The Hummingbird 2019

Have you ever watched as Sugarbird or the South American counter parts, The Hummingbird flatter about when they suck the precious liquid sweetness from flowers, her in Africa it’s the Aloes that produce a lovely sweet sugar syrup for the birds to humabout?

Well this is what inspired me to create yet another Kaap Klassiek for my Bubbly friends to enjoy un the warm summer as an enjoyable refreshment. After an interesting phone call from a farmer on the Voor-Paardeberg who needed someone to test his Viura (also called Macabeau), a grape found in southern France and Spain where it is used to make the Cava and forms the base of Rioja white blends.

Viura and Chenin Blanc is picked separately and only blended once primary natural ferment has finished and both parts have gone through malolactic fermentation. Grapes are treated with utmost care as we pick in lug boxes, transport to a cool room at the cellar, where it will be processed the next day. Whole bunch pressing at very low pressure for 3 hours per press load gives us only the best juice which is settled overnight, racked carefully off its gross-lees and left in tank at cool 14 degree Celsius for a natural ferment. Once finished we leave it to go through Malolactic ferment after which we will do a tasting to select the optimal blend for the vintage. For 2019 we blended approx. 75% Viura, with a 25% Chenin Blanc for the optimal Hummingbird experience.