in the vineyard : Danie de Wet, present owner and winemaker of De Wetshof Estate, studied viticulture and cellar technology at Geisenheim, the famous German wine institute.
Danie pioneered the noble white varieties of Europe in South Africa and today the estate of 200 hectares specialises in superior white wines exclusively. Thus, De Wetshof, the first registered wine estate in the Robertson region, made South Africa's first Chardonnay Superior, Sauvignon Blanc and Rhine Riesling Superior. Today Danie specialises in Chardonnay.
Climate: 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 gravely soils are extremely rich in lime with a 7.8 - 8 pH.
Rainfall: Robertson is a winter rainfall area with approximately 300mm per annum.
Pest control: Due to a very dry climate, spraying is minimal compared to other wine growing regions.
Winemaking methods: 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.
Cooper: French oak barrels for De Wetshof are specially chosen from specific coopers to enhance the quality of the fruit.
Soil Type: Gravel lime
Rootstock: Richter 99, 110 & 101-14
Age of the vines: 12 - 15 Years
Vines per hectare: 4,000
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 & aroma components are concentrated. The fully ennobled grapes are carefully chosen by hand and the juice is transferred to stainless steel tanks to ferment at 17 - 19°C.