AVONTUUR RELEASES FIRST SAUVIGNON BLANC RESERVE
3 October 2007
 Avontuur Estate’s new Sauvignon Blanc Reserve 2007, named “Sarabande” after one of the Estate’s brood mares. |
Wine maker, Adél van der Merwe introduced Avontuur Estate’s first ever Sauvignon Blanc Reserve, “Sarabande 2007” at a function at Avontuur on Wednesday, 3 October. “I’m thrilled with this wine,” Adèl said, when describing the wine to guests. “It’s elegant and lean with a full mouthfeel and complexity from nearly five months on the lees. During the harvest I identified this block as impressive and from there, vinified the grapes separately. As this was my first harvest at Avontuur, I can’t wait to get into that vineyard again next year and improve on this effort! But in the meantime, enjoy it with grilled chicken or fish – and a little bit of lemon or lime won’t harm.” The wine is named after six time winning mare, Sarabande, one of the most loved and talented “ladies” to grace the Cape Turf in recent years. She is currently resident on the Stud Farm at Avontuur and was brought up to the cellar area to meet her namesake wine and interested guests. At the same time, Avontuur announced a three year sponsorship for the R500 000 Gr 1 Fillies Guineas at Kenilworth in Cape Town. The race takes place on |
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| Saturday, 1 December 2007 and thereafter on the first Saturday in December annually. The announcement was made by Blair Taberer who said the inaugural sponsorship in 2006 was so successful for the Estate, which produces top wines and race horses, that the decision to continue the relationship between Avontuur and Gold Circle, was an easy one to make. “We’re adding to the experience this year, with an evening race sponsorship at Greyville in Durban on Friday, the 30th which will add substantially to our exposure over the weekend. A new addition to the event, is the involvement of the Cart Horse Protection Association, which will benefit from proceeds generated on the day and we are very pleased to have them on board with us,” he said. |
 The Avontuur Team with Sarabande and the namesake wine. F.l.t.r. are Lindy Taberer, winemaker, Adel van der Merwe and GM, Pippa Mickleburgh |
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AVONTUUR RELEASES FLAGSHIP 2004 BLEND
| Avontuur Estate between Stellenbosch and Somerset West proudly announces the release of their flagship 2004 Bordeaux-inspired blend, “Baccarat”. The wine is big, bold and meant to be aged for up to 10 years. “It’s a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc with interesting fynbos, tea and pine needle aroma’s and prominent blackberries on the palate,” says winemaker, Adél van der Merwe. “This is the kind of wine to enjoy with robust red meat dishes, venison or spicy, rich cold meats like salami, proscuitto or Chorizo.” “After selling out the 2001, we skipped a vintage or two and only when I tasted the 2004 blend, was I satisfied that this wine could be released with the Baccarat name proudly emblazoned on the label,” says Adél in conclusion. Baccarat is part of Avontuur’s black label Reserve range, which all feature the names of some of the Estate’s top race horses. The wine is available from the tasting room at R150 per bottle. |
 Baccarat 2004, served with one of the Avontuur Estate Restaurant’s signature dishes, Rare fillet of beef with a cream-based wild mushroom sauce. |
AVONTUUR SHIRAZ WINS GOLD IN BRUSSELS
Avontuur Estate has announced that their Shiraz 2004 was awarded a Gold medal in the 2007 Concourse Mondial Bruxelles. Commenting on the award, Avontuur Marketing Manager Cobie van Oort said that the wine has been doing well in most of the competitions it was entered in, but “this is the cherry on top for us!”Produced by previous winemaker, Willie Malherbe, the wine is full of typically spicy characteristics, but as it was in 60% second-fill French and 40% new American oak for 18 months, it is elegant and restrained on the palate. “Definitely a food wine”, says Cobie.
The wine is available from the cellar door at R70 per bottle.
HARVEST CELEBRATION AT AVONTUUR ESTATE
12 March 2007
With the end of the 2007 wine harvest now in sight, Avontuur Estate invites all fun-loving Helderbergers to join us for an end-of-harvest celebration on the terrace outside the cellar on Saturday, 31 March from 16h30 onwards.
The late afternoon event will kick off with guests grabbing a glass of wine or two and joining in the grape stomping in front of the cellar. Sit back and enjoy the sight of friends, family and colleagues getting covered in grape skins and juice whilst burning some calories! Wine maker Adél van der Merwe will be on hand to chat about her wine making secrets!
Entertainment will be provided by a trio (Clarinet/Sax, Violin and Accordion) of strolling musicians whose upbeat songs from Hungary, Romania and the Mediterranean will set the mood outdoors.
At around 19h00, guests will start helping themselves to the lavish, French country-inspired buffet, created by chefs Zunia and Melanie, who also own the Avontuur Estate Restaurant. Depending on the weather, guests can eat outside by candle light whilst watching the sun set over False Bay – or inside in the cosy restaurant.
The cost is R195 pp which includes the grape stomping, a half-bottle of Avontuur wine per person, the live music during the stomping, the buffet, coffee, VAT and service fees. Reservations are essential. Contact Moerieda at 021 855-3450 or recep@avontuurestate.co.za to book your table.
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33% of 2007 HARVEST COMPLETE!
28 February 2007
"12 of 36 blocks have now been harvested", said Avontuur wine maker Adél van der Merwe on Thursday."With all the Pinotage in the cellar and all the Whites harvested, we're starting to get into the swing of things!"
It took nearly two weeks to harvest all the Sauvignon Blanc as the new blocks bought adjacent to Avontuur, had to be added to the usual volumes this year. Each block has been vinified seperately which should give Adél great scope for blending the ultimate expression of Avontuur's Sauvignon Blanc terroir. Fermentation should be complete by mid-March and the final blend from all the tanks will be made up in April/May.
30 tonnes of Pinotage, all from older, well-established blocks are in the cellar and we're looking forward to another quality vintage for the Pino.
From next week, it's the turn of the rest of the Reds and due to the volumes expected, the vineyards and cellar will be humming.
We've also had some fun with a group doing a team-building day on the Estate. Much fun and laughter later, they had managed to harvest for an hour and done some grape stomping to produce their own red wine. A long, leisurely lunch and a bit of work later, they enjoyed the sunset over False Bay with a cold glass of Brut in their hands.
Join us on Saturday, 31 March for a fun harvest festival on the terrace. Enjoy some grape stomping with friends and family to the strains of a gypsy trio. Then tuck into a rustic harvest buffet with lots of Avontuur wines to guarantee an evening to remember! For more info, check out the March newsletter!
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HARVEST TIME AT AVONTUUR ESTATE
31 January 2007
The most exciting time of the year in the vineyards and cellar, started on Tuesday, 23 January when wine maker Adél van der Merwe and the Avontuur team, started this year’s grape harvest.
The first day started off with a bang with the Sauvignon Blanc from a new block coming into the cellar on the back of a terrible heat wave! According to Adél, the grapes were great with no rot and stunning canopy management which ensured cool and even ripening.
More Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay followed over the next few days. Adél is planning to vinify the Sauvignon Blanc grapes separately to end up eventually with Avontuur’s typical complexity and that interesting palate which has the punters coming back for more.
On the 26th, harvesters had an interesting task when the Pinot Noir block was tackled. Under Adél’s supervision, only the grapes
from the sunny side of the block was harvested for use in our very popular Chardonnay/Pinot Noir wine. Beautiful fruity flavours should find expression when the wine is released.
The first week of the harvest ends off with the Chardonnay for the MCC and the Pinot Noir from the shady side of the row coming off on Friday, 29 January.
Adél is happy with progress at the moment and is expecting a great vintage!
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NEWS ARCHIVE:
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FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT JENNI PRINGLE AT (021) 855-3450
