The younger blocks of Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay and Pinot noir were picked first, and then came the Sauvignon blanc and older Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay. Due to strong winds at the time of flowering in October the yields in the various vineyard blocks on the farm varied substantially - some provided us with record yields while in the case of others, volumes picked were way below expectations. These discrepancies were mainly due to the location of the individual vineyard blocks at various altitudes among the hills and valleys of the farm and consequently their level of exposure to the wind. February and March brought cooler weather, accompanied by heavy downpours of up to 60 millimeters in three days in early February. Especially in the case of the Sauvignon blanc, the pressure was on to deliver the grapes to the cellar as swiftly as possible to avoid any chance of rot associated with such weather conditions. Luckily Uitkyk’s vines grow on the slopes of the Simonsberg where the wind minimises the chances of rot. The quality of the Sauvignon blanc is outstanding, even though we had to pick at a slightly lower sugar level than planned. The first red grapes came from a young block of Merlot and from our only Pinotage vineyard. By the beginning of March all white varietals had been picked with the reds starting to trickle in. The ripening of the red varietals was slightly prolonged by the cold nights and cool days of preceding months. This slow ripening means only one thing: Outstanding reds with intensely concentrated flavours! Clck HERE to read complete newletter (pdf format)....