Wine Composition
100%
Viognier
Winemakers Comments
Ripe, perfumed aromas
of white peach, orange blossoms and dried apricots evolve to a
fresh yet rich mid-palate and long citrus finish.
Awards
Wine Enthusiast 2011 -
90 Points and 'Editors Choice'
Technical Analysis
Alcohol
Percentage
14.%
Total
Acidity
6.9 g/l
Ph
3.72
Residual
Sugar
8.5 g/l
Vineyards/Vintage
East-West facing
vertical shoot positioned vines are grown in Oakleaf and Clovelly
soils that are irrigated according to soil moisture and leaf water
potential requirements.
Winemaker
Name: Toit
Wessels, Winemaker
This is what he had to say‚…
Tell us about your early days in the
vineyards, your education and how you started your
career.
After school I spent 3 years working in the
UK and seeing as much of the world as I could on a shoestring. On
my return to SA I studied viticulture and enology at Elsenburg
Agricultural College and my plan was to start making wine
asap. But midway through my first year of studies I realized
with a shock that without a great understanding of the vineyard I
would never be able to reach my full potential in the cellar and to
this end I decided to spend a year in the vineyards before
enrolling for my third and final year specializing in Enology at
Elsenberg. I started as a young viticulturist at Ridgeback in
2000 and absolutely fell in love with the vines and soil and for 5
years almost forgot about my dreams of making wine. During this
time we won the vitcultural competition for the best vineyard in
Paarl/ Wellington and Franschoek twice. Eventually after
getting married in 2005 I decided that it was now or never and
returned for my final year of studies where I finished top of my
class and started in the cellar in 2007.
Describe your philosophy and approach to
winemaking.
My approach to making wine is simple. I
aim to do as much of the work as possible in the vineyard and then
maintain the integrity of our fantastic fruit with as little cellar
manipulation as possible. I love a wine that tells a story as
no two vintages are the same and this variation, no matter how
subtle, is there to show to us the fantastic effects of working
with a natural product. I love wines that depict their origin
eg Paarl Mountain Shiraz with the lovely floral aromas of violets,
liquorice and cherries.
What is or would be your ideal wine to
make?
Ideal wine? That‚’s tough. I love
working with Rhone cultivars, especially Shiraz and Viognier as
they are so well suited to our area, but each time I go to a
tasting I find something which intrigues or interests me. On
Tuesday I attended a tasting of Spanish wines and was introduced to
Verdelho and Tempranillo and was absolutely blown away by the fruit
of the white and the depth of the red. Ask me again next year
and I‚’ll have a few more wines for the list ha-ha.
Favorite Cultivars to play
with?
Favorite cultivars to play with would also
have to be Rhone as they are quite forgiving and the effects of
bush vine vs trellis, old vs young vines, and wood influence make
such a difference.
Winery
Windmeul,
Paarl
Ridgeback Wines is situated in Noord Agter Paarl surrounded by the
rugged magnificence of the Paarl Mountains. It was purchased in
1997 by Vernon Cole and at that time it was predominantly a fruit
farm. However the poor performance of fruit prices convinced the
owners to change over to wine grape production.
The origin of the main brand Ridgeback derives from the Ridgeback
dogs kept on the farm. The Ridgeback, an iconic dog of Southern
Africa, and known as ‚“Lion‚” dogs because of their ability to keep
Lions at bay while their masters made the kill, embodies the
strength and quality of the winery‚’s product.
Today a total of 35 hectares is under vines from a total available
of 65 hectares. Great care has been taken to ensure the vineyards
are of the highest caliber. All vines are secured on high trestles
and water irrigated. In order to provide the winemaker with the
ability to produce an exciting array of blends the farm has a
fairly diversified vineyard. Ridgeback's terroir is what really
allows for them to produce great Rhone varieties. The soil is all
100% decomposed granite soil and temperatures in summer average
around 40 degrees. These conditions, similar to the Rhone valley,
are perfect for the production of Shiraz and Viognier, hence these
two varieties being their premium grapes.
The mainstay is Shiraz followed by Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon,
Cabernet Franc, Mourvedre, Petit Bordeaux and Granache. In addition
Sauvignon Blanc and their exciting Viognier complement the white
production.
Total volume of wines bottled 175000 bottles annually.
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