GAUTENG FOCUS

Folk in the Cape are spoiled. They can pop out to the winelands any weekend they want, taste wines, buy a case or two and do lunch. Gautengers fight the traffic, risk hi-jacking and have the Magaliesberg as their nearest “mountains”. They deserve a break. Colette Roberts and Georgie Engelbrecht joined the Lindhorst Wines team in March to focus on our Gauteng customers. We sell more wine in Gauteng than we do in any other part of the world so it makes sense. We meet so many of you at the various shows and you buy our wine. Colette and Georgie need to see that you carry on buying our wine and become regular customers. They are phoning all our Gauteng based supporters and besides checking on your stock levels and informing you a new vintage release, they are seeing if you are interested in hosting a private tasting at your home, office or club for a group of friends or colleagues who would like an exclusive tasting experience and purchasing opportunity. You will also be seeing Colette and Georgie at various wine and lifestyle shows at which we will be presenting our wines this year. To discuss a private tasting or to order wine, please call either of the ladies

Colette 083 656 6803
Georgie 083 617 8395

WHITE WINE

We started our life in 2002 as a specialist red wine cellar, believing that to be our niche in the market. Many who visited our tasting room and exhibition stands asked for a white wine. After opening the Terrace Restaurant in the summer 2005 it became very evident that we needed to add a quality white wine to the range. We are both Sauvignon Blanc fans so that decision was not difficult. In 2006 we went through a rigorous selection process and a vineyard in Durbanville was selected. We stuck with them for 2007 and again in 2008 and will continue to do so while quality and price remain good to produce our Shiraz in a Rhode style we decided to buy in Mouvedre and Viognier grapes to co-ferment – although we have planted a small area of these up near the dam and next year we anticipate our first crop. In 2006 the Viognier was all used in the Shiraz blend. In 2007 the team decided to only use the skins in the blend. The juice became available to be used in making a white wine – all 650 bottles of it! We saw it being sold in the restaurant and from the tasting room. But when our Danish importer demanded a third of our production, what could we say. For 2008 we will do 2400 bottles and we can grow from there as demand dictates. We hope to release the wine in August.

ROSé

We had read about the Rosé revival in the UK and especially the opinions that Shiraz Rosé was a firm favorite. In 2007 we fermented 2 barrels of early picked Shiraz that had less than 3 hours of skin contact. This experiment produced a low alcohol, beautiful deep pink wine with good acidity. We blended in some Viognier which softened the acid and lightened the color. Again, the 650 bottles destined for restaurant and tasting room had a third diverted to Denmark. I have recently returned from doing evenings of tastings in Denmark and I can see we will need beef up production. This year we are doing 3000 bottles. Although Rosé is often seen a light mid day quaffer often with lots of ice, ours has all of that – but it’s a fine wine with delicate flavors of strawberries and guava and the acids are beautifully balanced with the fruit and tannin. The colour – light salmon – is stunning.

MEET THE TEAM

In each newsletter we will introduce you to two of our team members. This time it’s Stephan in the sales team and Paul who runs our restaurant.

Stephan van Rooyen

Stephan worked as a casual barman at our opening bash on my 50th birthday – 6 November 2004. Although he is a bit short, he was studying B.Comm and he did a good job that day so we offered him a job in the tasting room over weekends and university breaks. Two years later, as he was graduating, I sat him down and asked about his next career move. When these did not include an overseas stint to be close to his girlfriend, or articles with one of the auditing firms, I asked if he maybe wanted a job at Lindhorst Wines. “I thought you would never ask” was his response. Well, the rest is history. Stephan joined in January last year and has participated in every aspect of selling our wines. His mission is to make me redundant and I look forward to that day.

Shannon’s winemaking debut

Our daughter asked if she could make wine during the 2005 harvest when she was only 4.  We bought a 30 litre barrel and after a family footstomp and a week of 3 punch-downs a day, the barrel was filled with Shannon’s Shiraz.  This has been repeated each year and for 2007 we have a 100 litre barrel.  She decided the proceeds from selling the wine must go to save animals from becoming extinct.  We wrote to the Endangered Wildlife Trust and they were overjoyed with Shannon’s offer.  We created 60 375ml bottles in 3 bottle carry packs with Shannon’s hand drawn label.  Last month four of these packs were sold a the EWT annual wine auction with the highest bid being R1,500 for 3 little bottles!  Anyone wanting to support EWT by buying a 3-pack can contact Leighanne on 011 – 486 1102.

Paul Klaasen

Paul started in the restaurant trade as soon as he left school and has done all his training “in-service”. He has worked in all sections of restaurants: kitchen, admin and front of house. He took over as restaurant manager of “On the Terrace@Lindhorst Wines” in September 2007. Paul has lots of enthusiasm for his job and loves interacting with our customers. Call him if you want to organize a party or special meal at Lindhorst Wine – he promises to give you personal attention, even when his first baby is born in July this year!

Wishing you lots of happy wine experiences!
Cheers
Mark & Belinda