New - A Viticulturist

Since inception in 1999 we have said that our wine is made in the vineyard. 

This is an old clichè. Is it true ? We really believe so, and to show our commitment to this concept, we have employed our own viticulturist, Johann Joubert. He reports to our winemaker and together with our vineyard consultant, Johan Pienaar, they will take us to the next step in producing only the best grapes.

    

Johann Joubert,  

De Toren viticulturist

Johann Joubert graduated recently from Elsenburg Agricultural College, where he specialized in Vineyard Technology. His job description is the shortest one possible: move De Toren Fusion V from 91 points to 95 points. No small order, but we believe it is achievable. That is also why Albie Koch has a one stop responsibility. Using the vineyard grapes, he must make an even more stunning wine. We await in anticipation !

Fusion V 2002 Vintage - Update

2002 Harvest Report by Albie Koch                

In short the season was as follows: Most rainfall in winter in 40 years, more downy mildew infection than 1996, most rain in January 2002, with 80mm+, and the longest heat spell in February 2002, with 7 days of temperatures close to 40 degrees.

Sometimes something good is born out of something bad and so was this year's yields. We had Petit Verdot in at  2,5 tons/ha up to Cabernet Sauvignon at 5,5 tons/ha.

I struggled to pin down the exact date to harvest the different cultivars due to cool weather. With a slow ripening curve we reached higher alcohol wines (14% alc.-15% alc.) that still shows  fresh perfumed characters with good intensive fruit.

The vinification of the different cultivars, compared to other years, was a little more difficult. On the other hand nature provided us with good quality grapes to paint what promises to be another “good looking” Mona Lisa in the bottle for 2002.

Despite not having all the paint as perfectly as we would have liked, we are still hoping to create from what  nature gave us,

the Mona Lisa that will reflect the year and the style that makes FUSION V so unique. Now only time will tell to see whether the trans-FUSION was as promising as it looks

Magums for 2001 Vintage

Meet the Winemaker, Brugge, Belgium

The Hotelshool Te Groenepoort in Brugge was the venue for the inaugural  "Meet the Winemaker" show. Our distributor in Belgium, Matthys Wijnimport nv, organised this event for the Belgian market. Frank Matthys represents wines from 13 countries in Belgium. The only major winemaking country he does not represent is France. Thirty- two wineries represented 90 different wines. Three of these wineries were from South Africa.

The show was for trade only. 250 guests were invited, and 450 eventually attended. Six bottles of De Toren Fusion V were poured. As far as Sonette and myself were concerned it was a great event. The orders are pouring in and we are sure the event will be repeated. 

Cape Wine 2002   

Cape Wine 2002 is the bi-annual event in the Cape that presents South Africa to the international wine world and press. Representatives from 71 countries visited this event and there were 163 stands representing 18 wine regions.  

De Toren was present on the stand of their exporters in SA - Cape Classics. With all these visitors in the country we had loads of visitors to the cellar tasting Fusion V. They came from Canada, The   

A group of trainee sommeliers discussing Fusion V in Brugge, Belgium                             

 Netherlands, Germany, Brazil, Scandinavia and America.Noted among them were Bruce Schonfeldt, a freelance journalist who writes for Wine Spectator, Mario Scheuerman, the "Parker of Germany"; Keith Landry and his Group from Disney; The Dutch Sommeliers Guild; and the Dutch and Scandinavian Press Group.

The Dutch Sommeliers Guild was so impressed with De Toren that we are now a N.G.S., a Recommended Winery.   Dutch and Scandinavian journalists getting serious over Fusion V

Albie Koch off to California

S A Wine prices set to soar

      Contact us

Albie Koch has served 4 vintages in Northern Hemisphere countries and this year he is off to the Napa Valley again. As a young inexperienced winemaker he worked at Quail Ridge in the Napa Valley in 1997. Now with some real experience and a great wine under his belt he will have the opportunity to reflect on those early expieriences. Albie will also be visiting our distributors in Vancouver, Ontario, New York and of course represent us at Epcot.

If you would like to meet with him while he is in USA and Canada just e mail us.

Watch for his report in the next issue... .

It is true that some of the South African wines prices are expensive in rand terms. After the devaluation of the rand in December 2001 the prices are set to climb again. Not only do we import oak barrels from America and France, but also bottles, corks, capsules and other winery needs. These prices all soared after December and also affected most of the other raw materials we purchase. This is not the only factor that affect, our prices. There are many "rogue" exporters who purchase wines through retailers in "subsidised" rand terms, shipping these wines offshore and undercutting our regular distributors who spend a fortune on building our brands.

To stop these actions producers now have no alternative but to sell their wines linked to the pound, euro and dollar in South Africa. So due to the price increases and the removal of the "subsidy" on wines sold in SA, we predict an  increase in prices of exported wines sold in S A of between 20% and 40%. 

Until next time!

Emil and Sonette den Dulk

back to top

If you wish not to receive our newsletter please inform us at info@de-toren.com