First of all, welcome back to one and all. I sincerely hope that 2012 will be a spectacular year!

Now we need to get back to business. It is the start of a brand new year, a year for new opportunities, a year to make yours! After a short little break, that I hope you all had, it’s time to get back into work mode. This is THE crunch time in the wine industry, with the grapes almost ripe, and the vines needing a lot of special attention.

Vines are a lot like people. When they are happy, they shine. A well groomed person always looks like they shine…hence we can accept that a well groomed person is happy. Well, the same applies for our vineyards. Allow me explain in simple cosmetic terms.

1) Hydration – you don’t need to be a viticulturist, rocket scientist, beautician or scientologist to know that nothing in life can survive without hydration. Just as your Johnsons & Johnsons lifts your face into a sparkle, the same way irrigation brings the life back into the vines! Especially with the heat wave that we are currently experiencing.

2) The Manicure – basically we “manicure” the vines by a method of topping, which is a action that we do to initiate lateral or secondary shoot growth. The reason is quite simple. As leaves get older, their potential to make food for the plant lowers, and eventually it becomes a parasite on the rest of the plant. So to ensure that we have enough leaves on the vine to ripen the grapes, we do this topping action, which in turn will stimulate this shoot growth, and provide us with enough leaves for the season. With red varieties, we break these older leaves away, the removing of the cuticle if you will. This will ensure more sunlight and even colouring of the bunches.

3) The Pedicure – this is the action on the vineyards where we “clean the legs”. We break away all the unnecessary shoots, ones that do not have any grapes, or that is not connected to one of the main shoots. These shoots have no contribution to the ripening of the grapes, and can therefor also be seen as parasitic. This action we call suckering.

4) The Brazilian – “The Green Harvest” is where we take away all the unnecessary grapes. This is done to ensure that the vines ripen the grapes properly, evenly, and optimally. The art of this normally lies in taking away the “shoulder bunch”, an almost secondary bunch that is quite often unripe when the rest is ripe. The trick is to keep just enough so that you don’t spoil the whole vintage.

5) Supplements – also very straight forward. As a human need his/her vitamins, nutrients and hormonal control, so the vines need this. We do this this is 2 ways. One is by drip irrigation, which we call fertigation, and the other by spraying the vineyards. The latter is done by tractor, and is more often than not micro elements, which can be easily absorbed through the leaves.

6) Sanitation – this is what we call spraying. This is done to ensure that we have healthy and functioning vines to provide us with the best possible grapes. Now you ask…what about organic? The simple reason that we don’t go organic is because of our area, and high disease risk we have. I could compare most organic vineyards as a boy in a bubble, as there has to be a 50m radius of no vines, or another block of organic vines around it. Our situation could be compared to swimming naked in the Ganges river…naked. We have very high rainfall, a lot of vineyards around us, and also a lot of other fruit orchards which carry the same diseases as we vineyards. This makes it really difficult to produce organic grapes, especially if you like to have a harvest in difficult seasons, such as last year.

7) Sunblock – for humans, the reason is obvious, in vines not so much. For vines, it’s all about balance. So when a heat wave strikes, we don’t want the berries to be exposed to direct sunlight, especially in the warmer part of the day – 12-4pm. So depending on the direction of the rows, we try and leave enough leaves on the vines so that it protects the bunches, i.e, to let them hang in the shade. Humans get blister and starts pealing. Grapes produces high amount of sugars, dropping out all the acid, and not building any flavours in the process. This in turn leads to an alcoholic wine with absolutely no flavour, about as balanced as Graeme Smith’s batting form.

This has been a very interesting growing season, with a dry winter and fairly wet and cold summer. At long last the heat is here, and hopefully it will stay this way, with about an inch of rain towards the end of January. I am really looking forward to this year and crush. The excitement fills all my happy places. Just the prospect of getting your hands dirty and creating that one special thing for the year, is enough to give you the biggest caffeine-meets-xtc-meets-being in love feeling. As the Billabong slogan goes, “only a winemaker knows the feeling.”

Ryk Neethling is featured in the latest issues of YOU and Huisgenoot in an insightful article that explores his valuable role at Val de Vie. Be sure to check the article out to find out more about his involvement in the Estate.

Click here to see the article.

Credits: YOU and Jacques Stander

Olympic gold medallist, Ryk Neethling, celebrated his 34th birthday in impeccable style on Friday the 18th of November. The exclusive event took place at his newly built architecturally designed villa on the picturesque Val de Vie Estate in Paarl.

Blackberry sponsored the celebrity party where guests where driven around to the black and white chess inspired Bedouin tent in front of Ryk's house in classic Rolls Royce's. Nikon was there to capture every moment on camera whilst Chivas lavished guests with whiskey and cigars.

Val de Vie’s unique Rhône-style wines picked up some gleaming awards at the International Wine and Spirits Competition last week.

All four of Val de Vie’s signature black label range wines managed to walk away with awards. The Seventeen Eighty Three 2007, a Mourvedre based blend with Shiraz, Grenache, Carignan and Cinsaut was awarded Gold and lauded for its minty, earthy, savoury notes with ripe red berry fruits which all clamour for attention on the nose.

The Ryk Neethling 2009 blend was awarded Silver, for its fruit driven elegance made up of Shiraz, Carignan, Mourvedre, Grenache and Cinsaut cultivars.  Already sporting a four star platter rating, the Val de Vie GVC 2008, a white Rhône-style blend, was also awarded Silver for its versatility depicted within its freshness and subtle fruit flavours.

Finally Val de Vie’s award winning Shiraz 2008 described as having a deep, dark core with a bright rim was awarded the high accolade of Silver, Best in Class for its full fruited finish.

The IWSC is an annual competition founded in 1964 by oenologist, Anton Massels. Each year the competition receives entries from over 80 countries worldwide and is considered to be the world’s most prestigious wine and spirit competition with the awards being some of the highest honors in the industry.

Val de Vie’s wines are young in comparison to some of the prestigious wines they were up against in the competition making the estate and winemaker, Harold Versfeld, incredibly proud at what they have managed to accomplish to date.

The two stage judging process takes place over a six month period, consisting of blind tastings and detailed technical analysis. Entries are judged by panels drawn from 250 specialists around the world.

Val de Vie started produces Rhône-style wines, and is now one of the most comprehensive growers of Rhône varietals outside of France, currently growing 11 of the 13 traditional Rhône cultivars, which are then supplemented with top grapes sourced within a 200 km radius of its vineyards to cover the other Rhône varietals. This enables Val de Vie to produce and sell the very best Rhône-style wines in South Africa. It is no wonder that the Vie de Vie Rhône-style wines are sweeping up award after award.

Val de Vie recently launched its new tasting room, offering visitors a stunning space in which to discover and savour our award-winning wines.

We invite you to visit the Estate and discover our fine wines for yourself. The tasting room is open seven days a week from 10h00 - 16h00. For more information, kindly contact us at wine@valdevie.co.za.

We're thrilled at Val de Vie's excellent performance at the recent International Wine and spirits competition (IWSC). The Val De Vie Shiraz 2008 was awarded a Silver (Best in Class), and judges described it as having a "deep, dark core with bright rim. Mulberry, plum and hints of cherry. Hints of chocolate and coffee. All repeat in the mouth and flavours lifted by fairly lively tannins. Some smoky, toasty notes develop. Good, full fruited finish. Will need another four or five years to even start showing it’s full potential."

The Val de Vie GVC 2008 and Val de Vie Ryk Neethling 2009 were both awarded Silver, while the Val de Vie 1783 2007 was awarded Gold. It was lauded for its "minty, earthy, savoury notes with ripe red berry fruits [which] all clamour for attention on the nose" and its "youthful yet soft, smooth structure with loads of cherry flavours, plum and some pepperiness."

Let me tell you a phenomenal story of friendship, commitment and travelling to one of the most sought-after wine destinations in the world… Now once you're done reading this, I don’t want to be looked at as the guys who denied the Dalai Lama his visa!

Back in 2007, when the previous World Cup was being played in France, 12 mates decided to pool some money together in order to start saving for 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. Back then, we were all still students. We started by opening a bank account in which each person deposited R500. This is a tremendous thing for students to do, because we thought in terms of brandy specials. Back then that amount was equal to 50 specials… and knowing my mates, that would be about two nights out on the town.

After that we all had debit orders going off from our accounts, initially starting off with the small amount of R150, escalating to R250, R500, R750 and then eventually R1000 per month. Sound like a sweet deal? Think again! While all of this was happening, a few of us became international travellers, and to keep money flowing into your account while staying abroad is quite the task. I remember having to transfer a week’s wages from my account in the US to keep up. That was very difficult when I still had to eat, sleep and travel! I took action by classifying wine on my staff account as food, which I‘d then trade for lodging and use to convince people to give me lifts to work. What a bargain!

I’ve neglected to tell you that we also invested half of the money we had in shares, which was the cause of a second train smash. I don’t know how many can recollect the minor episode of the world-wide recession. That completely screwed up all of our ambitions, to such an extent that one of our members decided to climb out. Now for someone from a farming background, with about as much insight into the phenomenon as a Mayan Inca has into geo caching, I had no idea of how bad it was actually going… they basically explained it to me by saying “you had 100 bottles of wine, and now you have 70, without anybody stealing anything”. Damn, that broke my brain and spirit.

Eventually, the guys in charge of all our finances invested in a little company called “Capitec”. A wise decision, because we made all of our money back, with a little extra on the side. Game ON! The “clever boys”, as they will be referred to from now on, made all the bookings of airplane tickets, match tickets and accommodation as they all became available, saving us massive amount of money!

Everyone had their own responsibility, mine being the wine expeditions. With the wine industry being so small, it was quite easy getting us a few bookings at some of the best wineries in New Zealand. My main mission, apart from cheering on the Boks to another world cup, is to experience as much as possible in winelands. By taking the ferry from Wellington (not the one crossing the Berg River into Paarl) into Marlborough, we have a world of Sauvignon Blanc just waiting to be explored. We fly out from Wellington to Dunedin, driving through the majestic Otago Highlands, which is famous for producing some of the finest Pinot Noirs available, to our next stop, Queenstown.

This isn’t all fun and games for me, because I still have a decent amount of learning to do. Once I’m educated in the styles and practices of the New Zealandwine industry, be sure to pop into the winery for a chat. And don’t miss my tasting in which I’ll compare South African wines to those of New Zealand.

There will be more to this story once we hit South African soil again!

Eleven mates on a tour of New Zealand for two weeks, with only 160 minutes of rugby being played in quarter and semi –final. Do you think it’s about the rugby?! NAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!

Image source: destination360.com

Top Billing recently visited Val de Vie to find out more about the Estate and our fine wines. Be sure to watch Top Billing to find out more!

'It's always tremendously exciting boarding a plane en-route to discovering unknown territories. When you have the prospect of travelling the world and meeting interesting new people - while simultaneously indulging in one of your greatest passions - “fortunate” and “privileged” are the first two words that spring to mind. I am in the fortunate position of having a job and a passion that are one and the same thing - a great privilege, which not many people have the pleasure of.

My first stop was Zurich, where I met up with Gerald and Thomas, our distributors for Europe; classy people, “wine-merchants to the stars”, and all-round wheeler-dealers! (They can sell oil to an Arab!)

The wine show we did on the Friday was something of an eye-opener. These people shoot straight: They will tell you exactly what they think of your wine … and, while I appreciate honesty, some people don’t. I mean, one person told the presenter that his wine reminded him “of a steak in Britain. It sounds lovely, and is presented to perfection, but tastes like something that's stuck to a horse’s hoof!”

The Swiss countryside is absolutely stunning, especially if you take an Alpine drive in a 1984 Pininfarina Spider. (You could have injected me with Hepatitis, and I would still be laughing!)

The visit to Einsiedeln to see the only Black Madonna in the world was alone worth the bad airline food. The biggest monastery in the world is plated in gold, and quite a sight for sore eyes!

The food-and-wine pairing we did on the Saturday night was really interesting, and went very well. The wines matched the food perfectly. (My apologies, the food matched the wine perfectly.) The party went on long into the night, and when the “hangover-meets-jetlag” effect kicks in, you feel an orphan who was kicked off Santa’s lap...

Italy was my next stop, and privileged as I am, I had another great food and wine experience. My first stop-over was in Verona, where we visited a culinary market. Those of you who know anything about Italians know that they are really passionate about women, food, wine, cars and football - in that order!

I stayed with a friend of mine who works at a winery in Soave, about 25km east of Verona. This was where I had the best food and wine experience of my life! They truly love food, and wine, and they don’t just pair meagre finger food, they cook meals! What a pleasure!!! They create a true understanding of “terroir” and sense of area.

The one wine we tasted was called “Bradisismo”, sismo referring to seismic or volcanic activity. You can actually see the bulges in the earth as it expanded and contracted, creating a bowl-effect in the hills. Fascinating!

After this educational experience, I headed back to Milan - my final stop before heading to the South of France. Beaumes-de-Venise was to be home for the next four days, when I would travel around with my great old mate Philip van Schalkwyk - professional rugby player and family man - to visit some of the most famous vineyards in the world.

The nice thing about travelling Europe is how close everything is together. Within 15km of Beaumes-de-Venise you have Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Vacqueyras, Lirac, and Gigondas; my favourite wine area in the world - especially as we at Val de Vie specialise in the same varietals as they do.

Châteauneuf-du-Pape is stunning, and well-etched into the history of France. It roughly translates as: “The new home of the Pope”, as he was kicked out of the Vatican in the 1200’s, fled to France, and set up a nice castle for himself. After the Second World War, retreating Germans saw this beautiful castle, and decided to use it for target practice, just for good measure!

The vines and soil in the South are unique, with river-rocks covering about 60% of the area under vine. (Shame, the poor tractor-drivers must have rhino hide behinds) One picks up this minerality in almost all the wines there, which makes this wine area distinctively different from the rest of the world. The people are distinctive too, and really interesting as well. If you manage to find someone who speaks a little English, their reply is almost always the same. “Pffftt, it is possible … maybe ... I don’t know.” Got to love it!

Helsinki followed, and what a rude awakening that was! Don’t get me wrong; it is a beautiful city with some great people. The architecture is similar to that of a hollowed-out brick, and in summer, the sun never sets - so for someone with mild insomnia - it was not ideal!

There, I met with Heiki, our sub-distributor in Finland for a few glasses of wine, and one of the craziest meetings of my life - with the Editor of Champagne Magazine, the only media authority in the world on Champagne. As the meeting started, he opened up a bottle of Armand de Brignac, the world’s best Champagne for 2010. Gorgeous! After that, he opened a bottle of Piper-Heidsieck Rare, rated the best Champagne in the world for 2011. We had about €1100 worth of bubbly at a morning meeting. I feel envy coming my way…

Next stop was Berlin, where we did a tasting in the largest wine shop in Germany. It is massive! And the reception the wine got: even bigger!!!

Berlin is, of course, a city with history. Walking the streets, one gets the feeling that there is still some shame amongst the people for what happened there in the past. Everything seems a bit subdued. The ancient buildings are stunning, and the Holocaust museum is somewhat of an emotional rollercoaster.

Once again, I had the privilege of dining at the finest restaurant, having elegant Burgundy, some mind-blowing German Riesling … and more of the Armand de Brignac.

We headed down to Zurich again before flying back to S.A. It’s funny how the human mind works. There is always a connection between time, place, people and music. When I hear our local boys, AKing, I always have fond memories of an Alpine trip in the train, looking out of the window and thinking about the people back home. Mumford & Sons takes me back to Italy and France, and the most surreal week of my life. I distinctly remember Bob Seger and Matchbox 20 as my German and Finnish counterparts.

It's ironic that I never ever have my IPod on shuffle, but as we started our decent back into Cape Town, Johnny Clegg found its way to the top of the list. What an amazing feeling to be back in Africa, accompanied by the most fitting of songs to welcome you!

Travelling is great; it enriches body and mind, makes you think a little differently, and makes you see the world from a different perspective. But even though this may all be true, South Africa will always be my home. Always!'

We love Wine Times' recent article about Val de Vie's passion for Rhone-style wines. It showcases the talent of our winemaker, Harold Versfeld, and how successful he has been in creating exceptional wines from Mediterranean varieties such as Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre. As the article puts it, he is a true "Rhone Ranger" and that he has "conquered these lesser know grape varieties and turned them into magnificient wines." Bravo!

Click here to read the full article.

Image courtesy of Wine Times

We're delighted that Val de Vie's flagship wine, the Seventeen Eighty Three, was recently featured on South African Wine. Forming part of Val de Vie's signature premium black label range, this Southern Rhône-style wine is a red blend that combines hints of dark fruits, perfume, and warm spices. It's a superb vintage and can be ordered on our website.

Carly Ritz of the The New Age recently interviewed Ryk Neethling to discuss his passion for swimming and his close relationship with Val de Vie. We're thrilled to read her glowing review of his wine, the Val de Vie Ryk Neethling red blend:

"I don’t use words like nose, lingering and austere when it comes to writing about wine, so bear with me. This wine is like chicken soup for the soul, warm and comforting. It’s fruity too, bounces on your tongue and it’s sexy – it is named after Ryk, after all. It should definitely be paired with meat; be it kudu medallions, duck or a good steak. It comes highly recommended."

Click here to download the full article, or view it on The New Age website.

These days Ryk Neethling isn't just in the news because of his swimming - he's a noted wine connoisseur too! His new wine, the Val de Vie Ryk Neethling, has recently been featured on Sarie's website. Check out the article to find out more about this elegant blend.

Val de Vie is delighted that Black Bass have been spotted in the Berg River! In keeping with our efforts to encourage biodiversity, the Black Bass are an indication of how the estate is becoming an eco-haven in the Paarl-Franschhoek Valley.

I realised something at the recent Polo International event: relationships are everything. The relationship between players on the same team, between the rider and horse or between the horse and trainer. I thought that this simple principle of mutual benefit must apply to all walks of life. It certainly applies in the winery.

For one, the relationship between the winemaker and fruit grower is crucial. If I went to the vineyards and my grapes looked like the testicles of a mummified Egyptian king, I’d be mad. But with hard work and dedication, you can rather get a product that compares to the breasts of a Danish mermaid.

The relationship between the winemaker and his crew is also very important. You have to be sensitive to the morale of your team, because they are your tongue and nose in the workplace. In fact, they work just as hard as you do in creating that special feeling of accomplishment when you taste your wines and think, “damn, this isn’t a job, how could drinking wine at 6AM be work?” Believe you me, after the Polo International and going into the winery and tasting all our wines, it was probably the first time that I considered this as work. “Oh you sweet alcoholic indulgence, how could you mistreat me like this in the morning, after I was so good to you the night before? You’re probably still mad at me for slaying so many of your brethren!”

The next key relationship is between the winemaker and the wine. You have to treat wine with respect (or you’re in for the untameable feeling of a carnival ride). You have to watch it, take care of it, and never let your finger slip off the pulse of craftsmanship. The odds of screwing up a good wine through negligence are quite good, but if you look after your wine, the rewards will always be worth the effort. As they say in the movie Girl Next Door, you have to know if the juice is worth the squeeze. We only do wild fermentation, which is very risky, but if you walk the extra mile and ensure that your baby stays healthy, you’ll end up with something magical, like Anne Hathaway, rather than a Macaulay Culkin or Britney Spears.

Another crucial element is the relationship between the drinker, you, and the wine. You have to understand what the wine has gone through to get to you. It starts at the vine, then to the picker to the winery, and then through the crusher, into tanks, through fermentation, into the barrels and through malolacticfermentation. Finally it’ll get some rest for about 16 months, lying down and waiting for the next step. Then the bomb drops! All wine hell breaks loose! Racking, stabilisation, filtration and bottling. At this point the wine must think, “Is it all over?”, but no, soon it’s time for packaging and shipping to the corners of the world. Unlucky wines will only be drunk in the tasting room, never to see the inside of a warehouse in China.

For me, the most important relationship is the one between me and you, the wine consumer. I want you to understand how I feel about wine. It’s not a job, it is a lifestyle. It’s not a way of escaping, it is a way of relaxing. It is a way of returning to one of the purist forms of drink. I want you to experience the difference in our approach to wine; our simple and natural way of creating something magical.

This is not a statement, this is an invitation.

Hand pressing our barrel fermented Shiraz from the awesome terroir of the Swartland! Wine has superb integration of wood, nicely balancing out the fruit flavours! Excellent blending component!

The launch of Ryk Neethling’s exclusive new Wine took place at a VIP Event on the exquisite Val de Vie Estate on Friday the 11th of February 2011.

The sophisticated black-tie affair, sponsored by BlackBerry, took place in the elegant surroundings of the Polo Club Lounge Bar and Restaurant on the picturesque Winelands estate. Glenfiddich, Tag Heuer and Val de Vie Wine ensured that the ‘Whisky – Wine – Watches’ theme was upheld. Upon arrival, VIPs, celebrities and friends of Ryk, gathered on the exquisite Polo Pavilion where they enjoyed a polo match on Val de Vie’s pristine polo fields before the sun set behind the Simonsberg Mountains and guests made themselves comfortable in the BlackBerry Cigar Lounge. Perfect weather and delicious cocktails were enjoyed with the classic jazz sounds of Haydn & The Hotshots in the background.

As the sun set over the Paarl-Franshhoek Valley, Val de Vie’s Polo Club Restaurant started serving mouthwatering Italian-style canapés, which lasted throughout the evening, and then offered guests a selection of Val de Vie’s signature Wines, while others tasted some of the whiskies on show in the BlackBerry Cigar Lounge where some of BlackBerry’s latest handsets were also on display.

The much-anticipated Ryk Neethling Wine was unveiled during Ryk’s speech in which he enthused guests with his passion for the Val de Vie Estate (which he will call home later this year) and the unique Rhône-style wines they make. Val de Vie’s winemaker, Harold Versfeld, was up next, where he talked about how he and Ryk went about blending this easy drinking red blend, spending hours meticulously tasting and mixing and matching until they reached a flawless blend that was to be the new Ryk Neethling blend.

In keeping with Val de Vie’s varietals, the wine is a Rhône-style blend, made up of some of the best Rhone cultivars - 55% Syrah, 18% Carignan, 15% Mourvedre, 7% Grenache and 5% Cinsaut. The production of the wine was limited to only 3000 bottles, and has already been listed in 26 restaurants countrywide.

This stunning new wine fits in perfectly with Val de Vie’s signature Rhône portfolio and was much enjoyed by all at the launch. Guests were further lucky enough to each leave with their own bottle of Ryk Neethling to take home and enjoy.

Harvest the last grapes for the season. The Cinsaut is the last to come of the vine, as it is in one of the cooler areas in SA - Darling. The high day temperatures increase flavours, with the cold nights preserving the fruit. This should be good crush!

Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

Val de Vie recently hosted the Ryk Neethling wine launch, a glamourous event attended by a host of celebs and VIPs. Not only is Ryk an accomplished sportsman, but he also has a love for fine wine, as is apparent in his new blend. The wine consists of 55% Syrah, 18% Carignan, 15% Mourvedre, 7% Grenache and 5% Cinsaut.

Check out what the following blogs and sites had to say about the event:

Wine Times

Twisted Lifestyle

Lipgloss my Life

Fashion Jazz

We received a ton of publicity on the Ryk Neethling wine launch. See below for links to great articles and photos...

Winetimes

FashionJazz

Twistedlifestyle

BIZCOMMUNITY

We held the official launch for the Val de Vie Ryk Neethling wine on 11 February 2011, presented by Vivid Luxury brands and Blackberry. Check out the article below, written by Vivid. For the original article click here.

VIVID organised the VIP launch of Ryk Neethling’s exclusive new Wine at the exquisite Val de Vie Estate on Friday the 11th of February 2011.

The sophisticated black-tie affair, sponsored by BlackBerry, took place in the elegant surroundings of the Polo Club Lounge Bar and Restaurant on the picturesque Winelands estate. Glenfiddich, Tag Heuer and Val de Vie Wine ensured that the ‘Whisky – Wine – Watches’ theme was upheld. And VIPs, celebrities and friends of Ryk, gathered on the exquisite Polo Pavilion where they enjoyed a polo match on Val de Vie’s pristine polo fields before the sun set behind the Simonsberg Mountains. Perfect weather and delicious cocktails were enjoyed with the classic jazz sounds of Haydn & The Hotshots in the background.

As the sun set over the Paarl-Franshhoek Valley, Val de Vie’s Polo Club Restaurant started serving mouthwatering Italian-style canapés, which lasted throughout the evening, and offered guests a selection of Val de Vie’s signature Wines, before reclining in the BlackBerry cigar lounge tasting Glenfiddich’s range of whiskies.

The much anticipated Ryk Neethling Wine was unveiled during Ryk’s speech in which he enthused guests with his passion for the Val de Vie Estate (which he will call home later this year) and the unique Rhône-style wines they make. Val de Vie’s winemaker, Harold Versfeld, was up next, where he talked about how he and Ryk went about blending this easy drinking red blend, spending hours meticulously tasting and mixing and matching until they reached a flawless blend that was to be the new Ryk Neethling blend.

In keeping with Val de Vie’s varietals, the wine is a Rhône-style blend, made up of some of the best Rhône cultivars – 55% Syrah, 18% Carignan, 15% Mourvedre, 7% Grenache and 5% Cinsaut. The production of the wine was limited to only 3000 bottles, and has already been listed in 26 restaurants countrywide.

This stunning new wine fits in perfectly with Val de Vie’s signature Rhône portfolio and was much enjoyed by all at the launch. Guests were further lucky enough to each leave with their own bottle of Ryk Neethling to take home and enjoy.

I’m not a particularly huge fan of Crowded House, but one thing is for sure:  you always take the weather with you. We, unlike our vines, can move to the seaside where it’s cooler, or to the river where you have plenty of water, or put on a nice round hat and sunscreen, almost as if you were at the cricket. All of these factors (minus the cricket) have a great influence on what quality of wine year we’re going to have.

This has been quite an erratic wine growing season, with sporadic showers one day and dry-out-the-spit-in-your-mouth heat the next. There is absolutely nothing that we as wine growers and makers can do about it. And so the weather has been strange all over the show. All of a sudden there’s rain in Beaufort West and the three big dams in the Vaal area have exceeded their capacity! That is something that hasn’t happened in quite a while! The wind has been strange too – never just a fresh breath of air. It's either kite surfing weather, or it feels like an asthmatic mouse blowing at you through a straw – nonexistent. So you either have a drying effect, or a heating effect.

But if I put my mindless barking at the moon aside, and think about it, this has actually been a great year for wine, apart from the lack of cold units (I won’t bore you with science and details). We have had rain at the right times, we are having a warm ripening period, and thus far we are disease-free (touch wood!). So if you are into gambling but you’re tired of horses, cards, roulette, or even betting on who’s going to win the Oscar, just start making wine. The only difference is that with gambling you may have skills that could influence your outcome, like counting cards or injecting horses with steroids. With wine, there’s nothing you can do about it. All you can do is let nature take its course. And we believe that is the way wine should be made, Au Natural!

Have you ever tried cheating the weather?

I honestly have no how idea how to start with my first newsletter. How do you introduce yourself through an email without looking like a serial spammer?! But here we go…

My name is Harold, and I am the newest addition to the wine works at Val de Vie. 5 months have passed since starting here, and man, this is awesome!!! We have so many new and interesting projects, I feel like a kid in a cookie shop!

Firstly we had Ryk Neethling joining our team. He helps us with blending, is a shareholder, and by me knowing him, gives me a lot more “street cred” than I deserve (apparently credit is too long to say). His wine has been bottled, and will be released soon! We’ve decided to involve you with the pricing of the wine.  We’re planning to send you some wine, you decide what this wine is worth to you, and you pay us that amount (if you’re keen of course!) Simple enough… By doing this, we will know where to price this wine. Of course, depending on what you pay, I’ll decided what to send you next time...

Secondly, we launched two new white wines. The Polo Club Sauvignon Blanc, a fresh and vibrant wine with the best of both world flavours. Not overpowering green, or diabetically sweet with tropical flavours. Balance is the key to this popular wine from Durbanville. Now, the Polo Club Filly. This blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc is the health conscious person's dream! It’s lower in alcohol, 10.5% (now you can drink 2 bottles rather than 2 glasses), lower in calories (now you can drink 2 bottles rather than 2 glasses), and lower in sulphur (now you can drink for 2 weeks in a row rather than 2 days).

Summer holiday is upon us, and I’m sure you don’t want to leave you braai unattended. So we will deliver straight to your doorstep, anywhere in the country.

Drop me a mail if you are interested in buying some of our wines, or if you need advice/want to know more about wine, or if you need somebody to join you for a glass of wine.

I look forward to your immediate response!

Val de Vie is delighted to congratulate Anneke Schoeman, our GM from Val de Vie Wines, on her recent engagement. We also love how her Frikkie, fiance decided to propose to her: two divers at the Two Oceans Aquarium held up a banner that read, “Anneke Schoeman, sal jy met my trou?” It's no wonder that Anneke was taken completely by surprise!

We wish them a joyful engagement period and are so excited about their upcoming wedding.

Click here to read more about the proposal.

Val de Vie Wine and Polo Estate is proud to welcome its new winemaker, Harold Versfeld on board. Having honed most of his winemaking skills abroad, Harold will now oversee all winemaking processes at Val de Vie, with Bruwer Raats (from Raats Family Vineyards) acting as a consultant on some of the varietals.

Val de Vie is thrilled to introduce our new winemaker, Harold Versfeld. He will oversee all winemaking processes together with Bruwer Raats (from Raats Family Vineyards) acting as a consultant.

Val de Vie is delighted that its wines were served at an exclusive VIP Cocktail Party hosted by One&Only Cape Town and Seeff Properties on Monday the 5th July. The event revealed the never seen before Penthouse One on the rooftop of One&Only Cape Town.

Val de Vie is proud that its wines were selected as the pouring wine at the recent Patek Philippe Exhibition at The Watch & Jewellery Gallery in Nelson Mandela Square.

Join Val de Vie on 21 May for an exclusive food and wine pairing presented by talented wine pairing expert, Katinka van Niekerk.

Here's something we'll toast to! If you're a resident at Val de Vie, you are automatically entitled to a substantial discount on Val de Vie's award-winning wines, as well as free delivery of your purchases.