Good for horses, roses – and wine. Any guesses what this is? While it does sound like a day at the races, it is in fact lime-rich soils that I am talking about. Lime is a wonderful asset for growing vines as it has the effect of lending the grapes a healthy acidity – which translates into freshness and vibrancy in the final wine.
This is one of the positive intrinsic qualities of the Overberg region that De Wet Viljoen, the new winemaker at Wildekrans, spoke about at a recent tasting of their upcoming releases. Viljoen was the winemaker at Neethlingshof for many years, where he made a very wide range of wines, with the estate’s Pinotage and Sauvignon Blancs becoming signature wines.
Wildekrans itself released its first wines in 1993 as one of the earlier Bot River producers and some of their vineyards, especially a block of Chenin Blanc, has now reached good age. Pinotage is also a calling card here, and under Viljoen’s guidance, this estate’s bottlings of South Africa’s own red will no doubt rise in esteem. As an aside, 2025 marks the 100th year since the birth of Pinotage, so look out for some very informative tastings of this variety at Wine Village.
Viljoen is relishing his new role here on “our side of the mountain” and the first wine that he made from start to finish is their soon to be released Sauvignon Blanc – and if you are a lover of the fruitier, tropical style of this wine, you will open more than one of these. It has lashings of pineapple flavours and just enough “zip” without any harshness.
Another wine he revealed on the day was a blend of Grenache Blanc and Chenin Blanc, a delightfully complex blend with good texture. Grenache is a grape from the south of France, therefore very well suited to our climate, and there is a small but growing number of bottlings that include Grenache Blanc in the Cape. Also locally, Marelise Niemann’s Momento range features this grape and is well worth finding.
Back to the reds, Viljoen presented the new “Cape Blend” - the name for local wines that have a predominance of Pinotage in them, often combined with Cabernets (Sauvignon and Franc) and Shiraz. These blends are real champions when it comes to opening a bottle for a robust meal, and looking at this winter so far, we need a few robust meals!
Speaking of which, if you’ve not been, the restaurant at Wildekrans under chef Gordon Manuel and wife Emma, is highly recommended. May I cheekily suggest Bot River can take Hermanus on when it comes to dining out?
