in the vineyard : Climate:
Winter rainfall approximately 300mm per annum. Summer afternoons are fanned by a cool breeze from the Agulhas Coast. Nights are chilly and mist often shrouds the vineyards until late morning during high summer.
Irrigation:
The vineyards are scientifically irrigated with the aid of a fully computerised irrigation system. Thanks to the most modern technology, irrigation on De Wetshof has been turned into an asset promoting the quality of the grapes.
Soils: The gravelly soils are extremely rich in lime with a very high pH - similar to soils of the leading wine growing regions in the world.
Rainfall:
Robertson is a winter rainfall area with approximately 300mm per annum.
Pest Control:
Due to a very dry climate, spraying is minimal comparred to other wine growing regions.
Soil Type: Gravel lime
Rootstock: Richter 99, 110, 101-14
Age of the vines: 12 - 15 years
Vines per hectares: 4000
Trellising style: 6 Wire fence system cordon with spur pruning
in the cellar : This natural dessert wine is made only rarely in years when the humidity is high. During the middle of the harvest the fungus botrytis cinerea ennobles the grapes, building sugar content and acidity while the flavour and aroma components are concentrated. The fully ennobled grapes are carefully selected by hand and the juice is tranferred to stainless steel tanks to ferment at 17 - 19 C.
Danie de Wet adjusts his methods of winemaking from year to year, according to weather conditions and grape quality, in the belief that wine is made in the vineyard and not in the cellar.