Withoek Shiraz

After the cold weather coming down on us lately we decided we might as well start bottling. As a small winery we try and put our own stamp on everything. Controling of the total wine making process is not negotiable. We are probably also the most eco friendly bottling plant in the world with all the processes being done manually. The process of bottling two thousand litres of Shiraz will take up to tomorrow - 16th of July.
At the laste tasting the wine had a very promising structure with good spice and red berry flavours. The alcohol is a bit high (15,6%) but as I see it you get half a bottle free. Thus must be a bargain. It is certainly a wine that you we would want to keep for a year of two but the softer tannins will allow you to enjoy it now.
The grapes used for the wine comes from the red hills facing south south west. The right aspect for the cooler southern breezes in the summer. Further with production of only 8 tonnes per ha it is also some of the more quality plantings in Calitzdorp as a whole. The irrigation of this block is done with pressure compensating drippers and fertigation is also done according to the needs and yield.
I also learnt about an interesting website for weather. It is a Norwegian website and it gives 5 different points in the Calitzdorp region. I am not sure about the accuracy but it is certainly something to have a look at. The website is www.yr.no. Go and have a look. Quite interesting.
On the farm side we are finished with the soil preparation and started this week of measuring out of the blocks. We also had all the blocks measured for the irrigation systems. We are planning a computer organized system for the new blocks. Give us more control.
On the negative side: some of our irrigation ball valves were stolen for scrap metal. If anyone do have an idea what / where / who please let me know.