Winter has very much arrived, and our sleeping vines are loving the cold and wet conditions. Winter is the time that we prune our vineyards and it is therefore the first step taken towards the new season and the next growth cycle of our vineyards. Pruning is also considered one of the most important viticultural steps in the cycle of vines, as it not only affects the quantity of the next harvest but is also a very important aspect of shaping the vines in order for them to have a long, healthy life of producing high-quality wine grapes. Pruning of vineyards is both great skill and hard work, and we value our small team of pruners for their annual dedication to perform this very important task.

In the winery, we have for the past 2 months nurtured our 2022 vintage red wines through malolactic fermentation and these have all been racked to the barrel maturation cellar where they can now undergo maturation. For now, they are maturing as separate varieties, until such time that we do our very extensive blending procedure, but I will elaborate more about blending at a later stage. At the end of July, we will also start the process of getting our new 2022 vintage of Sauvignon Blanc stabilised and ready for bottling, so you can look forward to our new vintage of this popular wine in the Spring. It is showing tremendous potential with great aromatic purity and freshness.

With all the power interruptions, we hope you are managing to stay warm and dry this winter. Please remember that at Constantia Glen, we have backup generators at all hours of the day, so we are not affected by load shedding and would love to see you at our tasting room to enjoy some heart-warming meals and fantastic red wines.