Word from the winemaker
I am writing this as I am looking out the window with the rain softly coming down. The Paardevlei is slowly filling up and the fields has turned to a beautiful luscious green colour. We are very happy about the rain and the May rainfall exceeded the long-term average for most areas of the Western Cape. This has facilitated timely cover crop establishment and aided post-harvest recovery, as grapevine leaves remained active and did not fall off as quick as last year. This is great for carbohydrate reserve build up for the 2026 season.
We have also seen a drop in temperatures from the start of June and great for leading the grapevines into dormancy and this makes us very optimistic about dormancy conditions for the winter. We even had some snow in June, have not seen that in a long time!
We are still busy with the last batches completing malolactic fermentation, and, unfortunately, the cold temperatures are not that great for this process. Then we are still busy tasting all our 2024 vintage red barrels and allocating barrels for each of our red wines. We have our financial yearend at the end of June and the team are very busy making sure we are ready for the auditors. We will shortly after the stock count start blending Truth Tree, Dragon Tree and Treaty Tree Classique Red which will be bottled in the beginning of August.
I had a great visit in Johannesburg and met up with some wonderful sommeliers and we are looking forward to some great new listings for our Flagstone premium wines. I am also heading off to Australia on 17 July to attend the Australian Research Institute technical conference. I will be meeting up with my peers from all our other countries that we make wine in and looking much forward in sharing our knowledge and learning from each other. It is very important that we always stay on top of our game and make sure we are well informed of the latest technology and trends in order to deliver the best quality wines to you, our loyal supporters.
This is also the time for some hearty meals and remember that Word of Mouth Viognier works perfectly with spicy dishes.
As per my previous mail, stay warm, enjoy a glass of Flagstone red each evening and together we will get through the cold months.
Cheers,
Gerhard Swart
Meet Johann Neethling, assistant tasting room manager
"I manage most of the tasting room activities on a daily basis, as well as promoting our lovely wines at events and festivals. My favourite Flagstone wine is the Treaty Tree Red Blend. Nothing beats a glass of that in front of the braai fire, listening to some good music."
Wines on promotion: 24 June - 6 July 2025
Enjoy a 33% discount on the following wines:
Poetry Sauvignon Blanc 2024
Was: R570.00 per case
Now: R381.90 per case
Longitude Red Blend 2024
Was: R660 per case
Now: R442.20 per case
Truth Tree Pinotage 2022
Was: R1 020 per case
Now: R683.40 per case
Writer's Block 2021
Was: R2 370 per case
Now: R1 587.90 per case
Click HERE to shop these wine specials.
Food and Wine pop-up events
We’d love to see you at our upcoming food and wine pop-up events at the tasting room! Join us on Saturday, 28 June, as well as Thursday & Friday, 4–5 July, for a relaxed afternoon with great flavours and good company.
To book, just give us a call at 021 850 5891 or email flagstone.wines@vinarchy.com.
We hope to see you there!
Pop-up menu: 28 June
As a starter
Roasted beetroot tart with horseradish creme, pickles, walnuts and greens - R100
Mains
Classic tarragon chicken with blush tomatoes, earl onions parpadelle pasta and broccolini - R160
Dessert
Trio of Chocolate terrine with raspberry and cappuccino foam - R80
Flagstone pop-up menu Friday 4 July and Saturday 5 July
As a starter
Roast pumpkin and sweet potato Tart Tartin with whipped feta, Malay butter dressing and pinenuts - R100
Mains
Confit of chicken with garlic, thyme and rosemary, celeriac mash, gem lettuce, parsley and pea veloute - R150
Slow braised lamb neck with carrot potato bake, roasted tomato and oregano passata and cannelini beans - R165
Dessert
Pear and apple cinnamon cake with mascopone ice-cream and Hannepoot compote - R90