Sauvignon Blanc

A nice apéritif with fresh cheeses like chèvre (goat), or with oysters, shellfish and white fish like trout, cod and halibut.

An uncharacteristically cold and wet start to the growing season ensured good dormancy in the vines, while an early and warm January brought the ripening period forward. Reds delivered dark colour and impressive structure quite early in the harvest, balanced by higher than average acidity. Overall, a promising vintage.

The wines are left on their gross lees for 6 months after which we rack them and add a light fining to clean them up a bit for evaluation and then bottled.

The grapes were gently de-stemmed, pumped through our mash cooler, (Glycol set at 5°C) to cool the fruit down, receives a dose of pectolytic enzymes as well as a small amount of SO2 to aid in the juice clarification process, prevent oxidation and spontaneous fermentations. Once the press is full the cycle is started, and the juice is moved to a holding tank. Clarification takes place via floatation in the late afternoon and the juice is moved to its fermentation tanks early the following morning. We inoculate with a commercial yeast strain, the ferment runs at 14°C, to maintain a progressive yet stable fermentation curve.

Sutherland Vineyards is situated just 9 kms off the Atlantic Ocean with altitudes of 140 to 250 meters above sea level. The cool maritime climate allows for slower ripening than in other Cape Wineland areas producing wines with vibrant concentrated fruit flavours and an elegant minerality. All Sutherland wines are bottled and produced at the estate in Stellenbosch.