#houtbay

The wild and wet rollercoaster of Harvest 2023 has finally come to an end!

Beginning on January 23 and concluding on March 28, this year's harvest required three months of unwavering attentiveness and constant hope for better weather

The 2023 vintage was a test of our resilience as it was heavily influenced by rain and a cooler climate. While water is vital to the farming of grapes - it can also throw a big spanner in the works. This harvest was unlike any other we have experienced in our 19 years of winemaking, but are proud to say… “we think we rose to the challenge”.

The untimely rain - 200mm in March alone -  not only delayed the picking process but also increased the incidence of rot, presenting winemakers with a conundrum. We had to choose between harvesting grapes at lower sugar levels to prevent further damage or waiting out the rain. This was a risky gamble. Despite the challenges, we managed to produce a vintage that exceeded our expectations, with unique flavours and aromas that reflect the weather patterns.

As this rollercoaster ride comes to a close, we express our gratitude to our dedicated team who worked tirelessly to make this vintage possible. We would also like to thank our customers for their unyielding support and appreciation of our wines.

Our Rosé keeps rising to the occasion and was awarded Gold at the National Rose Wine & Spirit Challenge of 2022.

There was some more exciting news this week. The Mayor of Cape Town, Geordin Lewis-Hill, introduced his favourite choice of two wines per estate, selected from various renowned wine cellars in Constantia, Durbanville, as well as Hout Bay Vineyards & Cape Point Vineyards, to represent The Mayor's Choice wines. These will be presented to esteemed foreign dignitaries and other guests, at official functions.

We are thrilled to be included in this acclaimed list of Cape wineries, recognised for their exceptional quality.  Our  Black Swan Port was selected, along with the Rosé and Petrus wines, making Hout Bay Vineyards the only winery to have three wines  as part of the line up.

Jan van Riebeeck noted in his diary in 1659, "Today, wine was made for the first time from Cape grapes.”  That was some 364 years ago.

To celebrate, we would like to invite you to join us on the 27th & 28th of May 2023 to taste the fruits of our years of labour. Hout Bay Vineyards will be open for wine tasting and sales from 12h00 to 17h00.

We will have our usual delicious food on offer and, of course, all of Hout Bay Vineyards wine... just not the MCC - SORRY - we promise it will be ready at the end of the year in time for all your festive celebrations. 

As always, it is a happy occasion and everyone is welcome, so please bring your friends and family along but we kindly ask you to leave your animals at home.

We look forward to seeing you!

Cathy & Peter

We will be selling our wines at special cellar-door prices which means a 15% saving for you as this price will be including VAT.

Wines available will be: 

BLUSH 2022

SAUVIGNON BLANC 2022

ROSE 2022

MERLOT 2020

SHIRAZ 2020

PETRUS 2018

PETRUS 2013

PETER & PAUL 2012

BLACK SWAN PORT 2013

THE WAIT IS FINALLY OVER - BRING ON THE BUBBLES!

After almost 2 years without Hout Bay Vineyards bubbles, we are delighted to offer you our 2020 Vintage MCC, Klasiek by Catharine.

In the last couple of years, we have planted 2 new Chardonnay vineyards in Hout Bay in order to increase our MCC production and keep it as a Hout Bay Wine of Origin product.

Did you know that some of the world’s finest sparkling wine is produced in South Africa? Alongside Champagne, South African bubbly is globally known and respected as a traditional method wine. South Africa, in 2020, was ranked as the world’s eighth largest wine producer, contributing 4.0% of the total wine volume.

Methode Cap Classique (MCC) refers to South African sparkling wines made in the traditional method. The term was adopted in 1992 in response to the ban on the use of the words ‘Champagne’ and ‘Champenoise’ for anything other than the bottle-fermented wine from the Champagne region in France.

MCC is a premium sparkling wine reflecting South African climate, soils, terroirs and the passion of the producers here. It is not a replica of Champagne. It is Methode Cap Classique itself. There will now also be a new Category - of which our Klasiek By Catharine already qualifies.

“Methode Cap Classique with extended lees aging”

Quite a mouthful, but this means that you will be able to distinguish it as a wine made from the three classic Champagne grapes only, and has been bottle fermented and aged for a minimum of 36 months.  This is a fantastic effort by the MCC Producers Association to ensure the quality of this noble drink!  We happily raise a glass to them!

Back to Vineyards

While the Northern Hemisphere harvest is already finished, for us below the equator, we are rapidly starting to prepare for the 2024 season. Vines are showing more leaves by the day, winemakers are bottling and shipping out wines to make way for the new harvest, inventories are being checked, machines serviced, and in many cases, vineyard activities now also have to incorporate damage control after the recent devastating floods. 

Hout Bay Vineyards was fortunate enough to have escaped the floods relatively unscathed.  Apart from an enormous amount of water rushing down the mountains on all sides of the valley where we have our vineyards, we suffered only a few mudslides and some freshly cut out grooves & ruts between the vines.

After a cold and very wet winter, we are positive and optimistic about the upcoming harvest. While we saw a smaller harvest this year, ideal winter conditions and lots of rain has set the stage for a promising 2024 harvest. So far so good. Bring on summer!

Summer Open Weekend - 25th & 26th November

With that said, our 16th summer open weekend  will be held on  25 & 26  November.

We will be selling our 2022 Sauvignon Blanc, Blush & Rosé. Along with this will be the 2020 Klasiek by Catharine, and 2020 Merlot & Shiraz as well as the 2018 Petrus. On special will be a few ‘cellar master’  Petrus releases as well.

On Open Weekend, we look forward to welcoming you from 12h00 onwards. As always, it is a happy occasion and everyone is welcome, so please bring friends and family along, but we kindly request that you leave your dogs at home.

We will be selling our wines at cellar-door prices, which of course means that the standard price includes VAT. 

In addition to Maxine’s honey and Samantha’s olives and olive oil, we will have the following wines available for tasting and sales:

2022 Vintage

Blush

Sauvignon Blanc

Rosé – Grenache Noir

2020 Vintage

MCC Klasiek by Catharine

Merlot

Shiraz

2018 Vintage

Petrus   

Black Swan 10-year-old Tawny Port 

A great variety of delicious food will also be on offer. Maurizio from Origin Food will once again be offering his fantastic charcuterie platters and Gill of Seven Circles will have a variety of tasty wraps and burgers.

An entrance fee of R100 will be charged. This includes 6 wine-tasting coupons and a R40 refundable deposit for the glass.

We do hold wine tasting by appointment at our cellar. This is a very special, personalised time for not only tasting the wine but also for learning about the grapes and the production of the different wines.