Can you believe it? We are almost at the end of winter. For us at Flagstone Wines, this year has just been a blur so far; definitely not boring.
This week, we had our first visit for the new season to our growers and vineyards. It was an early start at 05h00 packing the car with wines samples, fermentation files and warm gear for in case we encounter some rain.
We stopped for an early coffee in Agter Paarl and met up with our viticultural consultant, Hanno van Schalkwyk. Armed with water bottles and samples, we headed West to Darling for our first stop. This was followed by vineyards in Hermon where we also met up with CJ Marais, our social media and digital content creator. At this farm, we focussed on some different pruning techniques we use on this farm for each of the varieties we buy.
Oh, it's very important for you to follow us on Instagram and Facebook ( choose your poison or both).
Then we were off to Paarl to meet up with the farm manager from Vititec, who looks after the vineyards on the foothills off Stellenbosch. Last stop was Agter-Paarl and then fighting the Stellenbosch traffic to arrive back home at 18h30. Quick dinner and then catching up on the days admin. All in a days work.
So, what is the reason for this first visit to our vineyards this time of year?
We have wine samples from each batch that we picked from each specific farm along with their crushing and fermentation data. In this way, we reflect with our farmers and their managers on the previous vintage and plan for the upcoming one. We discuss what has worked well and if there is anything we need to do differently for the upcoming vintage. We are also looking at the pruning of the vines as this is the first important action for the new season happening in the last part of winter.
The silly season of wine competitions has also started, and we have already some great news! ( If you follow CJ’s work on social media you might already know). Our Velvet Shiraz Blend 2023 came under the Top 5 Shiraz blends at the Shiraz Challenge and the Truth Tree Pinotage 2021 walked away with the Pinotage Trophy at the Fine Wine Awards! Our Sauvignon Blancs also rose to the occasion with Free Run 2023 and The Surge 2024 ranking under the top 10 of Winemag.co.za's Prescient Sauvignon Blanc Report for 2025.
In the cellar, we are busy blending our wines for the next bottling in October, which include, all our Chenin Blancs and Sauv Blancs. Then we will work on our Viognier and, lastly, our range of premium red wines. We have also had two full months of blending, preparing, and bottling almost all our wines for the Poetry range, Noon Gun, and Longitude. All these fresh vintages will soon be available in the tasting room for you to come and taste and enjoy at home with your family and friends.
So you can see, we have been busy with a bit more than a few late nights and we do all of this because we love it! And our number one reason is to provide you, our customer, joy, because that is what wine is supposed to do.
Cheers until next month,
Gerhard Swart
Meet CJ Marais, social media and digital content creator for Flagstone
"Hi, I’m CJ Marais, the social media and digital content creator for Flagstone Wines. Some of you might remember me from the tasting room, where my journey with Flagstone first began as a tasting room assistant. Since then, I’ve been lucky enough to grow into this role, and I’m super excited to be sharing the Flagstone story through our social media channels. I hope you’ve been enjoying the recent content, and I can’t wait to keep taking you along on our journey!"
Wines on promotion: 27 August - 6 September 2025
Enjoy a 33% discount on the following wines:
Poetry Sauvignon Blanc 2024
Was: R570.00 per case
Now: R381.90 per case
Poetry Cabernet Sauvignon 2023
Was: R570.00 per case
Now: R381.90 per case
Free Run Sauvignon Blanc 2023
Was: R930.00 per case
Now: R623.10 per case
Treaty Tree Classique Red 2022
Was: R1 020.00 per case
Now: R683.40 per case
Music Room Cabernet Sauvignon 2021
Was: R2 370.00 per case
Now: R1 587.90 per case
Click HERE to shop these wine specials online.
Food and wine pop-up events
We're excited to share the new menus for our monthly Food and Wine Pop-Up events, happening on 30 August and 5 &6 September. Join us at the tasting room between 12pm and 3pm to savour these exquisite dishes prepared by chefs Mark and Mo.
Flagstone pop-up menu: 30 August 2025
Starter
Pan-seared prawns with pancetta and roasted red pepper arrancini - R100
Mains
Crisp-baked lemon chicken with sweet corn ribs, corn and basil sauce, and fondant potatoes - R150
Fired sirloin with parmesan herb crust, pumpkin pie, grilled broccolini, and port cinnamon jus - R160
Dessert
Vanilla crème brulee on spiced cake with roasted apple and pear compote - R90
Flagstone pop-up menu: 5 and 6 September 2025
Starter
Seared tuna with baby cucumber, avocado and coconut velouté, and Thai sweet chilli relish - R100
Mains
Chicken and mushroom ragout with red wine and herbs, served with potato gnocchi and gremolata - R150
Roast pork belly with spring onion risotto, glazed carrots and port apple jus - R160
Dessert
Caramelised white chocolate cheesecake with cranberry compote and almond crumble - R90
Be sure to book your spot now by contacting us at flagstone.wines@vinarchy.com or by calling 021 850 5891. We hope to see you there!
