in the vineyard : Henk Laing’s farm, Trekpoort, is situated on a stretch of land between Lamberts Bay and Clanwilliam, on the Skurfberg Mountain overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Laing has a deep understanding of this land, the vines, the weather, the animals and fynbos, – having walked these soils during harvest with his father, decades ago. The metre-tall bush vines have survived around 50 years of heat, red sand and a paucity of water and still generate grapes that produce intense, weighty wines with character in spades.
The vines, planted in 1956, are planted in red sand on clay, between wheat fields, apricot trees, rooibos tea bushes and fynbos. Its proximity to the ocean, the hot days with cool nights and the age of the bush vines all contribute to ripeness and naturally high acidity.