in the cellar : Muscat varieties in South Africa have traditionally been used for the production of top quality dessert wines. Experiments conducted in 1982 with these varieties resulted in Weltevrede's first Blanc de Noir in that same year.
For the 1998 vintage, the grapes being harvested at 22-23 degrees Balling, crushed and left on the skins for a period of four hours. This, together with added colour extraction enzymes, assisted in obtaining the finest of onion-skin hues present in this vintage. Only Red Muscadel was used for the production of the 1998 vintage.
The must was cold-fermented with a selected yeast and fermentation was stopped by centrifuge once the residual sugar level had reached 15 g/l.