Belfield Wines

November 2008 Newsletter

 

The year 2008 has seen us move towards serious marketing of our wines.  Breaking into a highly competitive market with an unknown label has been a challenging task.   

To achieve the exposure we need we attended a number of wine shows in the Western Cape, including Winex and Cape Wine 2008. The latter being the International show case for South African wines.  All good exposure and experience in the pursuit of persuading wine lovers to buy our wine!

Cellar matters

 

During all this marketing activity, the 2008 vintage has been carefully nurtured in the cellar.  The wine is coming along beautifully, portraying what is now becoming the Belfield signature; soft tannins, lovely colour and fruity flavours.

A new wine-making cycle will be upon us very soon, so we will be making room for the new infant by bottling the 2008 in January.  Our attention is now turning towards choosing the oak barrels that will incubate our new offspring in the next season.

 

In the vineyards

 

It was a long, cold and very wet winter. Our gravelly Ironstone soil, or “Koffie klip”, drained well and the rain was not detrimental to the vines.  But, enough is enough, let’s have some summer sun and no rain for a while!

The vines are growing very vigorously and we want to slow them down to achieve the good balance between vegetative growth and grape crop, required for the production of premium wine.

 

Belfield’s new horizons…

 

An essential component of our marketing endeavours is the overseas market.  We have been making great progress here, with Canadataking the lead.  Thanks to our agent, who took the time to visit Belfield, and has been relentless and patient in her determination to import our wine into Toronto, we are on the brink of shipping the first consignment.

We are also nearly ready to ship wine to our agent in Boston, USA.  He has also shown persistence and determination to get our wine onto USA shelves.

Finally, we have been approached by an agent in Scotland to reserve 2006 wines for that destination.

Then there was the shipment to an exclusive chateau hotel in France earlier this year.  Nice to think that our wine is appreciated in the country that is regarded as the bench mark against which the whole world measures itself!

Trumpets and accolades

 

Platter’s South African Wines 2009 – We have just heard that our ratings for our 2006 vintage, which we have been selling since the beginning of this year is as follows:

     2006 Magnifica:   ««««¶    Four and a half stars

    2006 Blend:             ««««    Four stars

Our 4½ stars for our 2006 Magnifica (Cabernet Sauvignon), follows on from the same rating  achieved for our 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon.

 

Crush 2009 –   We are honoured to have Belfield’s Magnifica listed in Michael Olivier’s personalised wine guide. This little book, which is published annually, is a wonderfully entertaining and sensationally descriptive reference for wine lovers.  Do yourself a flavour and visit his website if you are serious about food and wine: www.noshnews.co.za.

 

Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book 2009 – Hugh Johnson is considered to be the world’s favourite wine writer. He mentions Belfield’s Magnifica in the South African section, called “From the Nursery”.  His description, “Belfield, family label from Elgin; Leafy, lovely Cabernets and Bordeaux red.”

Wine Magazine – October 2008 – Giorgio Nava, owner and executive chef at 95 Keerom Street, paired our Magnifica Cabernet with a Springbok Casseruola. “Molto bono” is how he summed up the wine, adding, “I think it’s a fantastic wine – it has a lightness and freshness about it, and I particularly like the well-balanced tannins and alcohol.  I think it is a very versatile food match.  You can drink it with many different types of food, ranging from delicate to very rich…”

 

And what about our 2007 wine?

 

We believe this wine is also following in the wine steps of its earlier siblings, in terms of character and quality.  The plan is to allow it more time in the bottle, prior to releasing it in February or March.

Availability of our 2006 wine.

 

Interest in this wine has gathered momentum recently, and, especially the Magnifica is now in short supply.  I must mention this as the orders in the pipeline would clean us out.

Whilst the stocks of the Blend are larger, this could also happen with this wine.

And of course………..prices will have to rise in January! (This sales pitch sounds familiar doesn’t it?)

 

Snippets from here and there…

 

          “Successful people drink more wine”.  Source: Decanter.

Belfield’s version, “Drink more Belfield wine to become successful”!

        “ Red wine heart benefits no different to other alcohols” Source: Beverage Daily

Belfield’s comment, “Disregard this research”.

          “ High prices make wine taste better”  Source: Times on line.

That’s why our prices have to rise; we want you to enjoy our wine more.

Again a big thank you to Mel, Al and Jen, for putting up with my endless babbling on about Belfield wine.  Also to Lawrence and his team, and of course to Paul Wallace and Mark Carmichael Green for getting us as far as we have come!

 

Mike and the Belfield Team

 

Order now!

Click here for an online purchase for your convenience. Or click on the link below

http://surveyor.elementaldezign.com/index.php?sid=20

“Wine is bottled poetry” Robert Louis Stevenson.

Belfield News March 2008

The four months since our last newsletter have flown by and the 2008 harvest is about to happen. The grapes are in good condition, and have benefited from early bunch exposure to our summer sun. Generally it has been a cool summer, so this extra sun is valuable. Thanks to my niece Caryn for the beautiful image of the grapes taken in early March.

Lawrence’s management of the vineyard canopy has again been outstanding, and he has received many compliments from wine farmers and viticultural experts who have visited Belfield.

Marketing and sales

Since releasing our 2006 vintage we have put a lot of energy into selling and promoting our new wine. Whilst we will continue placing great emphasis on direct sales, which allows us to enjoy personal contact with consumers, we need to reach a larger market. We have thus recently appointed distributors to drive our sales in the greater Cape Town area, Gauteng and in the Eastern Cape. Getting listed is a slow process, but currently Belfield wine can be bought directly from the following outlets:

Hermanus - The Hermanus Wine Village / The Wine Company

Elgin - Peregrine Farm Stall / Houwhoek Farm Stall

Cape Town - The Noble Grape (Constantia) / Lisa’s Little Wine Shop (Kalk Bay)

Our wine can also be enjoyed in the following restaurants:

Elgin - Country Club / Bear and Barrel in Elgin / Orchard Farm Stall (From May)

Stellenbosch - La Pineta (on the R44 outside Stellenbosch)

Hermanus - The Harbour Rock

We were also listed at the Nose Bar in Green point as Wine of the Month in February. There are other outlets in the pipeline…

Trumpets and accolades

Lisa’s Little Wine Shop: Red Blend 06 – “ Dark purple in colour, rich in fruit made for good, light, easy drinking” Magnifica 06 (Cabernet Sauvignon) – “It is not easy to find a good and affordable example of Cabernet Sauvignon. Many wineries have discontinued the Cab in favour of the more popular Shiraz. I loved its warm colour with a good minty mix on the palate. Well made and good for aging. “

Nosh! – A Summer Edition 2008 (Michael Olivier well known food and wine writer) “I was happy to meet a childhood friend Michael Kreft again and to taste his Belfield Magnifica 2006 (named for the Protea Magnifica) a cool climate Cabernet Sauvignon with its dark black berries and minty eucalyptus which I found so alluring in Western Australia Cabs, followed by fat sappy blood plums and chunky yet soft tannins.”

Nosing Around (The Nose Restaurant and Wine Bar) “Allister Kreft has been a long time drinker here at The Nose and has always talked about his family’s vineyards, but never done more than talk until now. He should have come and shown us his wine earlier is all I can say, because this first release Cabernet has come flying out of the blocks……… It is concentrated, yet elegant with lovely black fruit and a long, fruity finish……”

And our 2007 vintage?

The wine was bottled in January, and we opened the first bottle of Cab recently, sharing it with wine industry members including Brendan Shaw, wine connoisseur who runs The Cru wine blog. Everyone was excited by what they tasted, although it is very early days as the wine is still settling down in the bottle.

The 2008 crush

We are ready for the challenge, and along with the rest of South Africa are hoping that Eskom won’t let us down! We are crushing the same tonnage, 10 tons, as 2007. We have increased our percentage of new oak barrels to maintain the complexity of our latest vintage. Your winter wine order I have it on good authority that we are in for an icy winter. If you would like to stock up on Belfield (to keep you warm and in good spirits!) simply email: mike@belfield.co.za

Enjoy! Mike and the Belfield team

November 2007 Newsletter Number 1

This is the first of our Newsletters, which are intended to keep Belfield wine drinkers informed regarding the goings on in the vineyards, cellar matters and any other snippets worthy of comment. This communication will happen as and when the scribe finds the time, the inclination, and the feeling that there is something of interest to pass on!

Our maiden vintage-2005 Cabernet Sauvignon

We launched our limited 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon vintage of 800 bottles in June, and were gratified, (and relieved!), at the response it received with us being sold out by early September. It is one thing planting the vines and making wine from the grapes, but the most intimidating process is placing it in the market for scrutiny by some very discerning wine drinkers!

The wine found its way into Gauteng, Kwazulu Natal, Namibia, Germany, the USA, and of course the Western Cape.  Because of the small volume, sales promotions were of necessity low key and done on a personal basis. So now we move on to our most recent vintages…

2006 Vintage

We have in the meantime been tracking the maturation of the 2006 wine, which was bottled in early 2007.  The wine has progressed beautifully in the bottles, and is being released on the 16^th of November 2007. Whilst the wines will be ready to enjoy immediately, with a little patience and time the vintages will reach their full complexity.

 

For 2006 we have a Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon blend, and our Cabernet Sauvignon reserve. The latter has been named Magnifica after the Protea Magnifica or Queen Protea. We farm these magnificent flowers on the Porterville Mountain in the Cedarberg range.  This protea is elegant and grows in limited numbers in the wild.  It seemed to us to be the ideal name for our reserve as we hope to embody the natural beauty of this flora in the Magnifica release.

 

The wine’s growth is reflected in the development of out distinctive sash label. The new label appears in red for the blend and black for the Magnifica. Pay careful attention to the subtle pattern that is varnished across the label and you will see a stylised Protea Magnifica!

Our wine volumes remain limited in 2007/2008.  We will however be selling more widely than with our 2005 release, and we will make our wine available at selected wine shops and restaurants - we will keep you updated as to these venues when they have been finalised.  Naturally, our wines will continue to be sold from Belfield.

In the vineyard

We are in the meantime preparing for the 2008 crop.  Lawrence and Lucky are extremely busy desuckering in the vigorously growing vineyards.  This will be followed by the tipping of the upright shoots, to control that growth.  All this is aimed at creating a narrow, light friendly canopy, with good bunch exposure to the sun.  Unlike us, the grapes benefit from hours of daily sun exposure!

Cellar matters

We are planning to make 20 % more wine than last year. Oak maturation is vital in the making of premium wines, and so we will be increasing our new oak component to 40% for our 2008 wine.

Our Shiraz and Cabernet Franc in Melanie Vineyard should produce a few grapes this year, which may be used to produce a dry rose'.  We will decide at harvest as to whether this can fit into the cellar programme.

John Platter rating 2008

We are very excited at being awarded 4.5 stars in the 2008 John Platter wine guide for our 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon maiden vintage. We are somewhat overwhelmed by this wonderful news!

Of course I must express my appreciation to the team; Paul Wallace and Mark Carmichael Green who have both been invaluable throughout the wine-making journey, and Lawrence Lebenya whose uncompromising attention to detail has ensured that outstanding grapes are delivered to the cellar.

Finally, a big thank you to all the family, friends, and fellow drinkers of this wine!

Cheers!

Mike and the Belfield crew

Mike's musings

It is with some relief that I can inform you that all our grapes are now safely in the cellar.

We took our Cab off today, totalling 7 tons, which should produce nearly 6000 bottles of wine. I am very happy with our timing, with some rain predicted for Friday.  The grapes are delicious, in good condition, with very little shrivel.

The Merlot after it's 5 day cold soaking, took off at a canter after inoculation. Fermentation has almost run it's course. Tomorrow we take the grapes off the skins.  Thereafter we wait for it ferment dry, before we inoculate for malolactic fermentation.  Hopefully the malolactic process will be an easier passage than last year!

 

Tired, but relieved "Wynmaker"

Well done dad! I don't want you taking all the credit though. I have a very important role to play in tasting the bottled wines quite often to ensure quality control. Kudos to Lawrence Lebenya too, our vineyard manager who's attention to detail is a huge contributor to the quality of the grapes "Wynmaker" has to work with.

Thirsty and relieved "Wynmakers seun"

Message from Mike

We picked our Merlot today, all 3 tons of it.  The grapes looked really good after our final bunch, and individual berry thinning.  An extra week was allowed to allow for a better balance between ph, sugar and TA.  The wait was worth while, with the pips a nice golden brown, and lovely sugar/ acid balance on the tongue.  And rain did not interfere with our planning either.

The dogs looked disappointed to see their favourite snack disappearing down the road to the cellar.  But I tried to explain to them that there is still lots of Cab to snack on !

The Cab looks really healthy, and I guess we will only harvest in about 10 days.

We are now "bywoners" in Valley Green cellar, after 3 seasons on Strathian Farm.  I will be forever grateful to B J Allsop, and his wife Isobel, for putting up with us, AND, for enabling us to get into the business in their cellar.  After all, that's where the famous "Aching Heads" Cab was made in 2004 !

Don't give up on  the release of our 2005 Cab.  The label is about to go to the printers...............  Unfortunately, with only 800 bottles, there won't be much to go round.....

Our 2006 Merlot/ Cab blend is to be bottled later this week.  Then some patience is required until it is released, hopefully towards the end of the year.

Belfield wines
mike@belfield.co.za
082 5751849 (winemaker on the move!)

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