Posted on: Carmen Stevens's wall

Today we picked the second block or "patch picking" of the olderst Sauvignon Blanc at 35 years on Amani. The preparation started Friday with me taking danger tape to mark those vines i don't want to be picked today. I tasted the block over 4 days and came to the conclusion that the block is some what of a quilt in its old age. Showing different spots or expressions of itself over a fair amount of the block. So Friday i started my walk ,looking, tasting and marking those wines i thought not ready for the picking as yet. Sunday morning i got up early to do the last of the block, and yes the effort has paid off. The pickers knew exactly were to pick this morning and again it resulted in really awesome fruit being delivered to the cellar . This time around i will employ a natural ferment to show the true character of the age of the block . This is a portion of the final blend that will bring weight and depth to the final wine. Also the flavour spectrum is rich and full, as to show that it has lived a full live with passion fruit and peach skin on nose and just atouch of wild herbs on the palate. Today i realised again how lucky we are to be able to work so close to nature. To be able to walk through all that vines , feel the sun on your skin and taste natures gift so freely. It was very hot in Stellenbosch today , with high humidity levels as well, and i thought of all the older people having to struggel to cope with this unusual weather that we have been having especially this year. I had a tourist group for tasting as well , i showed the new fermenting juice and was overhelmed with question about how we get the juice to taste like it does , how will it turn out eventually and please can i make some juice for older people to also savour in the delights. After the tasting i was even tipped for the super experience as the one older gentelman said. I then took the money i got and dubbled it ,went to the nearest Woolworths and bought the most delicious seedless grapes , as fresh as if picked just this morning. Phoned the nearest old age home to enquire on how many grannies they hosted. Me and the girls made up little parcels and made our rounds through the rooms delivering cold , fresh , sweet tasting grapes to alleviate the heat of the day. But what really grounded me was how grateful all the grannies was just for a bunch of grapes. Little things i sometimes take for granted.

Carmen 04:09 07/02/2012 Comment

Posted on: Carmen Stevens's wall

Hi All , tried my best but really don't now how to reply to the individual posts except for putting all my answers in one long answer before it it is to late! Ok ,here we go :
To Barry - hi Barry thank you for the post , and you are spot on the, SBL is destined for Amani. It is a week later , i settled the juice for 4 days , then inocculated on Saturday. Now its ticking away at 13 degreece celsius , smells lovely and taste beautiful . Very excited as now you can see the changes slowly but surely occuring and you witness with your nose how the juice is turned into wine, now that ,is real magic!!!

To Julia: thank you for the post , you really put a smile on my face when i read your comment , thank you again.carmen

To Simon Fisher: Thanks Simon , me too can't wait to see how this baby develops!

Malcolm : if you saw those beautiful grapes , you too would have been fulled with all the excitement in the world, i promise ! They were just awesome ! Thank you for all the best wishes for the harvest , it means a lot and makes those really late night worth the long hours. Malcolm ,again thank you for the support .
Knowing that people appreciate the efforts and the time spent in the vineyard and cellar is a reward that no one can replace , so thank you for giving me that ! Also you make me very excited to be on the tour, i love the vibe and the pleasure to speak to people about wines especially if they show so much enthusiasm for your work and natures creation, not forgetting the higher power that plays the lead rol.Carmen

Thank you Alan Moate ! Thats very sweet! :-) :-) :-)

To Julia Boulton: thank you for the post ! I must say i too love the sun , it energisers me ! The comment you posted is very sweet , thank you ! Carmen

To Sarah Ramsey: Thank you Sarah for the post and yes/ itwill be under Amani . Still lovely though !

Geoff : So sweet , always , thank you for the pleasure to know you !!! :-) :-) :-) carmen

Carmen 21:06 06/02/2012 Comment

Posted on: Carmen Stevens's wall

Hi All , tried my best but really don't now how to reply to the individual posts except for putting all my answers in one long answer before it it is to late! Ok ,here we go :
To Barry - hi Barry thank you for the post , and you are spot on the, SBL is destined for Amani. It is a week later , i settled the juice for 4 days , then inocculated on Saturday. Now its ticking away at 13 degreece celsius , smells lovely and taste beautiful . Very excited as now you can see the changes slowly but surely occuring and you witness with your nose how the juice is turned into wine, now that ,is real magic!!!

To Julia: thank you for the post , you really put a smile on my face when i read your comment , thank you again.carmen

To Simon Fisher: Thanks Simon , me too can't wait to see how this baby develops!

Malcolm : if you saw those beautiful grapes , you too would have been fulled with all the excitement in the world, i promise ! They were just awesome ! Thank you for all the best wishes for the harvest , it means a lot and makes those really late night worth the long hours. Malcolm ,again thank you for the support .
Knowing that people appreciate the efforts and the time spent in the vineyard and cellar is a reward that no one can replace , so thank you for giving me that ! Also you make me very excited to be on the tour, i love the vibe and the pleasure to speak to people about wines especially if they show so much enthusiasm for your work and natures creation, not forgetting the higher power that plays the lead rol.Carmen

Thank you Alan Moate ! Thats very sweet! :-) :-) :-)

To Julia Boulton: thank you for the post ! I must say i too love the sun , it energisers me ! The comment you posted is very sweet , thank you ! Carmen

To Sarah Ramsey: Thank you Sarah for the post and yes/ itwill be under Amani . Still lovely though !

Geoff : So sweet , always , thank you for the pleasure to know you !!! :-) :-) :-) carmen

Carmen 21:05 06/02/2012 Comment

Posted on: Carmen Stevens's wall

Hi All , tried my best but really don't now how to reply to the individual posts except for putting all my answers in one long answer before it it is to late! Ok ,here we go :
To Barry - hi Barry thank you for the post , and you are spot on the, SBL is destined for Amani. It is a week later , i settled the juice for 4 days , then inocculated on Saturday. Now its ticking away at 13 degreece celsius , smells lovely and taste beautiful . Very excited as now you can see the changes slowly but surely occuring and you witness with your nose how the juice is turned into wine, now that ,is real magic!!!

To Julia: thank you for the post , you really put a smile on my face when i read your comment , thank you again.carmen

To Simon Fisher: Thanks Simon , me too can't wait to see how this baby develops!

Malcolm : if you saw those beautiful grapes , you too would have been fulled with all the excitement in the world, i promise ! They were just awesome ! Thank you for all the best wishes for the harvest , it means a lot and makes those really late night worth the long hours. Malcolm ,again thank you for the support .
Knowing that people appreciate the efforts and the time spent in the vineyard and cellar is a reward that no one can replace , so thank you for giving me that ! Also you make me very excited to be on the tour, i love the vibe and the pleasure to speak to people about wines especially if they show so much enthusiasm for your work and natures creation, not forgetting the higher power that plays the lead rol.Carmen

Thank you Alan Moate ! Thats very sweet! :-) :-) :-)

To Julia Boulton: thank you for the post ! I must say i too love the sun , it energisers me ! The comment you posted is very sweet , thank you ! Carmen

To Sarah Ramsey: Thank you Sarah for the post and yes/ itwill be under Amani . Still lovely though !

Geoff : So sweet , always , thank you for the pleasure to know you !!! :-) :-) :-) carmen

Carmen 21:05 06/02/2012 Comment

Posted on: Carmen Stevens's wall

Wow, what a day! We started the 2012 harvest today and kicked off with the most Beautiful Sauvignon Blanc grapes. I would like to mark this as one of my best Sauvignon Blanc days in the seventeen vintages ,I have work in any cellar. Why? You might wonder, well let me tell you: I got a perfect juice analysis in terms of pH, total acid and sugar. Amazing after that hot - hot spell we had one and a half weeks ago. We made a decision not to panic but to sit it out. We decided to make sure that the ventilation was at its best in the canopy (we took temperatures in the canopy, checked if the leaves was still happy – they too had to be cool at the touch), checked the pressure in the leaves as a double measurement, and when it was not what we aimed for ,would just - just ease the stress with some water. We also took shoots out from the wires to work as an umbrella to shade the bunches – as well as work as protection against the afternoon sun, and wow again the flavor spectrum range from green apple to passion fruit to jalapeño (not green, please but the pepper edginess of the jalapeño) and funny, almost a sultana sweet after taste, just a whole spectrum of beautiful flavors captured in one block of grapes. The tipical zesty acidity of Sauvignon Blanc adds to the refreshing experience on the after taste. JUST LOVEY!!! Now for the nurturing of this beautiful juice to support it with love and attention to be the best it can be. Please keep your fingers crossed from now on and I will say my special little prayer for this tank tonight and touch the tank every morning to make it feel save to perform at its best. My kids came to inspect the grapes after school. Both took some for the teacher to taste tomorrow. I guess they too think it is just beautiful in taste!!! It is 10pm we done for the day , juice are settling into there new home and me I am going home now to check on homework , this year two homework books to check. Wow, again, the harvest has started with a bang of flavours!!!and i am avery happy winemaker tonight !!! :- )))))

Carmen 20:58 31/01/2012 Comment