So much is happening in the world at the moment. War in the Ukraine, passing of one my childhood hero’s Shane Warne and now Alain Graillot.

Growing up as kid we loved it when Hansie Cronje was bashing Shane Warne around on the pitch. Remembering spending a day at Wanderers Cricket Ground in Johannesburg when Hansie Cronje introduced the “slog sweep” against Shane Warne. As kids we were dreaming of the day when we can put on the Proteas shirt and play against the Aussies.

How do they fit in with Alaine Grailllot in this post. Alaine Grailot, the winemaker that has changed the Northen Rhone Valley France, producing excellent wines. In South Africa we are lucky enough that some of his wines are imported by Radford Dale. Allain Grailot passed away the same week as Shane Warne from a stroke. A week before a late night I had a friend over in my little cellar at home Steed Richardson drinking a 2018 Crozes Hermitage from Allaine Graillot.

There’s got to be a reason why I am mentioning Steed in this post. I wouldn’t classify Steed as “wine connoisseur”. Reaching for the bottle in the cellar he couldn’t see what I was opening, poured the glass and old Steeds words, “Je wish Ricky this is cracking”. As Shane Warne was a childhood hero, Alain Graillot is a wine hero. We spend money to buy wines like this to sharpen our pallets and to able to try and make great wines like the late Alain Graillot. Remember well the day before making the Bizoe Genant 2020 blend, I also enjoyed a bottle from Alain Graillot to sharpen my pallet.

Harvest time in South Africa is known as “pars tyd” renamed by some winemakers as “bars tyd”-translated as time of the year when you hardly see your family and spent 24 hours in the cellar. To our family, harvest is the sweet, much-anticipated time in our year.

Kids running around the cellar, drinking grape juice. Helping to punch down grapes. Time we embrace and always have fun in the cellar. The joy of seeing kids returning from school and running down to the cellar to be part of harvest 2022, it’s a feeling that can’t be explained.

Update on harvest so far. Quality and analysis of grapes are looking great in tank. The one statement I can make is, in our case the harvest is extremely small and it might have an impact on wine prices later in the year. As I write this blog post we will be finishing our last white grapes at the end of the week. Semillon grapes, from Franschhoek, will be our last white grapes for 2022.

Do low yield influence the quality of the grapes. Theory is that with fewer grapes the vine can use all its energy to give more concentrated grapes and better quality for wine making. It makes completely sense thinking about it, but is it practical. Remember our Prof Gousard at The University of Stellenbosch preaching us about balance. The vine has to be in balance to produce the best quality fruit. I am very excited what harvest 22 will give us.

We have introduced the Rikus Neethling Wine range to you a few months ago. Currently only available in packed deals on our website. We will soon be launching its own web shop where you can purchase the wines. Making this note in the blog to inform you about a new wine in the range – Rikus Neethling Wines Viognier 2021. You will notice new vintages available from our online store from 1 March 2022.

2 Feb 1659 Jan van Riebeek harvest the first grapes in South Africa, paving the way for me to be part of this industry 363 years later. Wow an industry that is still driven by the passion of people and this wonderful end product we call wine.

The few words I can think off, is privilege and honored, to be part of the South African Wines Industry. Stand out for me is the people involve, older generation passing information down to the younger generation. It has never felt like a competition for me. All genuinely wants the South African Wines to succeed.

Harvest has started in the Western Cape and we have received Chardonnay. Since my last post about my predictions about harvest has changed a bit. Struck with massive heat waves in the Western Cape the last two weeks and had to adapt some of our plans.

Here on Croydon Vineyards, where we also make our Bizoe Wines we have already harvested all the Pinotage grapes on Croydon. The condition of the grapes looked awesome especially after the extremely high temperature we had the last few days. The Pinotage grapes will be used for the Croydon Title Deed Rose and Croydon Covenant Pinotage.

Our next grapes to arrive at the cellar will be Sauvignon blanc and Chenin blanc from Stellenbosch, and Semillon from Darling for the Bizoe Morningstar Semillon. Enough about harvest for now let’s toast this amazing industry.

We all are awaiting for the harvest 22 to start. Just to start the year, we are already 2 weeks later than the start of 2021. Is it a good thing? Only time will tell.

What is the possible reasons for the late start? During the growing season from September 2021 until a week ago, we had relative constant rain and mild temperatures during the season. In simple terms the soil needs to heat up to activate the growth in the vine. This year it occurred at a slower pace due to the rain and mild temperatures that lead to the delay in harvest. An old saying the longer the fruit hang on the vine the better the quality. Will this be tested in 2022 harvest?

We all thought we are cruising into the 2022 harvest and then January gives us the heat and high temperatures. The sudden heat wave we are experiencing in the Western Cape at the moment, is ripening the early cultivars and speeding up the late cultivars and my prediction is that we are going to have a harvest that everything will be ripe at the same time. Winemaker’s nightmare, having enough space in the cellar.

At least we are predicting it and can start planning for it. There is also the possibility that it might not happen. One of the fun things about farming no year, no vintage is ever the same. From our side we are ready to receive the grapes and just can’t wait for the fun to start.

We will kick the harvest of by harvesting our Semillon grapes from Darling, followed by the Semillon from Franschhoek. New editions this year will be some Grenache grapes from Breedekloof that we are excited about getting into the cellar. Follow our Facebook pages, we will keep you updated on our harvest 22!

Didn’t we all say we can’t wait for 2021 after 2020, now we are in 2022. Happy New Year to you all, may 2022 be the year we all remember for good stuff and return to normal life again.

On that note we are back in the cellar. We bottled the Bizoe Idioglossia Chardonnay 2021 and Bizoe Genant 2020. Chardonnay for the 2021 vintage are 90% grapes from Elgin Valley fermented in a Amphora pot, blended with 10% Chardonnay grapes from Stellenbosch aged in oak barrels. The wine to be available at the end of February 2022.

The second release of the Bizoe Genant SGM 2020 will have more Grenache and Mourvèdre in the 2020 blend. The Bizoe Genant 2020 will consist of  Shiraz 52% Grenache 33% and Mourvèdre 15%. Available from April 2022.

Second week of December I was joined by Bernard Dewey from Chamonix Wine Farm in Franschhoek in the Garden Route presenting wines at Viswijf Restaurant in Jeffreys Bay. What a great place and setting, food amazing, owners is amazing and passionate about food and wine. A must visit!

St Francis wine and dine with the major of the town and owner of biggest engine in St Francis, Clive of Clive’s Chokka Block Restaurant. Being around Clive is fun, old school chef and believe you can’t leave his restaurant not being fed. A must visit when in St Francis.

Last stop on our trip was Bay Leaf Café in George. Danielle owner of Bayleaf, our paths crossed first time at his restaurants in Johannesburg called Buonissimo in Modderfontein. 2021 is the first year that we ventured into the Garden Route with our wines. It is a pleasant surprise and is always looking forward spending time on the Garden Route.

When in George there will always be time to sit down and have chat with my friend Wern van der Watt, owner of Nina’s Cafe. Luckily they have celebrated their 5th birthday that week. Congrats Wern and Tash we are looking forward dining at Nina’s for the next 5 years and future!

Bizoe Wines participated in the inaugural Greyton Wine Weekend. Wineries stationed in different venues across Greyton. Wine sippers walking around the beautiful town sipping away on wine for a good cause.

Amazing seeing such a small community pulling together and delivering a fund raising event with so much passion. Greyton House Independent School raising funds to give bursaries for kids of Greyton that’s in need. Approximately 25 wineries spend the weekend in Greyton pouring wine for locals and weekend goers in Greyton. Enough money raised during the weekend to help 37 kids next year.

Bizoe Wines stationed on Werner Smith Art Gallery “stoep”. Werner’s Art Gallery is situated in Ds Botha Str. After meeting Werner at the gallery a few weeks prior to the Greyton Wine Weekend. Werner and I exchanged text messages. Little did we know that we both grew up in the same street, Nagel Str, Benoni. Lost contact when they moved to Pretoria, but reunited on a stoep in Greyton. Small world! When in Greyton make sure to pop in at Werner Smith Gallery.

Bizoe Morningstar Semillon 2019 was one the favourite during the weekend. Lovely weather helped sippers looking for some shade. At our venue was perfectly situated and we made use of the lovely couch. Once you sit, difficult to get up. Made sure their glass stay full with some cold wine.

Back to the weekend, activities around town was magnificent. Organizers made sure kids is entertained while adults stroll the streets of this beautiful town sipping on wine. On the Friday night winemakers was entertained at Hub and Spoke by the Greyton Wine Weekend organizers. Always fun sharing a glass of wine with your fellow winemakers.

 Thanks Team Greyton it was fun and looking forward to Greyton Wine Weekend 2022!

Bizoe Henriëtta making us proud again. Amazing how quick the year has gone. Now it’s all about vineyards and getting the cellar ready for the 2022 harvest. We have some news in the pipeline that we will share soon.

 Just last week Wine Magazine released their annual Sauvignon blanc/Semillon report. Bizoe Henriëtta 2019 is named as one of their Top 10 wines for the year. The panel awarded the Henriëtta 2019 with 92 points. The wine will be released February 2022. Good news is that you can order, it’s currently in a mixed case with the Bizoe Hënrietta 2018 that has a 94 point rating from Decanter International Wine Awards.

Back to the vineyards again. Safely we can say the winter is gone and we into spring. Good rain during the year, giving us plenty of underground water and good conditions for the vineyards to thrive in. Currently flowering is taking place and small fruit is starting to develop in the vines. Just love seeing a vintage develop in front of your eyes.

 In the cellar we are prepping the equipment to make sure we are ready for harvest day in probably middle January 2022. Before the harvest can start, we would have our 2nd edition of the Bizoe Genant 2020. After the success of the 2019 some big shoes to fill by 2020 edition.

Our last wine to be bottled soon is also the Bizoe Idioglossia Chardonnay 2021. Chardonnay is still in the amphora and barrels. It will be taken out soon and transferred to stainless steel tank to prepare the wine for bottling. Something to be for the lookout release will be April 2022.

 Cheers from the cellar for now!

Let’s call it bottling season at Bizoe Wines. This time of the year all the winemakers are planning their bottling schedules. Getting the wine in the bottle that they have so preciously worked on during the last year, in some cases 2 years.

At Bizoe Wines we are in the same boat. In the next few weeks we will bottle our Bizoe Henrietta 2020, Bizoe Estalet Syrah 2019 and Bizoe Idioglossia Malbec 2019.

Getting the wine bottle ready is the next step. In the case of white wines ex Bizoe Henrietta that’s a blend of Semillon and Sauvignon blanc, the wine needs to be protein stable before bottling can take place. Due to the time our red wine mature in barrels this process happens natural.

 Once protein stability is achieved in the wine, we will move over to filtering. Once the wine has been filter its all about getting the wine safely in the bottles and making the last final tweaks. Bottling season at Bizoe Wines, exciting time of the year in the cellar.

And now the nerves starts to work, you as winemaker has done what you needed to do, it has to go into bottle and then it’s up to the wine drinker to get it out of the bottle. The wine you have spent in some cases two years making is there to satisfy consumers’ pallets.

When we open a wine, we always look on the bright side and find it difficult to critique another winemaker’s wine, because we know the time, energy and passion that went into the process to produce a beautiful bottle of wine.

Next time you open a bottle wine lift your cap to the vineyards, viticulturist, vineyard workers, cellar workers and lastly the winemaker! Salute!

Who doesn’t like to go to the Garden Route of South Africa? Twelve winemakers joined us for a week in the Garden Route. What a trip and way to share our wines with the people of the Garden Route.

The Grape Hustle a company owned by Jo and Nick Lowe, that takes care and passion of the wine brands they represent. In my humble opinion the Garden Route is extremely lucky to have them.

Our first stop on The Grape Hustle Roadshow was St Francis Bay. Our host for the evening was St Francis Links Golf Club, amazing venue. The friendly people of St Francis joined and we created one amazing evening. After the tasting we were invited by the “Major of St Francis” Clive to sit down in his restaurant Clive’s Chock a Block. Some of the best sea food I had in a very long time. Between the 12 winemakers we made sure to enjoy one another’s wine.

Barrington’s Plettenberg Bay our next stop. Hosted by Simon and Anél in their boutique hotel at Barrington’s. The people of Plettenberg Bay rocked up and was amazing to meet so many new people. Half an hour before the ending of the wine show, Simon served each winemaker with one of their own brewed beers. Beer sailed down the throats like liquid gold. Recommend anybody to stop by Barrington’s for a cold beer. Dinner served on the long table. No need to mention that wines were enjoyed and as always food at Barrington’s was top notch.

Head over Hill Luxury Boutique Hotel in Knysna was our final stop. Property owned by Martin and Teresa Hanson. End of the evening we were invited into their private wine cellar under the property by Teresa. Tested one another knowledge on blind tasting some wine. It’s one of those moments that none of this group will ever forget.

Wines that were on show during the week included: Bizoe, Croydon, Chamonix, Eagles Nest, Eenzaamheid, Genevieve, Keermont, Luddite, Gabrielskloof, Migliarina, Meerhof and Peter Falcke.

 Thanks to all the other producer for making the week so much fun and THE GRAPE HUSTLE for looking after us!