Colour: Dark red with purple tinges.
Nose: Sweet plums with caramel, vanilla sweet spice.
Taste: Juicy with concentrated red fruits and traces of smoke and excellent integration between fruit and wood with a lingering aftertaste.
Great with game casseroles, red meat dishes, robust cheeses and dark chocolate.
in the vineyard : Farm Manager: Hennie van der Westhuizen
Background
The grapes for the Earthbound range of mostly organic wines, are sourced from Fairtrade-accredited Papkuilsfontein Vineyards near Darling, close to South Africa's rugged West Coast. This area is blessed with a great combination of soils and a cooling maritime climate for making excellent wines. This range of wines, made by winemaker Samuel Viljoen, are an expression of an approach to wine-growing and winemaking that is eco- and socially conscious.
Organic
The grapes for this wine come from Papkuilsfontein Vineyards, a farm near Darling. The vines were certified as organic by the Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS) after a three-year conversion process.
SGS is a leading international inspection, verification, testing and certification company, recognised as a global benchmark for quality and integrity assurance in the production of organic foodstuffs. All elements in the production programme are fully monitored on an annual basis and traceable at all points.
Fairtrade-accredited
For every ton of grapes harvested for this wine, a premium of €0,50 is paid that goes towards projects intended to benefit workers on the farm, Papkuilsfontein Vineyards, near Darling. A joint body, representing the workers decides on how premiums will be spent. To date premiums have been directed towards computer facilities, as well as appliances for the recreation room. The building of a community hall is in the final stage of planning.
WIETA-accredited
Earthbound has also been accredited by the Wine and Agricultural Industry Ethical Trade Association (WIETA) for complying with its code of good practice, premised on the base code of the International Labour Conventions’ Ethical Trading Initiative.
BWI member
Papkuilsfontein is a member of the Biodiversity & Wine Initiative that seeks to protect the wealth of biodiversity found in the Cape Floral Kingdom by rehabilitating land on wine farms to indigenous habitat. Wetlands, renosterveld and natural corridors are maintained on the farm. Spekbome (Portulacaria afra) have been established for their ability to absorb and store carbon in the soil and indigenous flora maintained in islands on the farm.
In accordance with the eco-sustainable principles of South Africa's Integrated Production of Wine (IPW), a programme of integrated pest management is followed to reduce the need for sprays. For example, owl boxes to accommodate a variety of local owl species have been erected to keep the rodent population under control, while coccidoxenoides perminutus, a mealybug parasitoid and cryptolaemus larvae feed on mealybugs that are leafroll vectors. Steam weeders are used to destroy invasive weeds with heat. Cover cropping, with oats, triticale and lupins provide organic mulching in alternate rows, lightly rolled over of incorporated into the soil using disc harrows.
Viticulture
The deep, red Tukulu soils of Papkuilsfontein situated just 25km from the sea, have an excellent capacity to retain water. The cooling Atlantic Ocean breezes and a protective range of hillocks, create an optimal micro climate for excellent growing conditions and ripening of the grapes. The farm also has an above-average rainfall of just under 570 mm for the West Coast.
The grapes for this wine come from two dry-farmed blocks trellised on a 3-wire hedge system planted in 1998 and 1999, yielding 3.5 and 5.5 tons/ha respectively. Suckering and tipping of the vines ensured good aeration, light penetration and bud fertility.
in the cellar : The wine was made in an SGS-certified cellar. The grapes were fermented on the skins at 23° to 25°C until dry. Regular pump-overs ensured optimal extraction of colour and flavour. The wine was pressed and then racked into stainless steel tanks. After malolactic fermentation it was racked to barrel, where it spent nine months. A combination of 300 litre American (54%) and French (46%) oak was used, with the American oak used to impart sweet, vanilla flowers. In line with organic requirements, total sulphur levels were kept below 100 pmm (compared with 160 ppm for regular wines).