Winter update: Prune and prosper
Drive past Glenelly Estate's vineyards this week and you'll see bare vines, rows and rows of them, standing against the backdrop of Simonsberg.
Don't let that fool you into thinking there's nothing going on in the vineyards. Pruning season has begun, and it's arguably the most important few weeks of the whole growing year.
Heinrich Louw and the vineyard team have been out there in the winter chill, working their way vine by vine, cutting last season's growth back to just a bud or two per cane. All by hand (with the help of our ergonomic electric secateurs). Every single cut is a conscious decision: which cane stays, which one goes, how much this particular vine gets to carry when spring comes.
Leave too much and you'll get more bunches but the wine ends up thinner for it. Prune too hard and the vine simply has less to give. Knowing where that line sits isn't something you can teach from a book. It comes from years of walking the same rows, watching how each block responds.
Nobody's popping a cork at the end of a day of pruning. There's just cold hands and a pile of cut canes at your feet. But honestly, this is where a vintage starts to take shape, long before anyone's talking about ripeness or tannin or which barrel it goes into. A vine that's pruned well carries that all the way through to what's in your glass.
Upcoming events with Glenelly Estate
12 August: Women in Wine Tasting with Vinimark
Join us in Ballito on 12 August 2026 as we celebrate Women in Wine with Vinimark. Guests can taste 80 wines from 15 renowned wine farms, paired with tapas.
Venue: Fiamma Grill, Coco De Mer Boutique Hotel, Ballito
Date: Wednesday, 12 August 2026
Time: 18h00 - 20h30
Cost: R200 per person
Bookings are essential. Call 032 946 1029 or email info@fiammagrill.co.za.
28 August & 18 September: Slow Season Fridays at Glenelly
Three courses. Thoughtful pairings. A slower kind of evening. Join us at the Vine Bistro for a dinner built around comforting French flavours, each course served with a glass of Glenelly wine.
Venue: Vine Bistro, Glenelly Estate
Dates: 28 August and 18 September 2026
Time: 18h30 - 20h00
Cost: R495 per person
Book now
12 September: Chardonnay Festival
Set against the limestone hills of De Wetshof Estate in Robertson, the Chardonnay Association of South Africa hosts this Chardonnay celebration. The festival brings together more than 30 of the country's leading Chardonnay producers for a day of tasting, talking and discovering just how far this variety has come.
Venue: De Wetshof Estate, Robertson
Dates: Saturday, 12 September 2026
Time: 09h20
Cost: R995 per person
Buy tickets