in the vineyard : Sauvignon Blanc was harvested from two vineyard sites in the Darling and Swartland areas. The Swartland vineyard is on shale soils and the Darling vineyards on deep red oakleaf soils. All the vineyards are trellised and both the Darling and Swartland vineyards are unirrigated.
Established in 1693, Fairview cellar - with its spectacular view of Table Mountain, lies on the south western slopes of Paarl at the Cape of Good Hope. Fairview was purchased by my grandfather in 1937 and I am the third generation of my family to make wine at the Fairview cellar. We have vineyards in the leading Coastal wine producing area, where geographic and climatic diversity allow us to craft a range of truly distinctive wines. In addition, Fairview is the country's leading producer of gourmet cheese. To life!
about the harvest: Harvest Dates:
Swartland: 5th February
Darling: 16 - 23 February
The various parcels of fruit were picked at between 22.3° and 24.6° balling, over a period of 3 weeks. All the Darling fruit was machine harvested at night (from 23h00) and the grapes arrived at the cellar at 15° celsius. The final blend comprises 70% Darling and 30% Swartland grapes.
in the cellar : After harvesting the bunches were destalked, lightly crushed and pressed in a pneumatic press. Juice was settled and then fermented in stainless steel tanks at between 11° and 13° celsius. After fermentation the wine was left on its fine lees prior to blending and bottling.