Pierre joined the Graham Beck team in 2010 and for 12 years has worked under the mentorship of Ferreira. As an industry icon and Cap Classique connoisseur, Pieter will be transitioning into his new role as chief operating officer for Graham Beck. The dynamic duo will continue working together closely, with their first shared task already underway: harvest 2022.
According to Pierre, this is one for the books:
“2022 will be a year which I believe will not be easily forgotten. In my 12 years on the estate, I have never experienced such a cool start to summer. This is a good thing as the longer hanging time for the grapes encourages more developed flavours. I feel almost childishly excited about the potential aromatic and analytic quality of the harvest which we are patiently waiting for!"
Coolness certainly seems to be the order of the day, with 2022 marking Graham Beck’s second consecutive night harvest. With hundreds of headlamps flickering like fireflies, our vineyards sparkle at night - reminiscent of what's to come! Harvest is being conducted exclusively during the coolest, darkest hours of the night between 12am and 6am. In the perpetual pursuit for the perfect bubbly, a night harvest delivers cooler fruit with elevated, elegant aromas and brighter acidity.
The very first load of grapes was harvested on Monday 17 January at precisely midnight. In keeping with tradition, Farm Manager Pieter Fouche presented the grapes to Cellar Master Pierre de Klerk at the start of harvest. Pierre blessed the 32nd harvest by ceremoniously sabraging a bottle of Graham Beck Brut Rosé NV over the grapes. Pieter Fouche adds: “The weather in the last three months has certainly brought a few challenges. Thunderstorms introduced a lot of vigour and the disease pressure was extremely high. The good news is that this is not our first rodeo - our 32nd in fact - and I am confident that we remain on top of our game.”
Thanks to a climate of hot days and cool nights and rich limestone soils, Robertson is ideally suited for growing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Of course, our secret ingredient is the bright African sun which ripens our fruit to perfection - and now the stars that cool them.
Join us as we raise a toast to a new era for Graham Beck and celebrate what matters!
Benefits of night harvest
Quality parameters positively influenced by bringing in cooler grapes with night presses:
- Preservation of acid: Heat accelerates the precipitation of organic acids in grapes and juice and necessitates the addition of tartaric acid to juice - especially press juice
- pH will stablise faster: low pH is essential for good Cap Classique
- Preservation and protection of aroma and aroma precursor components
- Lower oxidation potential: Reduced amounts of additives such as SO2, PVPP, bentonite, etc.)
- AGV higher turgor pressure in the grapes will facilitate juice extraction and therefore we should reach our litre tipping point faster, as well as at a lower pressure
- Lower phenolic extraction that in turn will lead to reduced product additions to the juice and wine.