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What we’ve been up to.

We have been very busy here at Seven Springs and it doesn’t look like the sudden winter here in the Overberg is going to slow us down.  If you thought it was still Autumn, well guess again. The leaves might be golden, but the mountain tops are getting their first dusting of powdery white snow.

Benson in the Autumn Syrah vineyards

Benson in the Autumn Syrah vineyards

Recently we had a promotion at a local Italian restaurant, Fabio’s Ristorante, with great success. As part of celebrating the success of the promotion, but also to thank the team at Fabio’s we had a lovely tasting on the farm, even though it was windy.

Annie, Fabio, Wietske and Johan

Annie, Fabio, Wietske and Johan

What a great team and great support from the local community in Hermanus. They are the only authenic Italian restaurant in Hermanus and should be on your list of places to dine, have a look on http://www.fabios.co.za/. Who knows, maybe you can enjoy a glass of Seven Springs when you are there!

We have also been very busy marketing our wines in the Overberg with Swellendam the newest area you can find our wines. Schoone Oordt, a five star guesthouse serving our Chardonnay, Sauvignon blanc and Pinot noir to their patrons. With a great team of people involved in the guesthouse, Swellendam and Schoone Oordt ( http://www.schooneoordt.co.za) is a real gem and worth spending the night if you ever feel like being treated like instant family.  Our wines are also for sale at De Keldermeister in town and on your way to Swellendam you can stop in Riviersonderend and buy our wines at The Wine Rack.

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This week we had our annual Tradeshow with distrubutor Siris Vintners – Siris About Wine. This year the show went underground with the event taking place in the basement of the Upper East Side Hotel, creating an intimate tasting environment where it felt like you were in a barrel cave. Trade and wineries could connect and talk about all things wine. All-in-all a very enjoyable event and successful to boot. We also got to show off the fact that our 2012 Unoaked Chardonnay and 2011 Oaked Chardonnay both won a Bronze Medal at the 2014 Decanter World Wine Awards.

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Siris Tradeshow 2014

Harvest report to follow soon. It was a tough 2014 vintage and I think I’m still recovering like most viticulurists and winemakers in South Africa. Also be on the look out for upcoming news on the building of our own winery and tasting room on the farm. 2014 is a big year for us and it is all thanks to our local and global support, so thank you to you all.

Cheers

Winemaker Riana

 

 

7 Springs’ Pinot and Sauvvy Christmas

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Some came in high heels,

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another with a hat,

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one wore a tie,

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another brought a cat!

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Seven Springs Vineyards have had a wonderful 2013 and wished to end the year with special friends, good food and great wine. The great wine of course was our Pinot Noir ‘Young Vines II’ 2012 and Sauvignon Blanc 2012.   We welcomed our friends on the ‘stoep’ with some chilled Pongracz Rose and 7Springs Sauvignon Blanc 2012 served with our very own 2013 Frantoio Olive Oil and  homemade Chicken liver pate on toasted Ciabatta.

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Hors d’Ouvres

Chicken Liver Pate 

500g Chicken livers

2 Onions finely chopped

1 Garlic glove

1 Medium lemon (juice)

Dash of Balsamic vinegar

Dash of Brandy

Mayonnaise (I love adding a spoon or two)

Salt & Pepper to taste

Clean the livers and sprinkle with juice of one lemon.  Fry the onions, add livers and fry ’till cooked. Add garlic and a dash of balsamic vinegar.  Let cool adding brandy, salt & pepper to taste. Put in food-processor and blend until smooth. You can add some mayonnaise, if desired. Enjoy with Ciabatta or seed bread.

A TABLE READY FOR A FEAST

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Main Course

Our first main course was roasted Smoked Pork with roasted potatoes with a rocket & mango asian salad. Paired with Pinot Noir 2012.

IMG_4119_1024x768Our second main course came in 2 shapes and sizes, two very different curries. The Pinot Noir 2012 was paired with a mild Malay apricot curry, served in a hollowed out homemade bread. The Sauvignon Blanc 2012 was paired with a Thai Green Curry on fragrant rice.

IMG_4136_1024x768Green Thai Curry

300 gr Chicken, cubed

30 ml vegetable oil

1 onion cut into 8 wedges

2 peppers, diced

2 cloves garlic

400 g baby marrows, diced

5cm knob ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped

1 stalk lemongrass, white part only,  finely chopped

60ml Thai green curry paste, adjust to taste

1 can (400g) coconut milk

180 ml vegetable stock

4-6 dried lime leaves or grated peel of 1 lime (optional)

150 g baby spinach

juice of 2 limes

30 ml fish sauce or light soya sauce

fresh basil and coriander

Saute the onions, peppers, baby marrows, garlic, lemongrass, ginger and curry paste in the vegetable oil until soft. Add chicken, coconut milk, stock and lime leaves and let simmer until cooked through. Stir through baby spinach, lime juice, fish sauce and herbs and serve with steamed rice.

Dessert

For the finale we had Tiramisu with dark chocolate trellising, made from melted dark chocolate and cocoa powder.

IMG_4164_1024x725This was paired with the Pinot Noir 2012. This really brought home the faint coffee aroma you get in the wine. What a wonderfully, delightful combination, yet another reason to love Pinot Noir.

IMG_4184_1024x768And to finish it all off, a platter of goats cheeses. A fantastic compliment to any Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. IMG_4242_576x768

IMG_4135_1024x768  A fun evening was had by all

big, medium and small!

We wish you a very Merry Christmas

Happy holidays

and may 2014 be a healthy and prosperous year for you!

BLOG BY HETTA

Seven Springs Harvest 2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Valentine’s Day? Yes, but also and most important, harvest time at 7 Springs                  Vineyard, where our grapes get tender loving care, as you would treat your                  Valentine!

We have 4 Pinot Noir clones of which two were harvested today, clones 667 and 777. These two will give the fresh fruit component to the wine.

 

Clones 459 and 115 will be picked as and when they reach their full ripeness and they will make out the structural component to our Pinot Noir.

                                Everybody ready for action!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Pinot Noir vines are now in their 4th year,  still very young, and as a result the volumes are still small, so the grapes harvested today will ferment together in the same tank.

Some experienced hands working here, good care is taken not to squash any grapes!

 

 

Our grape pickers enjoy what they are doing and they have a real passion for this job!

                            

Another perfect bunch!

The grapes are transported to the winery in the same crates they were gently harvested into. The gentler the grapes get handled the less breakage there is of the berries. This way we make sure we get the best results from our wonderful grapes.

 

Watch this space and see how our grapes transform into wine!

Seven Springs the video

This super video, taken in our vineyards and surrounds, has just gone live on YouTube. The video was made by the talented Charles Lourens of http://www.bottleplatepillow.com . We are really pleased as the video truly conveys what we at Seven Springs are all about. Thank you Charles, you have done us proud.

Article about Seven Springs Vineyard by Tara Devon

Ex Sommelier, now wine writer, blogger and wine ‘passionista’, Tara Devon, has written an article on Seven Springs Vineyard on her blog. Check out Tara’s work on the link below. Thanks for the article Tara and your passion for South African wine really shows. Once our wines are ready for tasting we will get some bottles to you for a tasting and a review.

http://winepassionista.com/2010/03/17/spotlight-on-south-africa/#more-168

Seven Springs Vineyard to appear on US wine radio show

Tim Pearson from Seven Springs Vineyard is to appear on the US radio show ‘Wine Talk with Stu the Wine Guru’ on the 7th of April. This is agreat opportunity for Tim to promote, not only Seven Springs wines, but wines from the Overberg area and from South Africa in general. Although our wines will not be available in the USA until 2011, this was too good an opportunity for us to pass up as we will get excellent internet exposure as well.

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/tim-pearson-of-seven-springs-vineyard-in-south-africa-will-be-sponsoring-the-april-7-2010-wine-talk-with-stu-the-wine-guru-radio-show-1103085/