the guy steering that specific pen. But from our perspective, we find ourselves in the privileged position of exploring all that South Africa has to offer. To discover, dissect and improve on so many levels for so many years to come.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e","published_at":"2026-03-17T10:52:27+02:00","created_at":"2026-01-26T09:46:29+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00","vendor":"Blank Bottle","product_type":"Wine","tags":["Chardonnay","Chenin blanc","Cinsaut","Fernão Pires","Grenache noir","Palomino","Pinot noir","Sauvignon blanc","Semillon","Verdelho","Weisser Riesling"],"variants":[{"id":56132434919590,"title":"Master of None 2025","option1":"Master of None 2025","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"MON25W","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":true,"featured_image":null,"available":true,"price":"325.00","grams":1500,"compare_at_price":null,"position":1,"product_id":15221426815142,"created_at":"2026-01-26T09:46:29+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00"}],"images":[{"id":77099889557670,"created_at":"2026-03-10T06:53:53+02:00","position":1,"updated_at":"2026-03-10T06:53:54+02:00","product_id":15221426815142,"variant_ids":[],"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/8528\/4006\/files\/Blank_Bottle_Master_of_None_25.png?v=1773118434","width":500,"height":1395}],"options":[{"name":"Title","position":1,"values":["Master of None 2025"]}]},{"id":15271799423142,"title":"Orbitofrontal Cortex 2025","handle":"orbitofrontal-cortex-2025","body_html":"\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA white blend according to my conscious mind, named after the scientific name for the part of your brain where conscious decisions are made - Inspired by LIMBIC 2015 (a wine from my subconscious). 12 Varietals from 17 sites all over the Western Cape.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eORBITOFRONTAL CORTEX - named after the part of your brain where conscious decisions are made.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe story behind the origin of ORBITOFRONTAL CORTEX:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn October 2015 I was sitting on a plane heading to Joburg, next to a guy who was (or so it seemed) plugged into his computer with wires and stuff. It looked like he was communicating with the machine in a way. When we had landed I asked him what on earth he was doing. He told me that he and his clinical psychologist business partner had started a marketing company called Neural Sense, based in Cape Town.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThey conduct market research by tapping into people's subconscious reactions to various inputs. I love weird things, so I told him I make wine and if ever he wanted to do something with wine he was welcome to get in contact. And he did. Three months later I was sitting at the table in my winery hooked onto machines. All my subconscious reactions (in the LIMBIC part of my brain) to each of the 21 components were to be measured and recorded - a camera looking me in the eyes (for eye reactions), a thing on my finger (for blood oxygen levels), a heart rate monitor on my chest, something on my arm (for arousal levels e.g. heat\/sweat) and a mobile EEG device on my head (for monitoring my brain waves).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt was the time of year where I had to make up final blends and I was sitting with 21 different white wine components in barrel, which were ready for blending and bottling. They were all different varietals from different areas and vineyards. So my assistant winemaker, Julia, took samples from all the barrels and put them into glasses, which my wife marked from 1 to 21. For each wine I would first close my eyes, then open them and they would start recording with the camera, hand me any wine and prompt me to nose, taste and spit - constantly monitoring and recording my heart rate, blood stuff and activity in my subconscious.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOf course I can’t control my subconscious - before I think of reacting, I already had. We tasted through all 21 wines. I obviously spat, washed my mouth with water in between and we even did a few with clean water in my mouth and used that as a control or base reaction. This process took a whole day. I like to call it work. Their job was now to analyse the data. The way I understand it is that they look at all the parts of my brain that reacted, compare it with all the other blood and heart monitors and then work out with mathematical algorithm what I liked and disliked.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe analysis of the data took months, so in the meantime Julia and I decided to blend a control - the best possible white blend from the same 21 parcels - making use of our conscious mind; the ORBITOFRONTAL CORTEX. When the results came, the two wines were so different! We blended both and bottled the 2 wines. Please note - we are NOT trying to prove something with this experiment. We were just trying to have fun. And we did… So,\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLIMBIC 2015 - Wellington Chenin blanc, Darling Chenin blanc, Swartland Clairette blanche, Upper Hemel and Aarde Pinot Gris and Stellenbosch Viognier And\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eORBITO FRONTAL CORTEX 2015 - Piekenierskloof Grenache blanc, Swartland Clairette blanche, Swartland Fernão Pires, Elgin Semillon and Voor Paardeberg Verdelho. The label: The face of the person I did as a linocut. Printed with black block ink. Printed on organic paper and hand labeled.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e","published_at":"2026-04-29T08:59:18+02:00","created_at":"2026-03-24T08:34:51+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00","vendor":"Blank Bottle","product_type":"Wine","tags":["Chardonnay","Chenin Blanc","Clairette Blanche","Grenache Gris","Marsanne","Roussanne","Semillon","Verdelho","Weisser Riesling"],"variants":[{"id":56319024103590,"title":"Orbitofrontal Cortex 2025","option1":"Orbitofrontal Cortex 2025","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":null,"requires_shipping":true,"taxable":true,"featured_image":null,"available":true,"price":"325.00","grams":1500,"compare_at_price":null,"position":1,"product_id":15271799423142,"created_at":"2026-03-24T08:34:51+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00"}],"images":[{"id":44557844545702,"created_at":"2025-07-21T10:30:05+02:00","position":1,"updated_at":"2025-07-21T10:30:06+02:00","product_id":15271799423142,"variant_ids":[],"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/8528\/4006\/files\/BlankBottleOrbitofFrontCortex24.png?v=1753086606","width":500,"height":1395}],"options":[{"name":"Title","position":1,"values":["Orbitofrontal Cortex 2025"]}]},{"id":15212248596646,"title":"Retirement @ 65 2025","handle":"retirement-65-2025","body_html":"\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e95% - The oldest Cinsaut vineyard in Darling. Planted in 1951 - with 5% Shiraz from its neighbour. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2Q5oifE7acE\" title=\"YouTube video player\"\u003e\n\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe Story\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn June 2014, I arrived at a farm in Darling where I was met by a very grumpy farmer. And for good reason I soon learnt. I had bought bits of grapes from the farmer during that year’s harvest (which all turned out really promising) and was doing my annual post-harvest farm visit with a fresh barrel sample for the farmer to taste.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne of his grape clients had previously persuaded him to farm a little Cinsaut vineyard by method of minimum intervention. Not in an organic kind of a way, but more towards a 300% leave-the-vineyard-to-be kind of way.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:image --\u003e\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/gallery.mailchimp.com\/20207e7491d110e972ec6af28\/_compresseds\/168c661f-4277-4250-bfdd-b4b8cf8f9e17.jpg\" alt=\"\" style=\"margin: 5px 5px 5px 5px; float: none;\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/figure\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\" class=\"wp-block-image\"\u003eTo make a long story short, due to many contributing factors, all the grapes of this little Cinsaut vineyard ended up going to the pigs and he was blaming his minimum intervention 300% leave-the-vineyard-to-be client for all of this. To make matters worse, for the 62 years prior to this, the vineyard hardly produced grapes sufficient to produce wine with. You see, his grandfather planted the vineyard in 1951 and had still used a horse to plough the land. The vineyard is on the edge of the mountain in a little valley and the only food source around. So as the berries accumulated sugar, the birds would hop from bunch to bunch pricking the berries with their beaks, causing them to rot. And by the time the grapes ripened there weren’t much left. Now things like this interest me. I asked him if we could give it one more try.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:image --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHe reluctantly agreed on the condition that he farms the block the way he believes one should. I, in turn, agreed to buy bird nets to cover the vines and we had a deal. So in mid 2014 the vines were neatly pruned and he took care of the weeds. That spring, after bud break, the first soft green shoots appeared. Everything looked good! Then, one Sunday afternoon, I received a photo on whatsapp. It was the vineyard in question with about 20 odd sheep feeding in the vineyard and no sign of the newly formed soft shoots - only brown stumps remaining as the vineyard celebrated it’s 64th birthday. Late that Friday night his sheep had broken through the fence and ate everything green in colour. So there went another crop and the farmer got even more despondent.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut he didn't give up and so, in June 2015, he raised the fence. In early November we covered the whole vineyard in bird nets. Finally, in February 2016 (for the first time in 65 years!) the vineyard survived the onslaught of wild animals roaming the hillsides of Darling and we picked a very small, but healthy, crop.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e","published_at":"2026-03-12T16:38:49+02:00","created_at":"2026-01-09T14:45:47+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00","vendor":"Blank Bottle","product_type":"Wine","tags":["Cinsault","Syrah"],"variants":[{"id":56080673276070,"title":"Retirement @ 65 2025","option1":"Retirement @ 65 2025","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"8168","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":true,"featured_image":null,"available":false,"price":"345.00","grams":1500,"compare_at_price":null,"position":1,"product_id":15212248596646,"created_at":"2026-01-09T14:45:47+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00"}],"images":[{"id":44557858078886,"created_at":"2025-07-21T10:31:06+02:00","position":1,"updated_at":"2025-07-21T10:31:08+02:00","product_id":15212248596646,"variant_ids":[],"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/8528\/4006\/files\/BlankBottleRetirementat65.png?v=1753086668","width":500,"height":1395}],"options":[{"name":"Title","position":1,"values":["Retirement @ 65 2025"]}]},{"id":15212235489446,"title":"Kortpad Kaaptoe 2025","handle":"kortpad-kaaptoe-2025","body_html":"\u003cp\u003eThis is a blend of 4 different pickings of the same vineyard. An early fresh component, 2 optimum ripe batches and then a later pungent ripe one. 100% Fernao Pires a.k.a Maria Gomez\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/E8DycJPJzRs?si=PgyQQhiABb4e6OWA\" title=\"YouTube video player\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Story:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eFernão WWHHAATTT\u003c\/em\u003eT\u003cem\u003e?\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e was my first thought.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo understand the remoteness of this site, I invite you to go to Google maps and connect the location points of 3 towns:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMalmesbury, Hopefield and Darling with straight lines - this will form a triangle. If you pinpoint the center, that's about as close as you’ll get to spotting this vineyard.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThirteen years ago I asked the owner of the farm for directions - I needed an urgent shortcut to Cape Town… or translated to Afrikaans: a “Kortpad Kaaptoe”. He explained directions using his vineyards as reference points. But then he said: \u003cem\u003eyou take a right at the Fernão Pires\u003c\/em\u003e. Needless to say, it took me a bit longer to get to Cape Town, but I had found my next vineyard.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt that point I had never heard of Fernão Pires. Knowing what I know now, the appearance of the plants that day in the sweltering Swartland heat explained it all. You see, being a Portuguese grape varietal and a  product of thousands of years of mutation, the cultivar adapted in order to handle heat and an excess of sunlight.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePicture the lightly coloured sandy topsoil reflecting the sun from below and the ball of fire from the top in scorching Swartland summer temperatures - hectic conditions to say the least. The bunches are loose, the berries thickly skinned. And with its fine powder-perfume, fragranced-flavour tasting profile and lower natural acidity, the grape is suited to do 4 pickings in a season, each 3 days apart. This enables me to capture 4 different ripening stages in 4 different wines, which I ultimately combine to form the final wine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/mcusercontent.com\/20207e7491d110e972ec6af28\/images\/631034d9-45ce-d111-7ada-35bb160f6610.jpg\" alt=\"\" style=\"margin-top: 5px; margin-right: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; float: left;\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis wine was pressed as whole bunches and fermented spontaneously in older oak barrels, amphora and concrete egg shaped fermenters. A year on the lees and voila!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI’ve been making this wine since 2012 and think it's the best vintage to date. The other name for the cultivar is Maria Gomes! Beautiful names!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt sounds like the name of a ruler and his princess; the ruler of never-never land: Your Grace, King Fernão Pires and his beautiful Princess Maria Gomes…\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDon’t be intimidated by the strangeness of the varietal; you don’t have to pronounce it. After all, you are a BLANKBOTTLE client - and a BLANKBOTTLE client “\u003cem\u003ese ma maak nie bang kinders groot nie\u003c\/em\u003e”. It is a gorgeous wine. Be bold and step into the unknown!\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2026-02-25T08:51:24+02:00","created_at":"2026-01-09T14:11:39+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00","vendor":"Blank Bottle","product_type":"Wine","tags":["Fernoa Pires"],"variants":[{"id":56080640606374,"title":"Kortpad Kaaptoe 2025","option1":"Kortpad Kaaptoe 2025","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"8017","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":true,"featured_image":null,"available":true,"price":"250.00","grams":1500,"compare_at_price":null,"position":1,"product_id":15212235489446,"created_at":"2026-01-09T14:11:39+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00"}],"images":[{"id":77099882447014,"created_at":"2026-03-10T06:52:39+02:00","position":1,"updated_at":"2026-03-10T06:52:40+02:00","product_id":15212235489446,"variant_ids":[],"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/8528\/4006\/files\/Blank_Bottle_Kortpad_Kaaptoe_25.png?v=1773118360","width":500,"height":1395}],"options":[{"name":"Title","position":1,"values":["Kortpad Kaaptoe 2025"]}]},{"id":15239878443174,"title":"Seelug 2025","handle":"seelug-2025","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA fresh, elegantly oaked, limey and delicious Chardonnay - more to the serious side of things.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kS-OYmkGS8w?si=r90EnNYqGWL6HT3w\" title=\"YouTube video player\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe Story:\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFirst things first though - some relevant terminologies: Off-shore wind - air movement off-the-shore, into-the-ocean. On-shore wind - air movement from-the-ocean, onto-the-shore. Chop\/wit pertjies \/ white horses - Little waves produced by long distance air movement over large expanses of open ocean surfaces. Sampling - The picking of random grape berries from a vineyard in order to get a representable sample to determine ripeness. Seelug - Sea Air.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne hot day, during the harvest of ’22, I was sampling a little (as yet) un-named Chardonnay vineyard which a good friend had told me about. Situated on the lower slopes of the Helderberg, it overlooks False Bay. Glancing over towards the ocean that day, I could clearly see that the off-shore wind was blowing. This was good news to the Strand local I am, as the elusive off-shore wind grooms the waves, making them perfect for my local surf spot. I made a mental note to get a move-on with my sampling, no time to lose. But 20 minutes later, as I once again raised my head from my berry-picking, grape-squashing exercise, I glanced over the bay. D’oh! (as Homer Simpson would say) - the wind had turned onshore. I could clearly see the tell-tale \"wit perdjies\" on the horizon heading towards shore. In a few minutes the perfectly groomed waves would be destroyed. Deflated, I carried on with the task at hand.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThen, another 20 minutes later it hit me - SEELUG! It suddenly felt like someone was spraying my sun-baked face with a cool, misty oyster extract - a fragrance of fresh, salty, damp bamboo…\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo whilst the onshore might be wrecking waves, it simultaneously pushes the hot air inland and hugs every Chardonnay plant in that vineyard with a fragranced coolness which not many vines ever experience. A fresh, elegantly oaked, limey and delicious Chardonnay - more to the serious side of things.\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2026-05-12T09:27:23+02:00","created_at":"2026-02-25T11:47:14+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00","vendor":"Blank Bottle","product_type":"Wine","tags":["Chardonnay"],"variants":[{"id":56218191331494,"title":"Seelug 2025","option1":"Seelug 2025","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":null,"requires_shipping":true,"taxable":true,"featured_image":null,"available":true,"price":"395.00","grams":1500,"compare_at_price":null,"position":1,"product_id":15239878443174,"created_at":"2026-02-25T11:47:14+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00"}],"images":[{"id":44557868105894,"created_at":"2025-07-21T10:32:05+02:00","position":1,"updated_at":"2025-07-21T10:32:06+02:00","product_id":15239878443174,"variant_ids":[],"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/8528\/4006\/files\/BlankBottleSeelug.png?v=1753086726","width":500,"height":1395}],"options":[{"name":"Title","position":1,"values":["Seelug 2025"]}]},{"id":15240309080230,"title":"Familiemoord 2025","handle":"familiemoord-2025","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFamiliemoord 2025\u003c\/strong\u003e - since the first vintage in 2013, this is the best vintage nature has given me in my winemaking career! A benchmark vintage for me.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis wine is a 100% Grenache Noir from the Piekenierskloof mountains. The 2025 differs slightly from the 2023. The change? We brought in another neighbouring vineyard - an even older one! Small bush-vines planted in weathered sandstone. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca data-encoded-attr-charset=\"dXRmLTg=\" data-encoded-tag-value=\"\" data-encoded-tag-name=\"meta\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA new Behind-the-Harvest Short Film:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePlaying harvest Tetris is an exciting challenge for me - picking 66 vineyards over 100 days at exactly the right time takes a lot of planning. It's not unusual for me to make 2 trips to the Swartland and 1 trip to Elgin in a day - a 540 km round trip (roughly).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhilst I don't particularly mind the driving (great thinking time), waking up long before the birds every morning does kind of lose its charm towards the end of harvest.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSo when, for the second day in a row this harvest, I had to be in Piekenierskloof by 6am (which is a 3-hour drive from my house!), Aneen suggested I sleep over the night before at a friend's remote cottage on the mountain.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSo gesê, so gemaak. And the rest you'll have to see on the short film. Enjoy! Click below!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca data-encoded-attr-charset=\"dXRmLTg=\" data-encoded-tag-value=\"\" data-encoded-tag-name=\"meta\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/neixANMe_c4?si=MbbONI-llGuKlHHf\" title=\"YouTube video player\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e100% Piekenierskloof Grenache Noir - Familiemoord - a wine about the extraordinary but true story of how the police thought I killed my son and buried him in a shallow grave in the vacant property next to our house. The Cape Argus' article on 11 May 2013 about the incident titled “The mystery of the boy in the sandpit” serves as this wine’s label.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Story: October 2013 \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLast night, at 6 pm, my wife's phone rang while I was doing a Pilates session (my wife is a Pilates instructor) in our living room wearing an old t-shirt and pajama pants. It was the lady that moved into our previous house just a few blocks away.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \"Are you OK?\",she asked my wife. \"What's going on in your street? The whole place is full of police\". I ran out into the street and she was right – there were police vans parked bumper to bumper from right in front of our house, right down to the end of the street and around the corner! A yellow police crime-scene ribbon was spun around our neighbouring 7 erf property, police standing almost shoulder to shoulder and people from the area streaming in to get their piece of the action.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/mcusercontent.com\/20207e7491d110e972ec6af28\/images\/4913957e-bdae-d5b5-83a9-7e473b0bc9b0.png\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNow this huge property's been vacant and for sale for many years. It is slightly run down at the moment, and the cause of much concern for the neighbours. \"What's going on?\", I asked my other neighbour. Neighbour: \"No one wants to say\". As I made my way through the crowd, I could see one policeman patrolling the crime scene with the help of his German Shepard. Being the direct neighbour to the property, I was directed to an inspector not dressed in police clothing. \"There's been a murder”, he said. \"Goodness...\" I replied. Inspector: \"Yes, a man allegedly killed a child with a spade and buried him in a shallow grave\".\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Goodness...\" I replied. Me: \"When did this happen?\". It sort of looked like he was getting irritated with me and he reluctantly replied: \"Saturday\". As my mind started to add up a few things (thinking maybe this is where I should just keep silent and walk away), I asked the next question: \"Where did he bury the child?\" Inspector: \"You see where the dog's at? right there\".\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"OOOOPSSSS\", I replied, \"that was me...\" You see, on Saturday I had decided to build a sandpit for my 3 little ones to play in. The closest and most convenient place to get pure white sand from was under the grass of the vacant property right next to me. So I neatly removed blocks of grass with my spade (the size of, come to think of it now, a small grave) until the white sand was exposed. I then dug a hole and transferred the sand to the sand pit on my property, replacing the sand with soil I dug up from the sand pit.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJust before I started to close the 1.5 meter deep hole however, my 7-year-old son, Luca, jumped into the hole and covered himself with soil. I joined in the fun and continued to throw the rest of the soil on him until only his head stuck out. What we didn't notice at that point was the shocked faces of a few boys from the neighbourhood passing on their bikes at that very moment....\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat they didn't see of course, was how Luca then wiggled his way out and I closed the hole and replaced the grass patches - very neatly so that no one could see I was there. These very upset children drove straight home telling the one kid’s mom that a guy with long blonde hair killed a boy with a spade and is busy burying him in a shallow grave, at the vacant property in Brand Street.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInitially she brushed them off, but after a sleepless night with hysterical children, she decided to investigate - and discovered the suspicious shallow grave, just as they said. So she phoned the police who came out to the property and suddenly: CRIME SCENE... Policeman: \"So you are the guy with the long blonde hair!\". I (still dressed in my pajama pants) confirmed the size of my son and he shouted to everyone: \"Pack up guys, we found the suspect\".\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDon't be surprised if my next wine is called \"child killer\" or “sandpit”.\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2026-04-29T11:19:29+02:00","created_at":"2026-02-26T08:57:55+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00","vendor":"Blank Bottle","product_type":"Wine","tags":["Grenache Nior"],"variants":[{"id":56220239855782,"title":"Familiemoord 2025","option1":"Familiemoord 2025","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":null,"requires_shipping":true,"taxable":true,"featured_image":null,"available":false,"price":"345.00","grams":1500,"compare_at_price":null,"position":1,"product_id":15240309080230,"created_at":"2026-02-26T08:57:55+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00"}],"images":[{"id":43876896932006,"created_at":"2025-06-28T08:50:52+02:00","position":1,"updated_at":"2025-06-28T08:50:52+02:00","product_id":15240309080230,"variant_ids":[],"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/8528\/4006\/files\/Blank-Bottle-Familiemoord-23-copy.png?v=1751093452","width":500,"height":1395}],"options":[{"name":"Title","position":1,"values":["Familiemoord 2025"]}]},{"id":15323440087206,"title":"Little William 2025","handle":"little-william-2025","body_html":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLittle William is growing up. With the addition of a new vineyard called “\u003cstrong\u003eAnkerblok\u003c\/strong\u003e”, the trajectory of the wine is changing slightly. Today we are releasing the 2025 vintage - \u003cem\u003eThe future for Little William\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis wine now combines fruit from the original Shiraz vineyard, “\u003cstrong\u003eRivierblok\u003c\/strong\u003e”, with fruit from the newly established “\u003cstrong\u003eAnkerblok\u003c\/strong\u003e” (\u003cem\u003eread the story below\u003c\/em\u003e). And because of that, you can expect a shift. More feminine, more defined and more spicy. A shift in exactly the direction we hoped for.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EnNMtvfu13E?si=BFobKnuDxRLQDQsQ\" title=\"YouTube video player\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003ca data-encoded-tag-name=\"meta\" data-encoded-tag-value=\"\" data-encoded-attr-charset=\"dXRmLTg=\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI don't own land, which means I may never have the opportunity to develop and plant a vineyard on soil that is my own. So when Marguerite MacDonald gave me the go-ahead to expand Little William on her husband Dugald’s family farm in the Koue Bokkeveld, Ceres, I knew this was the opportunity of a lifetime.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003ca data-encoded-tag-name=\"meta\" data-encoded-tag-value=\"\" data-encoded-attr-charset=\"dXRmLTg=\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDuring those COVID years, Francois, Oom David Saayman and I spent hours submerged in holes, assessing soil profiles while the snow-topped mountains surrounded us. Like Oom David said in his own words after his first visit: “hier slaap ‘n haas wat ek nie ken nie”. Oom David, after all, literally wrote the book on South African soils. Marguerite dubbed the vineyard as “Ankerblok”, referring to an old stone fence anchor in the vineyard.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cimg alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/8528\/4006\/files\/Ankerblok_7.png?v=1782311822\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca data-encoded-tag-name=\"meta\" data-encoded-tag-value=\"\" data-encoded-attr-charset=\"dXRmLTg=\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn equal measure, Jaco, Francois and I spent days upon days analysing radiation levels, elevation, exposure, proximity to the ocean, and every other factor that could influence style. Our goal was simple: getting to know every piece of the land - what to plant where?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003ca data-encoded-tag-name=\"meta\" data-encoded-tag-value=\"\" data-encoded-attr-charset=\"dXRmLTg=\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBy 2022, we presented the final vineyard plan to Marguerite's team, and the baton was handed over. The agreement was simple. We provided the software; they provided the hardware being the vines, poles, irrigation, labour and everything required to turn a vision into reality.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003ca data-encoded-tag-name=\"meta\" data-encoded-tag-value=\"\" data-encoded-attr-charset=\"dXRmLTg=\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDirkie, Petrus Nel, Roy Jeffries and 30 muscle men took charge. As the vineyards moved towards their first crop, John took over from Dirkie, and together with Petrus, supported by Francois, Jaco and myself, an enormous amount of time was invested driving back and forth, training teams, implementing systems and fine-tuning every detail of vineyard management.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003ca data-encoded-tag-name=\"meta\" data-encoded-tag-value=\"\" data-encoded-attr-charset=\"dXRmLTg=\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThen came 2025. A banger of a year when it comes to quality.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003ca data-encoded-tag-name=\"meta\" data-encoded-tag-value=\"\" data-encoded-attr-charset=\"dXRmLTg=\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAnd so, with the addition of the Ankerblok vineyard to the original Rivierblok, the trajectory of Little William changed a bit - this is the future of Little William.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003ca data-encoded-tag-name=\"meta\" data-encoded-tag-value=\"\" data-encoded-attr-charset=\"dXRmLTg=\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe style is becoming more defined. More feminine. More spicy. A touch of Old World character combined with South African elegance and sunshine.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003ca data-encoded-tag-name=\"meta\" data-encoded-tag-value=\"\" data-encoded-attr-charset=\"dXRmLTg=\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhen you combine a remarkable vintage with an epic site - something special happens.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003ca data-encoded-tag-name=\"meta\" data-encoded-tag-value=\"\" data-encoded-attr-charset=\"dXRmLTg=\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn the cellar, we have also gradually transitioned the wine into the finest European oak casks we could source. The result is not oak for the sake of oak, but rather another layer of excitement — the glue that binds every piece of “lekkerte” together. The 2025 offers a glimpse into what Little William can become.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis wine is a great example of what Shiraz at 750 m above sea level can do. The wine is named after my chance meeting with a little boy called William on the Witzenberg mountains. It’s been a fascinating story from the start, but became even more bizarre at the end of last year, with another chance meeting.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Story:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003ca data-encoded-attr-charset=\"dXRmLTg=\" data-encoded-tag-value=\"\" data-encoded-tag-name=\"meta\"\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e \u003cspan id=\"about_wine_body\"\u003eIn January 2016, I was driving back from a tiny little vineyard in the Koue Bokkeveld (Ceres Plateau). Cruising along at the 100km\/h speed limit, I came to a very winding stretch of road leading towards the Witzenberg pass. Suddenly, for a split second, I thought I saw something in the middle of the road. I had just come through a super sharp bend and had to jump on the brakes with both feet. When I finally got my 470 000-km-on-the-clock Toyota to stop, there, on the white line in the middle of the road, stood a little blonde boy. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan id=\"about_wine_body\"\u003eI guessed him around a year and a half old. He was in his nappies and had a white T-shirt on, perfectly camouflaged on the white line. Unsure of what to do once I'd taken him out of the road, I thought it a good plan to prompt him and see which direction he takes off in (with myself of course right behind).   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan id=\"about_wine_body\"\u003eAbout 200 meters further along the road he (we) crossed a little bridge heading towards the other side of the canal. He turned up a dirt road which led to a farmhouse about 300 meters up a hill. Keeping up to his snail-like pace, we arrived at the house more or less 10 minutes later (in my experience with farm dogs, it wouldn’t have been wise to carry him). When the gardener saw us approaching, he called out to a woman at the house and judging by her reaction, she must’ve been his mom and he must’ve been missing for a while.   It was a bit of an emotional and chaotic environment so, knowing he was safe, I just turned around and left without introducing myself.   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan id=\"about_wine_body\"\u003eSo each time I present a tasting with Little William wine as part of the line-up, I get the same question: “Why is it called, Little William?”, followed almost without fail by: “What does the family have to say about you calling a wine, Little William?” My answer is always the same: “I never went back, they don't even know the wine exists. But I am convinced there will be this one day where I’d be sitting at some local bar in Knysna, drinking a beer all by myself when the young guy next to me turns to me and introduces himself as William from Ceres.\" And I’ll be able to tell him: “Eendag, lank, lank gelede het hierdie oom jou lewe gered!”   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan id=\"about_wine_body\"\u003eFor 4 years I had the privilege of telling the story of little William. Until last year. When Chapter 2 happened.   In November, we took our youngest son for a minor operation at Panorama Mediclinic, Tygerberg, Cape Town. The lady at reception looked at us with a puzzled look on her face. We later learnt that there had been a mistake on the paperwork and they were under the impression that he was an adult. They had subsequently booked him into an adult ward. The man next to him had drunk a cup of coffee at 6:00am that morning with milk in. His operation therefore had to be postponed and he obviously missed his theatre time slot. He had to wait almost the whole day for the next slot. He and Sebastian eventually left for the theatre at more or less the same time. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan id=\"about_wine_body\"\u003eI went to get us a cup of coffee, and as she always does, Aneen started making conversation with the milk-in-the-coffee guy’s wife. On my return Aneen said: ”They are from Ceres, tell her the little William story.” I cringed, thinking: \"Why would I do that??\" I tried to let her comment slide and filled the awkward silence with useless words. We carried on with the small talk and she ended up telling us that she is a vet and her husband is a farmer. “Where do you farm in Ceres?”, I asked. “In the Witzenberg mountains, on a farm called Blah-blah-blah”, she answered.   And, as you’ve probably guessed by now, that was the name of the farm where I dropped little William that morning. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan id=\"about_wine_body\"\u003eIt started dawning on me that it might be my Knysna-bar-thing moment happening in a totally bizarre, different way. “Do you have a son called William?” I asked. “No”, she replied, “but my nephew is called William and they live on the same farm, in the house next to the road.” We did the sums and he would’ve been exactly 1 and a half years at the time. So it turns out it wasn't a beer-in-hand pub in Knysna, but a coffee-in-hand hospital in Cape Town. I should've listened to Aneen right from the start... so I told her the whole story and she phoned her sister-in-law. “Did you ever lose William on the farm?” she asked (I don’t think that’s the type of story you volunteer to tell your extended family if not prompted). “Yes”, she said. “There was this one day…”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2026-06-24T15:30:17+02:00","created_at":"2026-05-21T09:29:24+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00","vendor":"Blank Bottle","product_type":"Wine","tags":["Syrah"],"variants":[{"id":56505841778854,"title":"Little William 2025","option1":"Little William 2025","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":null,"requires_shipping":true,"taxable":true,"featured_image":null,"available":true,"price":"410.00","grams":1500,"compare_at_price":null,"position":1,"product_id":15323440087206,"created_at":"2026-05-21T09:29:24+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00"}],"images":[{"id":79808242286758,"created_at":"2026-09-09T15:37:51+02:00","position":1,"updated_at":"2026-09-09T15:37:52+02:00","product_id":15323440087206,"variant_ids":[],"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/8528\/4006\/files\/Blank_Bottle_Little_William_22_copy_1.png?v=1788961072","width":500,"height":1395}],"options":[{"name":"Title","position":1,"values":["Little William 2025"]}]},{"id":15261652779174,"title":"Oorbegin 2025","handle":"oorbegin-2025","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA field blend of: over 40 year old Chenin blanc bushvines and young Piquepoul blanc, Petit Manseng, Semillon, Macabeo, Pallomino and Grillo - OORBEGIN (directly translated it means “START-OVER”, referring to a new beginning for the vineyard.) Please listen to the voice note below.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Story:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI received a phone call from a (very excited) good friend and viticulturist Jaco Engelbrecht. He was standing in the veld with one of his clients, Andre du Toit, who had just purchased a farm in the Voor-Paardeberg.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn their walk, they had just stumbled upon a lone vine. Upon further investigation they discovered more vines - growing on the forest floor, into trees etc. The interesting thing was that they seemed to be planted in rows - all pointing to the fact that at some stage this had been a commercial vineyard.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAndre, being the new owner, then phoned up the previous farmer. It then transpired that 40 years before the owner had planted that block of Chenin blanc with the goal of producing grapes for the closest big cooperative winery. He had farmed the vineyard successfully for 15 years, whereafter the crop declined and he had made the decision to stop farming the vineyard, as it hadn’t been financially viable anymore.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut instead of removing the vines, he had just left them there. They grew in the bushes for 25 years. He never pruned or harvested them - they were just completely abandoned, with no irrigation, growing into trees totally in the wild.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe reason for my friend Jaco’s call? They wanted to know if I'd be interested in buying the grapes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd so the project started. Jaco and Andre started by tidying up the vineyard and removing the plants between the vines that were still alive. The vines had not been pruned for 25 years and this resulted in no thick arms like you would get in commercially-farmed bush vine vineyards. They were thin and flimsy. After a very light pruning in winter, the first crop was ready in 2018. We made 1 barrel from the grapes it produced. OORBEGIN (directly translated it means “START-OVER”, referring to a new beginning for the vineyard.)\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2026-04-22T15:56:02+02:00","created_at":"2026-03-11T12:06:43+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00","vendor":"Blank Bottle","product_type":"Wine","tags":[],"variants":[{"id":56270698512550,"title":"Default Title","option1":"Default Title","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":null,"requires_shipping":true,"taxable":true,"featured_image":null,"available":true,"price":"310.00","grams":1500,"compare_at_price":null,"position":1,"product_id":15261652779174,"created_at":"2026-03-11T12:06:43+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00"}],"images":[{"id":44558266532006,"created_at":"2025-07-21T11:03:24+02:00","position":1,"updated_at":"2025-07-21T11:03:26+02:00","product_id":15261652779174,"variant_ids":[],"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/8528\/4006\/files\/BlankBottleOorbegin24.png?v=1753088606","width":500,"height":1395}],"options":[{"name":"Title","position":1,"values":["Default Title"]}]},{"id":15240739029158,"title":"Saint RAND 2025","handle":"saint-rand-2025","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe return of our Pinotage - \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSAINT RAND 2025\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThese raised bush vines grow on the Onder-Rustenberg farm in Firgrove on the outskirts of Somerset West in weathered, well-drained and warm granitic soil. The grapes were\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e100% destemmed with a very quick (not even a week on the skins!) fermentation. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eYou see, when you chew a Pinotage berry skin, the tannins are hectic! Chunky and raw. And the higher the alcohol during fermentation, the more the alcohol extracts tannins.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe solution: a quick fermentation on the skins, and pressed before any bitter tannins are extracted.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSimple? Maybe. Smooth-sailing? Nope. This stubborn South African thoroughbred has been rubbing me the wrong way for wayyyy too long (read below for the full, unfiltered\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eversion), so presenting you with this vintage feels like a personal win.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Story:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/8528\/4006\/files\/e788468d1d4813f97b1728a82d7961c3-zoom.jpg?v=1774516035\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIt’s been a mission. For 8 long years.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSaint Rand 2018 and 2019 were produced from a bush-vine Pinotage growing in\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDarling,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eon the West Coast. As the wine gained momentum, I was convinced I was onto\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003esomething special. Until the farm got sold and the new owner uprooted the vineyard. Just like that - gone.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI then discovered an old Pinotage bush-vine vineyard planted in weathered sandstone on the\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePiekenierskloof\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003emountain range (3.5 hours' drive up the West Coast). For 2\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003econsecutive years we gave it our all. But both years lacked finesse and each year the wine did not pass our internal quality control tasting. So we never bottled anything.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNext up (2021 and 2022) was this beautiful, traditional, trellised vineyard planted in a dry river bed on the lower slopes of the\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMatroosberg\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003emountain catchment area. Both\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ethese vintages were too light in my opinion. Again, no bottling.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAnd then we moved a bit closer to home: the\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHelderberg\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, Stellenbosch. We found a bit of hope and the first vintage made it through all the quality hoops and straight to\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ebottle. Until the new owner uprooted the vineyard. Bam.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWith my tail between my legs, I was left broken and defeated by how our only local grape was treating me, so I decided to call it a day. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAnd then my phone rang: it was Francois, my Boland Landbou boarding school roommate (and vineyard consultant). In\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFirgrove\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, about 100 metres from my winery is a block\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eof raised, bush-vine Pinotage - a vineyard I must’ve driven past at least a thousand times... Francois was looking to find a new buyer for the grapes. So I decided to give it one\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003emore go. And here you have it:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSaint Rand 2025\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e- a wine I am deeply happy with!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe resemblance to the Brazilian novel \"The Alchemist\" where the protagonist travels far, only to discover that the treasure has been within reach all this time, is not lost on\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eme. Right under my nose.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2026-03-26T11:05:20+02:00","created_at":"2026-02-27T10:26:10+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00","vendor":"Blank Bottle","product_type":"Wine","tags":["Pinotage"],"variants":[{"id":56222264950950,"title":"Saint RAND 2025","option1":"Saint RAND 2025","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":null,"requires_shipping":true,"taxable":true,"featured_image":null,"available":true,"price":"345.00","grams":1500,"compare_at_price":null,"position":1,"product_id":15240739029158,"created_at":"2026-02-27T10:26:10+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00"}],"images":[{"id":44114343526566,"created_at":"2025-07-08T22:55:04+02:00","position":1,"updated_at":"2025-07-08T22:55:04+02:00","product_id":15240739029158,"variant_ids":[],"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/8528\/4006\/files\/Saint-Rand_c31b0db5-14b5-41fe-97b0-95b299e12e4b.png?v=1752008104","width":500,"height":1395}],"options":[{"name":"Title","position":1,"values":["Saint RAND 2025"]}]},{"id":15237965938854,"title":"The Pink Bomb 2025","handle":"pink-bomb-2025","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA solid 14.5% alcohol Piekenierskloof Grenache noir Rose, please do not judge the wine by it's alcohol... It is on the high side but the wine is in 100% balance. Fresh as a daisy. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Story:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI am not sure which one of these 2 wines should be crowned “Worst name of all time”, but I would say that our most-popular-story-to-date-wine, “Familiemoord”, is still one short step ahead of \"The Pink BOMB\".\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eToday I am not going to tell you the Familiemoord story again (if you haven’t heard it - \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/blankbottle.co.za\/blank_bottle_wines\/familiemoord-2022\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eplease click here\u003c\/a\u003e). But what you might not be aware of is that Familiemoord and The Pink BOMB are in fact relatives, as in REAL family.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThey both originate from (in my eyes) the most beautiful wine producing area in South Africa. The Piekenierskloof… 235 km drive from my house and +-800m above sea-level. Massively high sun intensity, cool nights, sandstone soils, dry land bush vines - all ingredients for all-time Grenache.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe grapes for both these wines hit the winery at the same time and we subsequently hand sort through about 5% of the total intake. These go as whole bunches to the bottom of a tank, packed around the tap forming a kind of filter\/sieve. We then take the balance of the grapes, remove the stems and crush the berries allowing the juice to flow freely.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs we add the crushed grapes to the tank, we try not to disturb our initial “grapes-whole-bunch-filter\". The purpose of the “filter\" is to block the movement of the skins and pips to only allow the clear juice to flow towards the tap. At this point in time, the juice for the 2 wines get split up and journey on much different paths.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe allow the free run salmon pink juice, destined for The Pink BOMB, to drain from the tap and pump it into older French oak barrels (this process takes roughly 2 days until 70% of the juice is removed). Fermentation takes place in barrel and the wine is aged on the lees for 10 months before bottling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe remaining 30% of the juice in the original tank as well as the skins and pulp then go through fermentation. During this process, the fibers in the pulp break down and the trapped juice is exposed to the skins. The result: an extracted, perfumy, fine tannin, maximum skin vs juice ratio RED called Familiemoord.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDue to the different sugar levels of the free-run juice vs. pulp as well as the difference in fermentation temperature, the 2 wines differ in alcohol with the rosé being slightly higher (hence the name). BUT please note that the Rosé is still fine and delicate. A wine in balance will always be the name of the game.\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2026-04-22T15:59:59+02:00","created_at":"2026-02-20T06:29:52+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00","vendor":"Blank Bottle","product_type":"Wine","tags":[],"variants":[{"id":56208565141670,"title":"Default Title","option1":"Default Title","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":null,"requires_shipping":true,"taxable":true,"featured_image":null,"available":true,"price":"250.00","grams":1500,"compare_at_price":null,"position":1,"product_id":15237965938854,"created_at":"2026-02-20T06:29:52+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00"}],"images":[{"id":44558854389926,"created_at":"2025-07-21T11:38:15+02:00","position":1,"updated_at":"2025-07-21T11:38:16+02:00","product_id":15237965938854,"variant_ids":[],"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/8528\/4006\/files\/BlankBottleThePinkBomb2024.png?v=1753090696","width":500,"height":1395}],"options":[{"name":"Title","position":1,"values":["Default Title"]}]},{"id":15438787707046,"title":"PTSD 2025","handle":"ptsd-2025","body_html":"\u003cp class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\"\u003ePOST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER – this is what my previous winemaker, Stefan Johannes, still suffers from.\u003cspan class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchor\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom 2019 to 2023, he was my assistant in the cellar, helping make 47 different wines from 66 vineyards in a single season.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThey have now bought land in the Swartland – Lammershoek, their new property on the Paardeberg – which he now runs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHis first vintage there? Only two wines: Zwartwater Red and Zwartwater White.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom 47 wines down to 2.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePoor guy... he still suffers from BLANKBOTTLE PTSD.\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2026-08-06T14:56:29+02:00","created_at":"2026-07-27T11:06:44+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00","vendor":"Blank Bottle","product_type":"Wine","tags":["Harslevelű"],"variants":[{"id":56869287133350,"title":"PTSD 2025","option1":"PTSD 2025","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":null,"requires_shipping":true,"taxable":true,"featured_image":null,"available":true,"price":"325.00","grams":1500,"compare_at_price":null,"position":1,"product_id":15438787707046,"created_at":"2026-07-27T11:06:45+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00"}],"images":[{"id":79807959433382,"created_at":"2026-09-09T15:22:26+02:00","position":1,"updated_at":"2026-09-09T15:22:28+02:00","product_id":15438787707046,"variant_ids":[],"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/8528\/4006\/files\/Blank_Bottle_PTSD_2025.png?v=1788960148","width":500,"height":1395}],"options":[{"name":"Title","position":1,"values":["PTSD 2025"]}]},{"id":15214482948262,"title":"Luuks 2025","handle":"luuks-2025","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis is a 100% Stellenbosch Chardonnay.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2026-02-25T08:50:49+02:00","created_at":"2026-01-13T07:25:46+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00","vendor":"Blank Bottle","product_type":"Wine","tags":["Chardonnay"],"variants":[{"id":56089770557606,"title":"Luuks 2025","option1":"Luuks 2025","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"8165","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":true,"featured_image":null,"available":true,"price":"395.00","grams":1500,"compare_at_price":null,"position":1,"product_id":15214482948262,"created_at":"2026-01-13T07:25:47+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00"}],"images":[{"id":44653531037862,"created_at":"2025-07-24T14:45:32+02:00","position":1,"updated_at":"2025-07-24T14:45:33+02:00","product_id":15214482948262,"variant_ids":[],"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/8528\/4006\/files\/BlankbottleLuuks_1.png?v=1753361133","width":500,"height":1395}],"options":[{"name":"Title","position":1,"values":["Luuks 2025"]}]},{"id":15212250661030,"title":"1-Click-Off 2024","handle":"1-click-off-2024","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e100% Pinot Noir from Elgin - In 2012, I was introduced to a lonely, newly-established 3-clone-combination Pinot Noir Vineyard (12.2km North of Kleinmond as the crow flies). Little did I know what lay ahead for me and this little vineyard. See below for the full story...\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Story: \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eI started with a clear vision for this wine - only to miss it completely… hence the original name of the wine: 2-CLICKS-OFF. The ‘13 and ‘14 vintages came and went - either down the drain or to a blend. The vineyard then changed ownership and I was out. Lost the vineyard. It happens from time to time. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI’m a firm believer in letting things takes its natural course but this time round it was different. I had the conviction that the vineyard was mine to make wine of. It just needed to mature a bit. So I decided to fight for it. Like back in the day when my now wife dated one of my friends… I didn’t give up and in harvest 2016 I received the long-awaited phone call: do I still want the Pinot? \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBeing so late in the season, the grapes were over-ripe and the vineyard was in a neglected state. But I knew that it was my chance to get my foot back in the door. After harvest, when the dust had settled, we sat down and had a chat. I immediately sensed a change of heart. André van Wyk, the now fully-committed sole owner, had a vision but wasn't sure how to go about it. He was also aiming for a classic Pinot. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSo I took my cue from George Clooney in the OCEAN-8 movie: I needed a team. I approached a guy called Jaco Engelbrecht of Visual Viticulture - an intensely articulated and passionate guy. I introduced Jaco and Andre and immediately there was the proverbial magic in the air. The game was on!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"margin: 5px 5px 5px 5px; float: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/mcusercontent.com\/20207e7491d110e972ec6af28\/images\/eef310c2-d46f-c308-f08b-fa467ddf0472.jpeg\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/figure\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAndre got so excited that he employed Marthinus and Patric to spend 100% of their time in the vineyard. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWe started to farm (or rather groom) the vineyard intensely. What a journey… In Jaco’s opinion it was going to take 3 years to see results. The goal? To take that 2-clicks-off cannon and slowly pull it into place. Little by little, we nourished the struggling plants by removing any possible competition and nursed them back to life. Reserves were building up bit by bit and we picked the best crop to date. When it landed in the winery, we threw everything at it. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe OCEANS-8 team is of the opinion that we've nailed it. But I disagree. I have a feeling that we are yet to reach the full potential of this prodigal vineyard - and the name of the wine therefore - 1-CLICK-OFF…\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2026-03-11T10:12:11+02:00","created_at":"2026-01-09T14:51:38+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00","vendor":"Blank Bottle","product_type":"Wine","tags":["Pinot Noir"],"variants":[{"id":56080675635366,"title":"1-Click-Off 2024","option1":"1-Click-Off 2024","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"7928","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":true,"featured_image":null,"available":true,"price":"410.00","grams":1500,"compare_at_price":null,"position":1,"product_id":15212250661030,"created_at":"2026-01-09T14:51:38+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00"}],"images":[{"id":44557720944806,"created_at":"2025-07-21T10:21:00+02:00","position":1,"updated_at":"2025-07-21T10:21:02+02:00","product_id":15212250661030,"variant_ids":[],"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/8528\/4006\/files\/BlankBottleClickOff.png?v=1753086062","width":500,"height":1395}],"options":[{"name":"Title","position":1,"values":["1-Click-Off 2024"]}]},{"id":15173477630118,"title":"PIERRE LE COIS 2022 MAGNUM","handle":"pierre-le-cois-2022-magnum","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan id=\"bb_quick_overview\"\u003eThe X-factor - The PIERRE-LE-COIS-EFFECT as I call it. The guy and nowadays often, the girl in the bakkie. The eyes who look holistically at the big picture and apply knowledge and experience within the comfort of like minded wise minds - enabling the application of practices to guide these vines to the ultimate expression of themselves. Season upon season.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2025-11-20T11:53:06+02:00","created_at":"2025-11-20T11:47:20+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00","vendor":"Blank Bottle","product_type":"Wine","tags":["Cabernet Franc","Cabernet Sauvignon","Merlot"],"variants":[{"id":55940177559718,"title":"PIERRE LE COIS 2022","option1":"PIERRE LE COIS 2022","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"8038","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":true,"featured_image":null,"available":false,"price":"810.00","grams":1500,"compare_at_price":null,"position":1,"product_id":15173477630118,"created_at":"2025-11-20T11:47:20+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00"}],"images":[{"id":43877003329702,"created_at":"2025-06-28T08:58:25+02:00","position":1,"updated_at":"2025-06-28T08:58:25+02:00","product_id":15173477630118,"variant_ids":[],"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/8528\/4006\/files\/Blank-Bottle-Pierre-Le-Cois-21_c54a7113-930e-4c6f-835c-fe75aa150eac.png?v=1751093905","width":500,"height":1395}],"options":[{"name":"Title","position":1,"values":["PIERRE LE COIS 2022"]}]},{"id":8600888705190,"title":"My Koffer Magnum 2024","handle":"my-koffer-magnum-2024","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis wine articulates the work ethic of Bruno and the commitment of Carlo Suter - the Swiss rooted Breedekloof farming family. Mykoffer - a straight Breedekloof Cinsaut - with cherries and strawberries, it has a feminine elegance to it with a surprisingly intense personality - So with all the emotions connected to a first love, I present “My TASSENBERG”, “My TAS\" - BLANKbottle Mykoffer - a suitcase full of memories.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe Story:\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs we move along in this adventure called life, we're (hopefully) increasingly exposed to fine and fascinating wines. We forget quickly and the days of getting excited when opening a bottle of Tassenberg is long gone. So it was then that in February 1994 I walked into Western Cape Liquor Store in Stellenbosch and bought my first bottle of TAS for R3.50. In the (student) years to follow, I partook in a lot of Tassenberg drinking (to put it mildly).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll that drinking gave me ample opportunity for reflection and I came to the conclusion that I wasn't particularly fond of the whole wine, but there was one flavour component in the wine which I loved. That flavour component reminded me of fresh strawberries - a sweet, green, wholesome sort of freshness.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1997 I completed a month-long harvest stint in the (then) capital city of Tassenberg - Eersterivier Wine Cellar, Stellenbosch. We literally made hundreds of thousands of litres of Tassenberg. This is where the light went on for me and I finally identified the grape which produces my mysterious fresh strawberry component. It was Cinsaut! Ever since then I’d had the dream of producing a Cinsaut that tastes exactly the way I would like to remember TAS. The first straight Cinsaut I bottled was in 2007 - a Wellington Cinsaut as part of the Educational Range. The wine was good but not exactly the style I was after.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot long thereafter, I received a tip-off from a well-respected winemaker friend about a little Cinsaut vineyard located in the lesser-known Breedekloof Valley. At that stage, the grapes went to a big cooperative winery where it basically disappeared into cheap red blends. So I took the plunge and bought some grapes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis wine articulates the work ethic of Bruno and the commitment of Carlo Suter - the Swiss rooted Breedekloof farming family - a straight Breedekloof Cinsaut - with cherries and strawberries, it has a feminine elegance to it with a surprisingly intense personality - So with all the emotions connected to a first love, I present “My TASSENBERG”, “My TAS\" - BLANKbottle Mykoffer - a suitcase full of memories.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e","published_at":"2025-10-09T08:08:24+02:00","created_at":"2025-10-09T08:06:50+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00","vendor":"Blank Bottle","product_type":"Wine","tags":["Cinsault"],"variants":[{"id":46735268020390,"title":"My Koffer Magnum 2024","option1":"My Koffer Magnum 2024","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"8169","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":true,"featured_image":null,"available":true,"price":"750.00","grams":3000,"compare_at_price":null,"position":1,"product_id":8600888705190,"created_at":"2025-10-09T08:06:50+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00"}],"images":[{"id":44557793984678,"created_at":"2025-07-21T10:26:07+02:00","position":1,"updated_at":"2025-07-21T10:26:09+02:00","product_id":8600888705190,"variant_ids":[],"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/8528\/4006\/files\/BlankBottleMyKoffer24.png?v=1753086369","width":500,"height":1395}],"options":[{"name":"Title","position":1,"values":["My Koffer Magnum 2024"]}]},{"id":8598154838182,"title":"Little William Magnum 2022","handle":"little-william-magnum-2022","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis wine is a great example of what Shiraz at 750 m above sea level can do. The wine is named after my chance meeting with a little boy called William on the Witzenberg mountains. It’s been a fascinating story from the start, but became even more bizarre at the end of last year, with another chance meeting.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EnNMtvfu13E?si=BFobKnuDxRLQDQsQ\" title=\"YouTube video player\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Story:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003cspan id=\"about_wine_body\"\u003eIn January 2016, I was driving back from a tiny little vineyard in the Koue Bokkeveld (Ceres Plateau). Cruising along at the 100km\/h speed limit, I came to a very winding stretch of road leading towards the Witzenberg pass. Suddenly, for a split second, I thought I saw something in the middle of the road. I had just come through a super sharp bend and had to jump on the brakes with both feet. When I finally got my 470 000-km-on-the-clock Toyota to stop, there, on the white line in the middle of the road, stood a little blonde boy. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan id=\"about_wine_body\"\u003eI guessed him around a year and a half old. He was in his nappies and had a white T-shirt on, perfectly camouflaged on the white line. Unsure of what to do once I'd taken him out of the road, I thought it a good plan to prompt him and see which direction he takes off in (with myself of course right behind).   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan id=\"about_wine_body\"\u003eAbout 200 meters further along the road he (we) crossed a little bridge heading towards the other side of the canal. He turned up a dirt road which led to a farmhouse about 300 meters up a hill. Keeping up to his snail-like pace, we arrived at the house more or less 10 minutes later (in my experience with farm dogs, it wouldn’t have been wise to carry him). When the gardener saw us approaching, he called out to a woman at the house and judging by her reaction, she must’ve been his mom and he must’ve been missing for a while.   It was a bit of an emotional and chaotic environment so, knowing he was safe, I just turned around and left without introducing myself.   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan id=\"about_wine_body\"\u003eSo each time I present a tasting with Little William wine as part of the line-up, I get the same question: “Why is it called, Little William?”, followed almost without fail by: “What does the family have to say about you calling a wine, Little William?” My answer is always the same: “I never went back, they don't even know the wine exists. But I am convinced there will be this one day where I’d be sitting at some local bar in Knysna, drinking a beer all by myself when the young guy next to me turns to me and introduces himself as William from Ceres.\" And I’ll be able to tell him: “Eendag, lank, lank gelede het hierdie oom jou lewe gered!”   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan id=\"about_wine_body\"\u003eFor 4 years I had the privilege of telling the story of little William. Until last year. When Chapter 2 happened.   In November, we took our youngest son for a minor operation at Panorama Mediclinic, Tygerberg, Cape Town. The lady at reception looked at us with a puzzled look on her face. We later learnt that there had been a mistake on the paperwork and they were under the impression that he was an adult. They had subsequently booked him into an adult ward. The man next to him had drunk a cup of coffee at 6:00am that morning with milk in. His operation therefore had to be postponed and he obviously missed his theatre time slot. He had to wait almost the whole day for the next slot. He and Sebastian eventually left for the theatre at more or less the same time. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan id=\"about_wine_body\"\u003eI went to get us a cup of coffee, and as she always does, Aneen started making conversation with the milk-in-the-coffee guy’s wife. On my return Aneen said: ”They are from Ceres, tell her the little William story.” I cringed, thinking: \"Why would I do that??\" I tried to let her comment slide and filled the awkward silence with useless words. We carried on with the small talk and she ended up telling us that she is a vet and her husband is a farmer. “Where do you farm in Ceres?”, I asked. “In the Witzenberg mountains, on a farm called Blah-blah-blah”, she answered.   And, as you’ve probably guessed by now, that was the name of the farm where I dropped little William that morning. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan id=\"about_wine_body\"\u003eIt started dawning on me that it might be my Knysna-bar-thing moment happening in a totally bizarre, different way. “Do you have a son called William?” I asked. “No”, she replied, “but my nephew is called William and they live on the same farm, in the house next to the road.” We did the sums and he would’ve been exactly 1 and a half years at the time. So it turns out it wasn't a beer-in-hand pub in Knysna, but a coffee-in-hand hospital in Cape Town. I should've listened to Aneen right from the start... so I told her the whole story and she phoned her sister-in-law. “Did you ever lose William on the farm?” she asked (I don’t think that’s the type of story you volunteer to tell your extended family if not prompted). “Yes”, she said. “There was this one day…”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2025-10-07T09:48:51+02:00","created_at":"2025-10-06T11:17:50+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00","vendor":"Blank Bottle","product_type":"Wine","tags":["Syrah"],"variants":[{"id":46725938577574,"title":"Little William 2022","option1":"Little William 2022","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"6956","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":true,"featured_image":null,"available":false,"price":"775.00","grams":1500,"compare_at_price":null,"position":1,"product_id":8598154838182,"created_at":"2025-10-06T11:17:50+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00"}],"images":[{"id":43876943462566,"created_at":"2025-06-28T08:54:19+02:00","position":1,"updated_at":"2025-06-28T08:54:19+02:00","product_id":8598154838182,"variant_ids":[],"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/8528\/4006\/files\/Blank-Bottle-Little-William-21.png?v=1751093659","width":500,"height":1395}],"options":[{"name":"Title","position":1,"values":["Little William 2022"]}]},{"id":8598153298086,"title":"Familiemoord Magnum 2023","handle":"familiemoord-magnum-2023","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e100% Piekenierskloof Grenache Noir -2013, I released a wine called Familiemoord - a wine about the extraordinary but true story of how the police thought I killed my son and buried him in a shallow grave in the vacant property next to our house. The Cape Argus' article on 11 May 2013 about the incident titled “The mystery of the boy in the sandpit” serves as this wine’s label.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Story:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003cspan id=\"about_wine_body\"\u003eOctober 2013 Last night, at 6 pm, my wife's phone rang while I was doing a Pilates session (my wife is a Pilates instructor) in our living room wearing an old t-shirt and pajama pants. It was the lady that moved into our previous house just a few blocks away. \"Are you OK?\",she asked my wife. \"What's going on in your street? The whole place is full of police\". \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan id=\"about_wine_body\"\u003eI ran out into the street and she was right – there were police vans parked bumper to bumper from right in front of our house, right down to the end of the street and around the corner! A yellow police crime-scene ribbon was spun around our neighbouring 7 erf property, police standing almost shoulder to shoulder and people from the area streaming in to get their piece of the action. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan id=\"about_wine_body\"\u003eNow this huge property's been vacant and for sale for many years. It is slightly run down at the moment, and the cause of much concern for the neighbours. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan id=\"about_wine_body\"\u003e\"What's going on?\", I asked my other neighbour. Neighbour: \"No one wants to say\". As I made my way through the crowd, I could see one policeman patrolling the crime scene with the help of his German Shepard. Being the direct neighbour to the property, I was directed to an inspector not dressed in police clothing. \"There's been a murder”, he said. \"Goodness...\" I replied. Inspector: \"Yes, a man allegedly killed a child with a spade and buried him in a shallow grave\". \"Goodness...\" I replied. Me: \"When did this happen?\". It sort of looked like he was getting irritated with me and he reluctantly replied: \"Saturday\".\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan id=\"about_wine_body\"\u003e As my mind started to add up a few things (thinking maybe this is where I should just keep silent and walk away), I asked the next question: \"Where did he bury the child?\" Inspector: \"You see where the dog's at? right there\". \"OOOOPSSSS\", I replied, \"that was me...\" \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan id=\"about_wine_body\"\u003eYou see, on Saturday I had decided to build a sandpit for my 3 little ones to play in. The closest and most convenient place to get pure white sand from was under the grass of the vacant property right next to me. So I neatly removed blocks of grass with my spade (the size of, come to think of it now, a small grave) until the white sand was exposed. I then dug a hole and transferred the sand to the sand pit on my property, replacing the sand with soil I dug up from the sand pit. Just before I started to close the 1.5 meter deep hole however, my 7-year-old son, Luca, jumped into the hole and covered himself with soil. I joined in the fun and continued to throw the rest of the soil on him until only his head stuck out. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan id=\"about_wine_body\"\u003eWhat we didn't notice at that point was the shocked faces of a few boys from the neighbourhood passing on their bikes at that very moment.... What they didn't see of course, was how Luca then wiggled his way out and I closed the hole and replaced the grass patches - very neatly so that no one could see I was there. These very upset children drove straight home telling the one kid’s mom that a guy with long blonde hair killed a boy with a spade and is busy burying him in a shallow grave, at the vacant property in Brand Street. Initially she brushed them off, but after a sleepless night with hysterical children, she decided to investigate - and discovered the suspicious shallow grave, just as they said. So she phoned the police who came out to the property and suddenly: CRIME SCENE... \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan id=\"about_wine_body\"\u003ePoliceman: \"So you are the guy with the long blonde hair!\". I (still dressed in my pajama pants) confirmed the size of my son and he shouted to everyone: \"Pack up guys, we found the suspect\". Don't be surprised if my next wine is called \"child killer\" or “sandpit”.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2025-10-07T10:01:38+02:00","created_at":"2025-10-06T11:16:01+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00","vendor":"Blank Bottle","product_type":"Wine","tags":["Grenache Nior"],"variants":[{"id":46725936349350,"title":"Familiemoord 2023","option1":"Familiemoord 2023","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"7874","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":true,"featured_image":null,"available":false,"price":"655.00","grams":1500,"compare_at_price":null,"position":1,"product_id":8598153298086,"created_at":"2025-10-06T11:16:01+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00"}],"images":[{"id":43876896932006,"created_at":"2025-06-28T08:50:52+02:00","position":1,"updated_at":"2025-06-28T08:50:52+02:00","product_id":8598153298086,"variant_ids":[],"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/8528\/4006\/files\/Blank-Bottle-Familiemoord-23-copy.png?v=1751093452","width":500,"height":1395}],"options":[{"name":"Title","position":1,"values":["Familiemoord 2023"]}]},{"id":8598150283430,"title":"Familiemoord Magnum 2024","handle":"familiemoord-magnum-2024","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e100% Piekenierskloof Grenache Noir - Familiemoord - a wine about the extraordinary but true story of how the police thought I killed my son and buried him in a shallow grave in the vacant property next to our house. The Cape Argus' article on 11 May 2013 about the incident titled “The mystery of the boy in the sandpit” serves as this wine’s label.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Story: October 2013 \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLast night, at 6 pm, my wife's phone rang while I was doing a Pilates session (my wife is a Pilates instructor) in our living room wearing an old t-shirt and pajama pants. It was the lady that moved into our previous house just a few blocks away.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \"Are you OK?\",she asked my wife. \"What's going on in your street? The whole place is full of police\". I ran out into the street and she was right – there were police vans parked bumper to bumper from right in front of our house, right down to the end of the street and around the corner! A yellow police crime-scene ribbon was spun around our neighbouring 7 erf property, police standing almost shoulder to shoulder and people from the area streaming in to get their piece of the action.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/mcusercontent.com\/20207e7491d110e972ec6af28\/images\/4913957e-bdae-d5b5-83a9-7e473b0bc9b0.png\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNow this huge property's been vacant and for sale for many years. It is slightly run down at the moment, and the cause of much concern for the neighbours. \"What's going on?\", I asked my other neighbour. Neighbour: \"No one wants to say\". As I made my way through the crowd, I could see one policeman patrolling the crime scene with the help of his German Shepard. Being the direct neighbour to the property, I was directed to an inspector not dressed in police clothing. \"There's been a murder”, he said. \"Goodness...\" I replied. Inspector: \"Yes, a man allegedly killed a child with a spade and buried him in a shallow grave\".\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Goodness...\" I replied. Me: \"When did this happen?\". It sort of looked like he was getting irritated with me and he reluctantly replied: \"Saturday\". As my mind started to add up a few things (thinking maybe this is where I should just keep silent and walk away), I asked the next question: \"Where did he bury the child?\" Inspector: \"You see where the dog's at? right there\".\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"OOOOPSSSS\", I replied, \"that was me...\" You see, on Saturday I had decided to build a sandpit for my 3 little ones to play in. The closest and most convenient place to get pure white sand from was under the grass of the vacant property right next to me. So I neatly removed blocks of grass with my spade (the size of, come to think of it now, a small grave) until the white sand was exposed. I then dug a hole and transferred the sand to the sand pit on my property, replacing the sand with soil I dug up from the sand pit.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJust before I started to close the 1.5 meter deep hole however, my 7-year-old son, Luca, jumped into the hole and covered himself with soil. I joined in the fun and continued to throw the rest of the soil on him until only his head stuck out. What we didn't notice at that point was the shocked faces of a few boys from the neighbourhood passing on their bikes at that very moment....\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat they didn't see of course, was how Luca then wiggled his way out and I closed the hole and replaced the grass patches - very neatly so that no one could see I was there. These very upset children drove straight home telling the one kid’s mom that a guy with long blonde hair killed a boy with a spade and is busy burying him in a shallow grave, at the vacant property in Brand Street.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInitially she brushed them off, but after a sleepless night with hysterical children, she decided to investigate - and discovered the suspicious shallow grave, just as they said. So she phoned the police who came out to the property and suddenly: CRIME SCENE... Policeman: \"So you are the guy with the long blonde hair!\". I (still dressed in my pajama pants) confirmed the size of my son and he shouted to everyone: \"Pack up guys, we found the suspect\".\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDon't be surprised if my next wine is called \"child killer\" or “sandpit”.\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2025-10-07T09:43:29+02:00","created_at":"2025-10-06T11:12:28+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00","vendor":"Blank Bottle","product_type":"Wine","tags":["Grenache Nior"],"variants":[{"id":46725932941478,"title":"Familiemoord 2024","option1":"Familiemoord 2024","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"8170","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":true,"featured_image":null,"available":false,"price":"630.00","grams":1500,"compare_at_price":null,"position":1,"product_id":8598150283430,"created_at":"2025-10-06T11:12:28+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00"}],"images":[{"id":43876896932006,"created_at":"2025-06-28T08:50:52+02:00","position":1,"updated_at":"2025-06-28T08:50:52+02:00","product_id":8598150283430,"variant_ids":[],"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/8528\/4006\/files\/Blank-Bottle-Familiemoord-23-copy.png?v=1751093452","width":500,"height":1395}],"options":[{"name":"Title","position":1,"values":["Familiemoord 2024"]}]},{"id":8598145040550,"title":"Familiemoord Magnum 2022","handle":"familiemoord-magnum-2022","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan id=\"bb_quick_overview\"\u003e100% Piekenierskloof Grenache Noir \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan id=\"bb_quick_overview\"\u003e- In 2013, I released a wine called Familiemoord - a wine about the extraordinary but true story of how the police thought I killed my son and buried him in a shallow grave in the vacant property next to our house. The Cape Argus' article on 11 May 2013 about the incident titled “The mystery of the boy in the sandpit” serves as this wine’s label.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Story:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOctober 2013\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLast night, at 6 pm, my wife's phone rang while I was doing a Pilates session (my wife is a Pilates instructor) in our living room wearing an old t-shirt and pajama pants. It was the lady that moved into our previous house just a few blocks away. \"Are you OK?\",she asked my wife. \"What's going on in your street? The whole place is full of police!\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI ran out into the street and she was right – there were police vans parked bumper to bumper from right in front of our house, right down to the end of the street and around the corner! A yellow police crime-scene ribbon was spun around our neighbouring 7 erf property, police standing almost shoulder to shoulder and people from the area streaming in to get their piece of the action.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNow this huge property's been vacant and for sale for many years. It is slightly run down at the moment, and the cause of much concern for the neighbours. \"What's going on?\", I asked my other neighbour. Neighbour: \"No one wants to say\". As I made my way through the crowd, I could see one policeman patrolling the crime scene with the help of his German Shepard. Being the direct neighbour to the property, I was directed to an inspector not dressed in police clothing. \"There's been a murder”, he said. \"Goodness...\" I replied. Inspector: \"Yes, a man allegedly killed a child with a spade and buried him in a shallow grave\". \"Goodness...\" I replied. Me: \"When did this happen?\". It sort of looked like he was getting irritated with me and he reluctantly replied: \"Saturday\".\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs my mind started to add up a few things (thinking maybe this is where I should just keep silent and walk away), I asked the next question: \"Where did he bury the child?\" Inspector: \"You see where the dog's at? right there\". \"OOOOPSSSS\", I replied, \"that was me...\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou see, on Saturday I had decided to build a sandpit for my 3 little ones to play in. The closest and most convenient place to get pure white sand from was under the grass of the vacant property right next to me. So I neatly removed blocks of grass with my spade (the size of, come to think of it now, a small grave) until the white sand was exposed. I then dug a hole and transferred the sand to the sand pit on my property, replacing the sand with soil I dug up from the sand pit. Just before I started to close the 1.5 meter deep hole however, my 7-year-old son, Luca, jumped into the hole and covered himself with soil. I joined in the fun and continued to throw the rest of the soil on him until only his head stuck out.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat we didn't notice at that point was the shocked faces of a few boys from the neighbourhood passing on their bikes at that very moment.... What they didn't see of course, was how Luca then wiggled his way out and I closed the hole and replaced the grass patches - very neatly so that no one could see I was there. These very upset children drove straight home telling the one kid’s mom that a guy with long blonde hair killed a boy with a spade and is busy burying him in a shallow grave, at the vacant property in Brand Street. Initially she brushed them off, but after a sleepless night with hysterical children, she decided to investigate - and discovered the suspicious shallow grave, just as they said.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo she phoned the police who came out to the property and suddenly: CRIME SCENE... Policeman: \"So you are the guy with the long blonde hair!\". I (still dressed in my pajama pants) confirmed the size of my son and he shouted to everyone: \"Pack up guys, we found the suspect\". Don't be surprised if my next wine is called \"child killer\" or “sandpit”.\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2025-10-07T10:05:02+02:00","created_at":"2025-10-06T11:06:35+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00","vendor":"Blank Bottle","product_type":"Wine","tags":["Grenache Nior"],"variants":[{"id":46725923602598,"title":"Familiemoord 2022","option1":"Familiemoord 2022","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"6647","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":true,"featured_image":null,"available":false,"price":"681.00","grams":1500,"compare_at_price":null,"position":1,"product_id":8598145040550,"created_at":"2025-10-06T11:06:36+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00"}],"images":[{"id":43876896669862,"created_at":"2025-06-28T08:50:48+02:00","position":1,"updated_at":"2025-06-28T08:50:48+02:00","product_id":8598145040550,"variant_ids":[],"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/8528\/4006\/files\/Blankbottle-Familiemoord-22.png?v=1751093448","width":500,"height":1395}],"options":[{"name":"Title","position":1,"values":["Familiemoord 2022"]}]},{"id":8598131835046,"title":"Orbitofrontal Cortex Magnum 2024","handle":"orbitofrontal-cortex-magnum-2024","body_html":"\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA white blend according to my conscious mind, named after the scientific name for the part of your brain where conscious decisions are made - Inspired by LIMBIC 2015 (a wine from my subconscious). 12 Varietals from 17 sites all over the Western Cape.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eORBITOFRONTAL CORTEX - named after the part of your brain where conscious decisions are made.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe story behind the origin of ORBITOFRONTAL CORTEX:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn October 2015 I was sitting on a plane heading to Joburg, next to a guy who was (or so it seemed) plugged into his computer with wires and stuff. It looked like he was communicating with the machine in a way. When we had landed I asked him what on earth he was doing. He told me that he and his clinical psychologist business partner had started a marketing company called Neural Sense, based in Cape Town.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThey conduct market research by tapping into people's subconscious reactions to various inputs. I love weird things, so I told him I make wine and if ever he wanted to do something with wine he was welcome to get in contact. And he did. Three months later I was sitting at the table in my winery hooked onto machines. All my subconscious reactions (in the LIMBIC part of my brain) to each of the 21 components were to be measured and recorded - a camera looking me in the eyes (for eye reactions), a thing on my finger (for blood oxygen levels), a heart rate monitor on my chest, something on my arm (for arousal levels e.g. heat\/sweat) and a mobile EEG device on my head (for monitoring my brain waves).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt was the time of year where I had to make up final blends and I was sitting with 21 different white wine components in barrel, which were ready for blending and bottling. They were all different varietals from different areas and vineyards. So my assistant winemaker, Julia, took samples from all the barrels and put them into glasses, which my wife marked from 1 to 21. For each wine I would first close my eyes, then open them and they would start recording with the camera, hand me any wine and prompt me to nose, taste and spit - constantly monitoring and recording my heart rate, blood stuff and activity in my subconscious.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOf course I can’t control my subconscious - before I think of reacting, I already had. We tasted through all 21 wines. I obviously spat, washed my mouth with water in between and we even did a few with clean water in my mouth and used that as a control or base reaction. This process took a whole day. I like to call it work. Their job was now to analyse the data. The way I understand it is that they look at all the parts of my brain that reacted, compare it with all the other blood and heart monitors and then work out with mathematical algorithm what I liked and disliked.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe analysis of the data took months, so in the meantime Julia and I decided to blend a control - the best possible white blend from the same 21 parcels - making use of our conscious mind; the ORBITOFRONTAL CORTEX. When the results came, the two wines were so different! We blended both and bottled the 2 wines. Please note - we are NOT trying to prove something with this experiment. We were just trying to have fun. And we did… So,\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLIMBIC 2015 - Wellington Chenin blanc, Darling Chenin blanc, Swartland Clairette blanche, Upper Hemel and Aarde Pinot Gris and Stellenbosch Viognier And\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eORBITO FRONTAL CORTEX 2015 - Piekenierskloof Grenache blanc, Swartland Clairette blanche, Swartland Fernão Pires, Elgin Semillon and Voor Paardeberg Verdelho. The label: The face of the person I did as a linocut. Printed with black block ink. Printed on organic paper and hand labeled.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e","published_at":"2025-10-07T09:45:31+02:00","created_at":"2025-10-06T10:54:40+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00","vendor":"Blank Bottle","product_type":"Wine","tags":["Chardonnay","Chenin Blanc","Clairette Blanche","Grenache Gris","Marsanne","Roussanne","Semillon","Verdelho","Weisser Riesling"],"variants":[{"id":46725876613286,"title":"Orbitofrontal Cortex 2024","option1":"Orbitofrontal Cortex 2024","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"8167","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":true,"featured_image":null,"available":false,"price":"660.00","grams":1500,"compare_at_price":null,"position":1,"product_id":8598131835046,"created_at":"2025-10-06T10:54:40+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00"}],"images":[{"id":44557844545702,"created_at":"2025-07-21T10:30:05+02:00","position":1,"updated_at":"2025-07-21T10:30:06+02:00","product_id":8598131835046,"variant_ids":[],"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/8528\/4006\/files\/BlankBottleOrbitofFrontCortex24.png?v=1753086606","width":500,"height":1395}],"options":[{"name":"Title","position":1,"values":["Orbitofrontal Cortex 2024"]}]},{"id":8598125674662,"title":"My Koffer Magnum 2023","handle":"my-koffer-magnum-2023","body_html":"\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis wine articulates the work ethic of Bruno and the commitment of Carlo Suter - the Swiss rooted Breedekloof farming family. Mykoffer 2023 - a straight Breedekloof Cinsaut - with cherries and strawberries, it has a feminine elegance to it with a surprisingly intense personality - So with all the emotions connected to a first love, I present “My TASSENBERG”, “My TAS\" - BLANKbottle Mykoffer - a suitcase full of memories.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Story:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs we move along in this adventure called life, we're (hopefully) increasingly exposed to fine and fascinating wines. We forget quickly and the days of getting excited when opening a bottle of Tassenberg is long gone. So it was then that in February 1994 I walked into Western Cape Liquor Store in Stellenbosch and bought my first bottle of TAS for R3.50. In the (student) years to follow, I partook in a lot of Tassenberg drinking (to put it mildly).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll that drinking gave me ample opportunity for reflection and I came to the conclusion that I wasn't particularly fond of the whole wine, but there was one flavour component in the wine which I loved. That flavour component reminded me of fresh strawberries - a sweet, green, wholesome sort of freshness.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1997 I completed a month-long harvest stint in the (then) capital city of Tassenberg - Eersterivier Wine Cellar, Stellenbosch. We literally made hundreds of thousands of litres of Tassenberg. This is where the light went on for me and I finally identified the grape which produces my mysterious fresh strawberry component. It was Cinsaut! Ever since then I’d had the dream of producing a Cinsaut that tastes exactly the way I would like to remember TAS. The first straight Cinsaut I bottled was in 2007 - a Wellington Cinsaut as part of the Educational Range. The wine was good but not exactly the style I was after.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot long thereafter, I received a tip-off from a well-respected winemaker friend about a little Cinsaut vineyard located in the lesser-known Breedekloof Valley. At that stage, the grapes went to a big cooperative winery where it basically disappeared into cheap red blends. So I took the plunge and bought some grapes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis wine articulates the work ethic of Bruno and the commitment of Carlo Suter - the Swiss rooted Breedekloof farming family. Mykoffer - a straight Breedekloof Cinsaut - with cherries and strawberries, it has a feminine elegance to it with a surprisingly intense personality - So with all the emotions connected to a first love, I present “My TASSENBERG”, “My TAS\" - BLANKbottle Mykoffer - a suitcase full of memories.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e","published_at":"2025-10-07T09:57:44+02:00","created_at":"2025-10-06T10:50:57+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00","vendor":"Blank Bottle","product_type":"Wine","tags":["Cinsault"],"variants":[{"id":46725861736614,"title":"My Koffer 2023","option1":"My Koffer 2023","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"7931","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":true,"featured_image":null,"available":false,"price":"660.00","grams":1500,"compare_at_price":null,"position":1,"product_id":8598125674662,"created_at":"2025-10-06T10:50:58+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00"}],"images":[{"id":43876970758310,"created_at":"2025-06-28T08:56:32+02:00","position":1,"updated_at":"2025-06-28T08:56:32+02:00","product_id":8598125674662,"variant_ids":[],"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/8528\/4006\/files\/Blank-Bottle-My-Koffer-2023_ff6bb974-569e-4359-9268-0bac5de34518.png?v=1751093792","width":500,"height":1395}],"options":[{"name":"Title","position":1,"values":["My Koffer 2023"]}]},{"id":8598113255590,"title":"My Koffer Magnum 2022","handle":"my-koffer-2022-magnum","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis wine articulates the work ethic of Bruno and the commitment of Carlo Suter - the Swiss rooted Breedekloof farming family. Today, 12 vintages down the line, I’m releasing the new Mykoffer 2022 - a straight Breedekloof Cinsaut - with cherries and strawberries, it has a feminine elegance to it with a surprisingly intense personality - So with all the emotions connected to a first love, I present “My TASSENBERG”, “My TAS\" - BLANKbottle Mykoffer - a suitcase full of memories.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe Story:\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs we move along in this adventure called life, we're (hopefully) increasingly exposed to fine and fascinating wines. We forget quickly and the days of getting excited when opening a bottle of Tassenberg is long gone. So it was then that in February 1994 I walked into Western Cape Liquor Store in Stellenbosch and bought my first bottle of TAS for R3.50. In the (student) years to follow, I partook in a lot of Tassenberg drinking (to put it mildly).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll that drinking gave me ample opportunity for reflection and I came to the conclusion that I wasn't particularly fond of the whole wine, but there was one flavour component in the wine which I loved. That flavour component reminded me of fresh strawberries - a sweet, green, wholesome sort of freshness.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1997 I completed a month-long harvest stint in the (then) capital city of Tassenberg - Eersterivier Wine Cellar, Stellenbosch. We literally made hundreds of thousands of litres of Tassenberg. This is where the light went on for me and I finally identified the grape which produces my mysterious fresh strawberry component. It was Cinsaut! Ever since then I’d had the dream of producing a Cinsaut that tastes exactly the way I would like to remember TAS. The first straight Cinsaut I bottled was in 2007 - a Wellington Cinsaut as part of the Educational Range. The wine was good but not exactly the style I was after.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot long thereafter, I received a tip-off from a well-respected winemaker friend about a little Cinsaut vineyard located in the lesser-known Breedekloof Valley. At that stage, the grapes went to a big cooperative winery where it basically disappeared into cheap red blends. So I took the plunge and bought some grapes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e\u003c!-- wp:paragraph --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis wine articulates the work ethic of Bruno and the commitment of Carlo Suter - the Swiss rooted Breedekloof farming family - with cherries and strawberries, it has a feminine elegance to it with a surprisingly intense personality - So with all the emotions connected to a first love, I present “My TASSENBERG”, “My TAS\" - BLANKbottle Mykoffer - a suitcase full of memories.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \/wp:paragraph --\u003e","published_at":"2025-10-07T10:00:44+02:00","created_at":"2025-10-06T10:46:48+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00","vendor":"Blank Bottle","product_type":"Wine","tags":["Cinsault"],"variants":[{"id":46725842993318,"title":"My Koffer 2022","option1":"My Koffer 2022","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"6680","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":true,"featured_image":null,"available":true,"price":"750.00","grams":1500,"compare_at_price":null,"position":1,"product_id":8598113255590,"created_at":"2025-10-06T10:46:48+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00"}],"images":[{"id":43876969939110,"created_at":"2025-06-28T08:56:30+02:00","position":1,"updated_at":"2025-06-28T08:56:30+02:00","product_id":8598113255590,"variant_ids":[],"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/8528\/4006\/files\/Blank-Bottle-My-Koffer-22.png?v=1751093790","width":500,"height":1395}],"options":[{"name":"Title","position":1,"values":["My Koffer 2022"]}]},{"id":8540355952806,"title":"Makstokkie 2024","handle":"makstokkie-2024","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan id=\"bb_quick_overview\"\u003eThis is a Swartland 100% Verdelho. This wine sold out so quickly I haven't even had a chance to do a complete write-up...\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2025-08-15T12:40:21+02:00","created_at":"2025-07-31T15:39:06+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00","vendor":"Blank Bottle","product_type":"Wine","tags":["Verdelho"],"variants":[{"id":46549361885350,"title":"Makstokkie 2024","option1":"Makstokkie 2024","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"7958","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":true,"featured_image":null,"available":false,"price":"0.00","grams":1500,"compare_at_price":null,"position":1,"product_id":8540355952806,"created_at":"2025-07-31T15:39:07+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00"}],"images":[{"id":43876951031974,"created_at":"2025-06-28T08:54:38+02:00","position":1,"updated_at":"2025-06-28T08:54:38+02:00","product_id":8540355952806,"variant_ids":[],"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/8528\/4006\/files\/Blank-Bottle-Makstokkie-20.png?v=1751093678","width":500,"height":1395}],"options":[{"name":"Title","position":1,"values":["Makstokkie 2024"]}]},{"id":8539397882022,"title":"Jaa-Bru 2024","handle":"jaa-bru-2024","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIf you translate the word “Mal” from Afrikaans to English, it means “crazy” and “Bek” means “mouth”. And that was quite clearly the inspiration behind this label - 100% Stellenbosch Malbec...\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Story:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Jaaaa Bru?” is South African slang for “Yes, my brother?” and this is the warm way I get greeted every time I phone Alex Starey, the farmer who farms this vineyard. Jaaaa Bru, a 100% Malbec. It grows on the slopes of the Helderberg Mountain - not facing the ocean as one might expect, but rather Stellenbosch, making these vineyards quite unique.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMalbec is a strange-looking grape when it’s ripe. When we pick, it always appears unripe. The berries are soft and juicy and the flesh is green in colour. We ferment this wine without any stems and age it in older French Oak barrels for less than a year. It produces an extracted, yet fresh and complex wine. Phonetically speaking, if you translate “Malbec” from Afrikaans to English, it literally means “crazy mouth”.  And that was quite clearly the inspiration behind the label.\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2026-01-29T15:10:20+02:00","created_at":"2025-07-30T15:03:28+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00","vendor":"Blank Bottle","product_type":"Wine","tags":["Malbec"],"variants":[{"id":46546631065766,"title":"Jaa-Bru 2024","option1":"Jaa-Bru 2024","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"7898","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":true,"featured_image":null,"available":true,"price":"345.00","grams":1500,"compare_at_price":null,"position":1,"product_id":8539397882022,"created_at":"2025-07-30T15:03:28+02:00","updated_at":"2026-10-20T04:19:38+02:00"}],"images":[{"id":43876917739686,"created_at":"2025-06-28T08:52:22+02:00","position":1,"updated_at":"2025-06-28T08:52:22+02:00","product_id":8539397882022,"variant_ids":[],"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/8528\/4006\/files\/Blank-Bottle-Jaa-Bru-2016-copy.png?v=1751093542","width":500,"height":1145}],"options":[{"name":"Title","position":1,"values":["Jaa-Bru 2024"]}]}]}