Come celebrate the month of love at Doolhof Wine Estate in Wellington.
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Valentine’s Day at Doolhof
February 1st, 2012Feedback on Wine Makers dinner at MINT, The Taj Hotel, Cape Town
December 9th, 2011Recently a Wine Makers Dinner held at Mint restaurant in the Taj Hotel, Cape Town presented the opportunity for a friendly wine blogger from the UK named Pauline to meet up with our wine maker Frederieck Kuhne. She wrote a nice piece on the evening which you can read below.
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I always love been invited to dinner parties – changing into smarter clothes that make you feel handsome and beautiful; the dabbing on of that special cologne/perfume, the last minute shoe polishing; the changing of accessories to make sure they are not to flashy/bold; selecting a gift for the host; the anticipation of seeing your friends again and meeting new faces; the welcoming smiles at the door; the jovial atmosphere of witty intelligent conversation; the appreciation of the thought, effort, sweat & tears behind the food menu and preparation ;the conscious effort of making sure everything is just perfect!; and that wonderful magic feeling at the end of the evening of: ‘this was such a fantastic time, when can we do this again my friend?’
The Wine Makers Dinner at MINT Restaurant (The Taj Hotel), on Thursday evening, had all these elements and more! Superb and hand selected wines were presented by Raats Family Wines; Doolhof Estate; Groote Post; La Vierge and Warwick to accompany the gourmet food prepared by the kitchen team lead by Head Chef Shaym Langham.
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Liver and onions paired with Doolhof Malbec 2008
November 30th, 2011From the video archives, we bring you a food pairings that Eric Bulpitt, who was with Jardine restaurant at the time did with a Doolhof Malbec 2008.
Doolhof Wine Estate achieves two national winners at 2011 Novare SA Terroir Wine Awards
August 1st, 2011For the fifth time, Doolhof Wine Estate near Wellington has been awarded national winner status at the Sixth Annual Novare SA Terroir Wine Awards.
This year, two wines are national winners, the 2009 Signatures of Doolhof Malbec for theTop Malbec and the 2009 Signatures of Doolhof Petit Verdot for the Top Petit Verdot. The latter follows its predecessor of the 2008 vintage, which was a national winner at the same awards last year.
Both wines have been crafted by Doolhof wine maker, Friedrich Kühne, using the same processes but with different yeasts. Viticulturist Hendrik Laubscher, is in charge of the vineyards.
The 2009 Malbec comes from a small, 2.5 hectare, west-facing vineyard on the Palmietberg on Doolhof Estate, planted in 2003. Stony soil, minimal irrigation and careful tending ensure grapes of the highest quality. Hand harvesting, cold soaking for 48 hours and fermentation for seven days took place.
After extended skin contact that added richness and depth, the wine was matured in 50% new 225 litre barrels and 50% second fill French oak barrels for 14 months, and bottled in November 2010. This is a serious food wine that pairs well with red meat dishes accompanied by rich, spicy sauces.
The 2009 Petit Verdot grapes are grown in Clovelly soils in a small, north-facing vineyard planted in 2004. The grapes were hand picked, cold soaked for 48 hours and fermented for seven days at a low temperature to produce a wine of finesse and fruit. The Petit Verdot, also aged in French barrels for 14 months, is a powerful wine that pairs best with game and beef fillet.
Friedrich Kühne is delighted that these wines, in particular, have received this major recognition. “Hendrik and I believe that a great wine is made in the vineyard. So, we take great care to ensure that viticultural and oenological processes are excellent, to create these outstanding wines from Doolhof’s unique terroir under Bain’s Kloof Pass.”
Media enquiries: Penelope Horwood
bellarosah@gmail.com, 083 708 2660
Harvest report 2011
April 15th, 2011Doolhof Wine Estate nestled under the Bainskloof Pass, Wellington had an excellent harvest against the background of an extremely hot and dry summer and all the accompanying ramifications for the wine maker.
The harvest began on 2nd February, traditionally with Sauvignon Blanc grapes. The target was achieved, as all grapes were in the Winery by 10.00 am. We produced five tanks of Sauvignon Blanc.
The Chardonnay was harvested at optimum sugar levels and we experimented with two different yeasts in the two tanks. Like the Sauvignon Blanc, the Chardonnay was made in a reductive style to maximise both flavour development and aromas.
Our Chenin Blanc, on 35 year old bush vines, was left longer for slow ripening and greater concentration. We have great expectations this year.
Finally, for the whites, we picked the Semillon quite late, being careful to avoid rot with their thin skins. As last year, we fermented part of the crop in oak barrels.
The weather affected the reds to a different degree. Malbec yield was reduced due to the heat and we noticed some uneven ripening in several varietals – Pinotage, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot.
Hence, we need to call into play the partnership between the viticulturist (Hendrik Laubscher) and the winemaker and his staff. By shared decision-making on harvest dates, and sorting and selection in the cellar, we feel we have obtained maximum colour and interesting possibilities from the reds.
This year our Cape Robin Rosé will be 100% Shiraz. We set out to make a fresh, crisp dry rosé with low alcohol and red fruits and flavours on the nose. We feel we have achieved our targets.
As we said, an excellent harvest outcome but a lot of hard work and experience required.
A challenging vintage but we are excited about the wines, albeit at this early stage.
The harvest finished on 15th March with the last Petit Verdot grapes being picked.
Doolhof begins the 2011 harvest
February 15th, 2011Armed with scissors and baskets, the vineyard team of Doolhof Wine Estate stood ready for first light to begin harvesting the first grapes of the 2011 pressing season. We wanted the grapes to be as cool as possible.
We began harvesting with Sauvignon Blanc against the foothills of the Groenberg. This cool vineyard yeilds around 20 tons, all the grapes destined to be part of the Signatures of Doolhof Sauvignon Blanc.
The heat wave at the end of January, didn’t do much harm, as this vineyard is well protected with a nice green cover of leaves. Some shrivelled fruit was present but was removed at the sorting table.
Doolhof’s Sauvignon Blanc block is divided into four equal parts. We wanted the last grapes at the cellar before 10:00 am, to preserve colour, aroma and flavours. I added a lot of dry ice at the crusher and all the way to the settling tank, to keep oxygen out, thus making a delicate, fresh, aromatic white wine.
Very cool settling of up to four days was done to have crystal clear juice to ferment. Aromas of figs and freshly cut grass were evident from early on. We will ferment four different tanks with different yeasts that will add complexity to the final wine. The wine will be aged on the lees before being bottled, around August 2011.
This special effort, as well as painstaking attention to detail, is the reason for the numerous awards received by the Signatures of Doolhof Sauvignon Blanc.
Harvesting will continue up to mid-March.
Winchester Art Show
January 25th, 2011Are you a lover of exquisite wine, delectable cuisine and modern art?
Come join us for our legendary monthly event showcasing the finest in cuisine, wine, and art.
Wellington Wine Harvest Festival 2011 Events at Doolhof
January 21st, 2011It’s almost that time of the year again.
Have a look at our line-up below of events happening at Doolhof Wine Estate during the Wellington Wine Harvest Festival 2011.
Double Gold Veritas for Signatures of Doolhof Merlot 2007
November 2nd, 2010Daan Coetzee, General Manager of Doolhof Wine Estate, attended the Veritas Awards function on 8 October in Cape Town and reported as follows:
The annual Veritas Award dinner is arguably one of the social highlights in the Cape Winelands calendar. The function last Friday was no exception. To see winemakers, grape producers, viticulturists, marketers and managers who are normally seen in shorts, wine-stained shirts and Rossi boots, all dressed up in evening suits and the ladies resplendent in evening gowns, is indeed a treat in itself.
The fact that the invitations to the event specify the dress for the evening as “Formal” says something about the standard of the event itself. The ever so dapper MC, Bennie Howard who sets the tone in his evening suit, commented jokingly on young winemakers going to the podium to collect their medals without ties and jackets.
The Veritas competition celebrated its 20th anniversary this year and to mark the occasion, South African Brandy was entered as a new class in the judging, and won quite a few golds and double golds.
As always, the event was meticulously planned and the execution on the evening was faultless. The food for the 850 guests was served by an army of waiting staff, so that my main course of medium -rare fillet of beef was still piping hot when it was placed in front of me.
This year Doolhof won one of the 64 Double Golds awarded to wines in this year’s competition. The winning wine was the Doolhof Signatures of Doolhof Merlot 2007. This particular Merlot did very well in the Veritas competition, not only as a direct entrant, but also by association. In 2009, Doolhof’s The Minotaur 2007, a red blend, won a Double Gold Veritas medal, and one of the components of this red blend was the same Merlot, which obviously contributed to the success of The Minotaur and which was also awarded four stars in Platter and a gold medal in the 2009 Michelangelo International Wine Awards.
Win a weekend for four at Doolhof Wine Estate, Wellington
September 16th, 2010The superb Doolhof Wine Estate, near Wellington, Western Cape invites the public to participate in a fun, new promotion that runs concurrently with its latest wine release, Lady in Red.
The competition held between 1 September and 31 October 2010, offers one lucky winner the opportunity to enjoy the magnificence of this ultra-premium wine estate with his or her partner plus two friends. They will be flown Club (business class) by British Airways (operated by Comair Limited) from either Johannesburg or Durban, for a two-night weekend stay in the five star Grand Dédale Country House on Doolhof. The prize is worth more than R44,000 – an all-expenses paid Cape Winelands experience!
All you need to do is to answer several easy questions and provide us with the names of three of your friends by the 31 October 2010.
Doolhof, the Afrikaans word for labyrinth, is located near the picturesque town of Wellington under Bain’s Kloof Pass. Settled since the early 18th century, this historic estate has been carefully restored and modernised, to which its multiple award winning wines and delighted visitors bear testimony.
Two Doolhof wines, Dark Lady of the Labyrinth and Lady in Red, will be on promotion bearing competition necktags, in national retail outlets for the next few months. The wines will retail at approximately R70 per bottle.
Lady in Red is a warm, rich Bordeaux-styled wine, seductive and elegant, whilst Dark Lady, is a sublime coffee/mocha Pinotage, that has already achieved nation-wide distribution and a fan following, since its launch in May 2009.
Enter today and stand the chance of enjoying a revitalising weekend on this beautiful Cape wine estate with all modern comforts, as well as outstanding wines, cuisine and service.
UPDATE: The Competition has closed and winners will be announced soon!