This past season was the longest that we have experienced since starting the Bernheim winery in 2004. Normally we start our harvest during the last week in January and by the end of February the harvest is over. This year our first grapes were harvested on 31 January and the last grapes on 19 March.

BERNHEIM WINERY

The climate conditions experienced leading up to the 2012 harvest resulted in a smaller than normal crop. The grape bunches were smaller and compact with small berries with less juice, which is what we, winemakers, want in the cellar. The smaller the berries and the more compact the bunches the more concentrated the colour and flavour intensity.

The longer season, with days passing between harvesting, while waiting for the next cultivar to ripen, helped us in the winery. We were able to leave wine on the skins for a longer period after fermentation, before we pressed the grapes to prepare the tanks for the next batch.

Our harvest started as usual with Pinotage for the Rosé. The grapes were hand harvested on 31 January, 7 and 9 February.  After de-stalking, the grapes were pumped into a red wine fermentation tank, with the cooling opened to its maximum. Juice was drained from the tank, through a sieve to separate the skins, until the colour became too dark. We extracted about 350 to 400 litres of juice per ton of grapes. The juice could settle overnight (this allowed any solids to sink to the bottom of the tank) and the clear juice was (racked) pumped from the sediment.  A  specially selected wine yeast was added and the wine fermented at 12? to 14? for approximately 15 days. This year we decided to stop fermentation slightly earlier than previous vintages and the 1012 Pinotage Rosé has a sugar level of 11.7g/l. This, with the good acidity, gives the wine a very fruity palate with a refreshingly crisp dry ending.

During the rest of the harvest season till 19 March we harvested more Pinotage followed by Merlot, Shiraz, Cabernet  Franc , Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot.  All the grapes, for our wines, are picked by hand and transported to the cellar, by bakkie and trailers, in 20 kg. lug boxes. The initial fermentation stage is the same for all our reds. Temperature is kept cold for the first day or two and then gradually allowed  to rise up to 25?. The wine is pumped over for an hour, twice daily as red grape skins tend to float to the top of the tank during fermentation. This is known as the cap and this results in only the lower part of the cap being submerged in the juice/wine and therefore less colour is extracted from the skins. The pump over makes sure that the skins are kept wet in the juice/wine and allows the optimum colour to be extracted from the skins. Once fermentation is completed the skins are kept on the wine for one to three weeks. The wine is then drained from the tank (free run wine) and the skins moved to the press where it is pressed (press wine) The free run and press wines are first tasted and then we decide whether to pump the wine together or to keep it separate.

This season’s small berries gave us wine with fantastic deep rich dark red colours and loads of fruit. The wines are busy with the secondary fermentation, known as Malo Lactic fermentation and all the tanks should be done within the next couple of weeks.  At the moment the  my team and I are tasting and analysing the wines to select the tanks for the Casual Collection, Bernheim and our Premium J H Pacas range.

I am really looking forward to releasing some great wines from the 2012 season within the next year or two.

VINEYARDS (50 Hectares – Red varieties only)

While we are patiently waiting for the first wet spell that heralds the arrival of our Cape winter, we are fertilizing the vineyards and preparing to sow the cover crops. These cover crops will enrich the soils with nitrogen and other nutrients. During the winter months the grapes vine will go into a rest period and it is then that pruning takes place to prepare the vine for the next (2013) harvest.

Regards
The Bernheim Winemaker
Jacques.

As this Newsletter is being written our first small tank of wine is already fermenting!

The harvest season is the most important time of the year in our winemaker’s life. The short holiday, relaxing at the seaside, feels like a life time ago!

VINEYARDS (50 Hectares – Red varieties only)

Heat and more heat is what we experienced on the farm the last few weeks of January and beginning of February. This has resulted in some of our vineyards getting sunburnt. The grapes shrivelled up and became dry raisins. This will result in a substantailly smaller crop.

A brief overview of the season’s weather which had an influence on the crop read as follows: June till August 2011 was a very good winter with cold temperatures. The rainfall on the other hand was 25 to 40 % less than the long term average for Paarl, Mamesbury and Stellenbosch. September was warm and dry and the vineyards experienced good growth and a promising start to the season was shown. Rain in November resulted in uneven and poor fruit in some vineyards (bunches were loose and uneven in size). During mid-November to December the cool mild weather continued, with ideal growing conditions for the grapes. Extreme heat was experienced during January and February 2012. For seven consecutive days the temperature stayed above 35° for most of the day. At 07h00 we experienced temperatures of 30º and higher. This lead to heat damage/sunburn and a loss of crop.

On the plus side, except for the loss as a result of the heat, we still have vineyards where the grapes show good growth and compact bunches with small berries. This will result in good quality wines. We were expecting a slightly bigger crop than last year but at the moment we predict a 21% smaller crop compared to last season.

BERNHEIM WINERY

To have the cellar ready for the arrival of the grapes a mad rush and scurrying around were experienced. Vineyard blocks had to be classed and selected according to expected quality. Yeast had to be ordered and the cellar equipment and tanks cleaned. It is now up to Mother Nature, while we sit and wait for the grapes to reach optimum harvest conditions.

The Bernheim team would like to make use of this opportunity to thank all our loyal supporters and wine fans. We hope to see you at the wine tastings and shows during the year.

Regards

The Winemaker and Bernheim team

We have reached that time of the year when many South Africans are starting to clean the camping equipment and getting ready to spend the Christmas holiday at the seaside. At the time of writing this news letter we have had 30 mm of rain and we still had some snow on the mountain peaks. The weather is very unpredictable, with warm days followed by cold rainy days and lots of wind.

VINEYARDS (50 Hectares – Red varieties only)

The past season’s weather will have an influence on the next crop. During the period June till August it was very cold with snow on the mountain peaks. Statistics showed that May and July were warmer than average for the past few years and June and August cooler. The total rainfall measured on the farm for June 2011 was more than the same period last year. However July to November were drier than the previous year.

The weather continued to fluctuate during September and October, with warmer days in October. The total rainfall is 80 ml less than for the same period last year. This causes concern as the soil water level is not ideal and our irrigation dams are not as full at the beginning of our vineyard irrigation programme as we would like them to be.

Towards the last few weeks of the pruning, we thought that we might need some extra hands to help, but our vineyard team managed to finish the pruning on time. At the moment we are busy suckering of vines that are budding and getting canopy wires ready to support the shoots.

The predicted crop size for the Paarl area is smaller than the 2011 crop. This is due to an expected small Chenin Blanc crop in our area. At Bernheim (with only red grapes) we are expecting a similar size to the 2011 season.

Indications are that our 2012 harvest will start late January to early February unless we have a hot spell which could move that starting date forward.

BERNHEIM WINES

We are now preparing the winery for the next crop. Cooling plants, pumps and other machinery are serviced and everything is checked.

The extra care taken in the vineyards and winery are starting to produce results. The 2010 Bernheim Pinotage Rosé was given 3 stars and chosen as a Best Value Award Winner by the 2012 Best Value Wine Guide.

The 2011 Pinotage Rosé is our latest addition to our Bernheim’s Casual Collection range and was released in October. The Rosé is made from 100% Pinotage grapes grown on the slopes of the Paarderberg, and is certified Wine of Origin, Voor Paardeberg. This Rosé (2011) is slightly drier and crisper than the 2010 vintage. This is a result of the winemaker stopping the Rosé fermentation naturally by racking (pumping the wine to another tank) and cooling it as much as possible. This inhibited the yeast activity of converting the sugar to alcohol and as this is not an exact science the natural grape sugar that results will differ from vintage to vintage. The important aspect is balance and Jacques the winemaker is very pleased with the end result. He is also of the opinion that this wine will drink well during the hot summer months.

Our 2008 Classique (Bordeaux style) received a VERITAS Silver Award at this year’s award ceremony. Jacques is confident that this wine will go on to win many more medals.

The release of our 2005 J.H. Pacas range at the same time when we received their VERITAS Award was a stroke of good luck. The       J. H. Pacas Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 received a VERITAS Silver Award and the J.H. Pacas Shiraz 2005 a VERITAS Bronze Award.

The Bernheim team would like to make use of this opportunity to wish all our fans a safe and festive holiday season. Enjoy good company and even better wine!

Regards

The Bernheim Team