Bredell's Wine News
Wednesday, 7 July, 2004
Bredell Wines
With the harvest over for almost three months, the wines finally settling from malolactic fermentation, the vines resting peacefully in the dormant winter temperatures....
Dear winelover,
With the harvest over for almost three months, the wines finally settling from malolactic fermentation, the vines resting peacefully in the dormant winter temperatures and the winemaker on vacation in the Karoo, unreachable from society, the time has come for the newly released wines to take the stage in an unforgettable showcase of medals, trophies and wine shows.
We have the final results on our harvest that seems to have been one of superb quality with the summer being so long and stretched. The winemaker Anton Bredell had some interesting comments on this year’s harvest. Bredell wines have also been entered in the Fairbairn Capital Wine Trophy Show and did exceptionally well. The wines were presented for tasting at the Fairbairn Capital Wine Trophy Show where the ports received the highest praise and everybody had to fill their tasting glass twice “just to confirm with their tastebuds”. Our wines were also presented at the Cape Winemakers Guild Showcase where a collection of handpicked winemakers displayed their best wine especially made for the Guild Auction. For those planning to have a glass of port every night for the following winter months, we have included some interesting facts on port. And those wanting to escape from the city rush we introduce to you the Bredell Karoo Nature Reserve, Aasvoëlsvallei.
HARVEST REPORT
The harvest of this year was quite interesting and played on the emotions of many winemakers. After an informal questioning on the 2004 harvest Anton Bredell had the following comments. Initially we experienced scorching on some of the bunches because of the sudden heat wave during the beginning of January. The fluctuating temperatures also caused some uneven ripeness of the bunches that was worrying. However with the rest of summer being quite stretched out and of medium temperatures the berries ripened to standard. The quality is excellent due to the long mild summer and the quantity is slightly down. The harvest ended 10 days later than last year’s, so overall we are satisfied with the 2004 harvest.
Our young wines of the 2004 vintage are definitely something to look forward to. When recently tasted both Anton and Donald found that the Merlot and Shiraz 2004 is of exceptional quality. By the look of things Bredell’s will definitely declare 2004 a Vintage year for the ports.
6 MEDALS FOR JP BREDELL WINES
JP Bredell Wines entered their wines in the Fairbairn Capital Wine Trophy Show. This is one of the toughest wine competitions in the Southern hemisphere. We walked away with the following awards:
A gold medal and a trophy for the Bredell’s Cape Vintage Reserve Port was awarded for the second year in succession. Three other Bredell’s Ports were in the top four of the Vintage Category. The Bredell’s LBV port 2000 scored the highest in the LBV Category. The Pinotage came second in it’s category and the Shiraz 2000 won a medal.
These results effectively places JP Bredell Wines as second most successful winery in South Africa over a two-year period, for this specific show.
The judging panel consisted of four international and six local judges and was chaired by Mr Michael Fridjhon. He requested from the judges to be as strict as possible in the judging process, so only the finest wines received a medal. The end result was only 18 gold medals and 58 silver, out of 951 entries.
Once again JP Bredell Wines has proven to be South Africa’s Best Kept Secret. A diamond in the crown jewels of the Helderberg Wine Route, focussed on classic excellence and quality only associated with the best in the world.
Cape Winemakers Guild Showcase
Gathered as the mythical Round Table with only King Arthur’s presence missing, the members of the Guild presented the very best to be tasted and appreciated in awe by fellow wine connoisseurs. This was held in the Rotunda at the Bay Hotel in Camps Bay.
Being a member of the Guild, Anton Bredell was also present with a magnificent Cabernet Sauvignon 2002(to be released in a few months time) and a Shiraz 2001. The Shiraz was available on last year’s auction and was used as an example of what is to follow this year. This of course is one of the rare occasions that the winemaker Anton Bredell will be seen in public, presenting his wines in his gentle giant style and at times moving as unobserved as possible through the crowds while sniffing and sipping on the other guild wines.
The Show was a great success and our wines were rated as some of the best. A Vintage Port 2002 and a Shiraz 2002 will be available to the highest bidder at the Cape Winemakers Guild Auction in October 2004.
Mythical Traditions
The decanter of port is placed in front of the host who serves the guest to his right and passes the decanter to the guest on his left. And so the port is then passed to the left all the way back to the host.
“Do you know the Bishop of Norwich?”, the rhetorical question demanding an action of passing the port to the person who enquired about the Bishop. It is bad Port-iquette to ask directly for the port, thus the host asks the question to the individual closest to the decanter. Should the person answer “No” instead of passing the port, the host will tell him that “the Bishop is an awfully good fellow, but he never passes the port.
“No heel-taps!”, will be exclaimed indicating that everybody should finish the last of their port so that a second bottle might be opened.
The passing of port should always occur from “port to port”. This started where British officers meticulously passed the port as such, ie. Clockwise
Diary Dates
Here follows some dates where our wines will be available for tasting.
20-22 July
Juliet Cullinan will be hosting her annual Juliet Cullinan Wine Festival in Johannesburg. For more information on this Festival contact Juliet Cullinan at 011 447 1885 or 083 255 9430. There is also a website that you can visit www.art-of-wine.com
24,25,26 and 30 August
On these dates Vinimark will host their Trade Shows in conjunction with Wineworx. These Shows are only for those in the trade of wine such as wineshops, restaurateurs, import and export companies etc, and is unfortunately not open to the general public.
Here follows the dates:
24 August – Cape Town, Table Bay Hotel, 15h00 – 21h00.
25 August – Johannesburg, Summer Place, Hyde Park, 16h00 – 21h00.
26 August – Durban, Havana Grill and Wine Bar, Suncoast Casino, 16h30 – 21hoo.
30 August – Knysna, Cruise Café, Feather Bed Ferry Terminus, 16h00 – 20h00.
For more information contact Vinimark Head Office at 021 883 8043 or e-mail at info@vinimark.co.za
Aasvoëlsvallei
JP Bredell Wines has a secluded and untamed Karoo Nature Reserve that is situated in the breathtaking valley created by the mighty Gouritzriver and the Groot River that deeply delved through the landscape over the past millenia. The valley is situated between the Lange&Outeniqua Mountain range south, Attequas east and Gamka/Rooi mountain range north.
It can be reached with a 2 x 4 up to the main camp and from thereon one needs to have a 4 x 4 vehicle. There are ablution facilities available for day visitors, camping without electricity, a self-catering cottage(sleeps maximum 6 persons), hiking trails, waterholes, pic-nic spots, a wide variety of fauna and flora and a bird watcher’s paradise. It is the ideal place for those wanting to get away from the city rush, school camps, leadership camps or even for corporate team building.
For more information on the Reserve contact Joamari van der Walt at 021 842 2478.
We wish you a wonderful winter season and Merry Christmas for those of you celebrating Mid Year Christmas. We will be sniffing and tasting our ports as we prepare for the big-port-blending month!