Daniel Maerkl is The
Stables Wine Estate’s “man behind the
scene”. Early in the mornings he can be seen checking the vineyards and
admiring the fruits of his labour.
Having studied viticulture at Elsenburg College of Agriculture in
Stellenbosch, Daniel is aware that a sound crop produces a good harvest,
which determines the quality of the product to be created. Three years
at Delheim with the Sperling family gave him a firm foundation and his
knowledge, enthusiasm and dedication to the profession are evident in
The Stables’ vineyards which he is nurturing with care.
It was the challenge of breaking new ground which led Daniel to pursue
an opportunity in KwaZulu-Natal. “The wine industry is steeped in
tradition in the Western Cape, with the majority of farms already well
established,” he says. “All the infrastructure is in place and a
viticulturist’s task is maintenance and a degree of improvement. “Here
at The Stables Wine Estate there is the unique opportunity to be part of
starting a wine farm from conception, in a province where it has never
been done. Solving problems is not as simple as phoning a neighbour, as
was the case in Stellenbosch. Every day we are doing something that has
never been before. It’s pioneering stuff!”
For the 2010 harvest gallery
click here >
March
2010
This morning we started at 2am with processing the last of the Sauvignon
Blanc and I can quite honestly say that these grapes have been the best
we have ever had. The sugars are reaching 23 balling with a pH of 3.04
and beautifully balanced acid.
Today we have 6 presses to do to finish the Sauvignon Blanc, so far at
07h30 we are on our third press. Each press cycle takes in the region of
1 hour and 45 minutes.
Tiny will leave the juice to settle in a cooling tank until Sunday
morning when he will inoculate it with French yeast to begin
fermentation. The rest of the Sauvignon harvested last week is halfway
through fermentation.
The Chardonnay is still fermenting away slowly, probably another week or
so and that will be finished and racked into barrel for maturation.
This morning during the first press at about 3am we hand crushed some of
the other cultivars to check the sugar and pH levels; and the result is
that the Pinotage will be the next cultivar t be harvest and is
currently sitting at almost 23 balling, with the Cabernet Franc
following immediately afterwards. The Cabernet Sauvignon is doing
extremely well this year as well. The Shiraz is still quite away to go.
Whilst we have a little less Merlot than we did last year the flavours
in the grape at the moment are amazing.
We will harvest from our Nottingham Road vineyard in about 10 days or
so. This year the winemaking team consists of Tiny, myself, Daniel our
viticulturist and Wynand Laubscher with some assistance from Sinothi;
and of course without Walter n Greytown none of this would be possible!
- Judy van Niekerk.
February
2010
That time of year has
rolled around again when the work in the vineyard slows down and the
long hours in the cellar start. With the Chardonnay sitting at 18
balling we can expect to officially start our harvest within 7 – 10 days
depending on the weather with the Sauvignon Blanc and Pinotage looking
as it will be ready to be harvested in three weeks.
Although the work might almost be finished in the vineyard, besides
physically harvesting the grapes, it is also a tricky time of the year.
With all the rain that’s around we still need to keep the vines healthy
so the grapes can reach optimum ripeness. Various fungicides have
different withholding periods ( meaning that you cannot harvest within a
certain number of days once sprayed ). I need to be very selective on
which fungicides I use. I play it safe by using some that have very
short withholding periods of 7 days so there is zero risk of this
affecting our wine.
Overall the quality of the crop that I am expecting this year looks as
though its going to be the best harvested to date. One of the main
contributers to this is that we have had absolutely no hail this season.
This is important because even the smallest hail storm can damage
berries which will lead to sour rot, a problem which we have not had
this year and it is so late in the summer I am not expecting any.
All the necessary equipment checks have been done in the winery to
ensure that everything is in perfect working condition when the
Chardonnay rolls in.
The planning has also been done on what route we going with the
different cultivars, this is important because you may have different
plans for Sauvignon Blanc even though it is coming out the same block
depending on what style of wine you are looking to make.
I am looking forward to next months notes from the vines where I will
post images of the Chardonnay being processed from vineyard to cellar.
Looking ahead at 2010
The Stables Wine
Estate moving full steam ahead
Seeing that it has been close to 12 months since my last update on the
happenings here in KwaZulu Natal, I feel it’s a good time to give more
insight into what’s on the go and what’s in the pipeline for the next
few months for our up and coming wine industry.
In terms of the vineyard it has been a slightly more difficult season
this year than the last. We had a fairly cold spring resulting in
marginally uneven bud break and also the summer rains have come much
earlier this season. The rains have not been the usual afternoon
thunderstorm but more a constant drizzle for a few days on end,
reminding me some what of the Cape winter but with warmer temperatures.
With these rains we have occasionally had Downy Mildew rear its ugly
head but spotting it early enough has made it easy enough to snuff out
and control before causing any serious damage to bunches and leaves.
I am very pleased that the thunderstorms with excessive winds that we
get on a regular basis have stayed away during flowering leaving us with
very good berry set. Having spoken to friends in the Cape they are
reporting back severe crop loses due to excessive winds during flowering
as well as serious Downy Mildew infections after the rain that the Cape
has seen which is never nice to hear.
The Nottingham Road vineyard, especially the Pinot Noir has recovered
very well after suffering a ridiculously large hail storm last year and
we are looking forward to bringing in our first KZN Pinot Noir this
season. Fingers crossed that the hail stays away for a few more weeks
until the Pinot Noir has come in at least.
At present we have two farms spread out through KZN (namely Nottingham
road and Greytown) planted with vineyard but I am thrilled by the
prospect of planting a third in the New Year. Unlike the farms we
currently have, this one will not be in the KZN Midlands but up the
North Coast of KZN. A few kilometres in from the coast near Ballito to
be more specific which is within spitting distance of the new Durban
International Airport. Who would have ever thought looking out your
window while landing in KZN to see vineyard beneath you?
The land we will planting on is rural tribal land and will not be
planted in one big block together but instead be broken up into smaller
blocks planted on the suitable sites on the hilly landscape. Farming
vines is very intensive work as we all know so this will bring welcome
job opportunities to the communities and try and get them as extensively
involved as possible.
For the first phase of the development we are planting ten hectares of
Villard Blanc and will thereafter look to increase plantings year on
year. Thanks must be given to the government involvement in helping us
put this together.
While we still continue to do our wine tasting and talks up at the farm
in Nottingham road we have added a completely new dimension to our brand
with the opening of our city cellar in Umhlanga. It has been opened
temporarily for three weeks over the festive season after which it will
be closed for a short well to finish off the final touches. We are using
this as a gateway to the Midlands and bringing our wine to the people
which in turn should encourage more people to visit the farm in the
Midlands. Once finished it will also be a fully functional wine cellar
and Champagne house.
On offer at the City Cellar is not only wines from The Stables Wine
Estate but we have also brought in other brands from the Cape and abroad
which can be tasted and purchased. These include Solms – Delta, Under
Oaks, Inah (non – alcoholic wine), Guy Charbaut Champagne, Avontuur and
Lovane.
At the moment there is a lot on the go here at The Stables Wine Estate
and I am looking forward to a chaotic and very busy year ahead but one
that will grow the brand to new levels.
Previous season
notes:
