November10th
The Spice Route journey begins in the Swartland where Charl du Plessis steers the wine making process through tough yet ultimately rewarding terroir. The route then travels through to Paarl, to the brand new home of the Spice Route Tasting Room and Spice Route Restaurant, a place where guests are invited to join the adventure and share in the exploration of food and wine.
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November9th
We at Spice Route are proud to announce that two of our wines and three wines from our sister winery, Fairview, featured in the Michelangelo CCL Label International Wine Awards 2011 line up.
A panel of 15 international judges from countries including South Africa, France, Australia, Italy and Argentina tasted a total of 1385 wines from 226 producers before awarding a total of 475 medals at a gala luncheon at the Lord Charles Hotel in Somerset West on the 9th of September 2011.
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August5th
This week’s announcement of the results of the 2010 Japan Wine Challenge saw Spice Route’s 2008 Chenin Blanc recognised as the top South African wine in the competition. This is fantastic recognition as we look to establish the Spice Route brand in the Japanese market.
The JWC was set up in 1997 as an independent wine competition. As their website claims, the Japan Wine Challenge has grown to be the largest and most respected wine competition in Asia. The 2010 round of the Challenge drew 1500 wine entries from 23 countries. The event is chaired by Steven Spurrier (since 2001) with co-chair Lynne Sherriff MW.
Spice Route wines were introduced into to Japan in two years ago and are represented in the country by one of the leading agents, Mottox Wines. We hosted their team at the farm earlier this year, which has helped to give the brand added impetus. This wine distributor’s insightful understanding of their market and the fundamentals of the Spice Route Winery brand have proved an excellent combination and we continue to see growth for the brand. We are looking forward to more good performances in the coming years!
May20th
Well-known South African wine and food writer Michael Olivier chatted about two of our wines on Fine Music Radio in Arpil. You can listen to the clip at the link below and read more about these wines on this website.
February4th
There is an old saying that great wine is made in the vineyard and so it was very encouraging when one of our vineyards recently won first place in the Swartland Vinpro Vineyard Block Competition. The winemakers tend to get the recognition for wines that stand out from the crowd, and this competition aims to highlight the vital role that viticulturalists and grape growers play. This Sauvignon Blanc block is in the Spice Route vineyards on the hills outside Darling. Mario van Eck is responsible for the management of this vineyard and his block received a total score of 96%, with the second place vineyard scoring 92.5%.
The 4 hectare Sauvignon Blanc block was planted in 2003 on Richter 99 rootstock. The vines are SB 11H clone and are trellised using the extended Perold system. The rows are planted in a north-east to south-west direction on Oakleaf soils. The average yield for this block is 6.5 to 7 tons per hectare.
January28th
As the harvest begins and the first grapes start arriving at the cellar, it is worth looking at the conditions in the run-up to the vintage. Spice Route winemaker Charl du Plessis had the following information to share regarding the past six months expectations for 2010 vintage
The winter of 2009 provided us with good winter rainfall, taking the total rainfall for the year to 637mm. Late November saw an unseasonal 104mm fall. The budding of the vines was nice and even and we had good growth from spring to summer.
An interesting observation is that the leaves on all the varieties are very small this year, both in our Swartland and Darling vineyards. The crop levels on most varieties are low, due largely to a lot of wind (the ‘Black Southeaster’) during the flowering and fruit set. Some of the varieties were affected by mildew thanks to the late rain and a number of bunches lost berries during the heavy rains in November.
Overall the berry sizes are much smaller than in 2009 and the bunch weights are lighter. This should lead to good concentration of flavour in the grapes (and the wine!).
Going out on a limb, I would say that we are likely to have a 15 – 20% lower crop than in the 2009 vintage.
December4th
The 2007 Spice Route Shiraz recently received a 90 point rating in United States publication Wine Spectator. This is the second vintage of this wine produced and is the second Shiraz in the Spice Route Winery’s range, offering a more fruit-driven alternative to the producer’s Flagship Syrah.
“Ripe, with a flashy edge to the fig and boysenberry fruit, backed by alluring mocha, fruitcake and pastis hints. The long, juicy finish is rich but well-detailed. Drink now through 2010.” James Molesworth
