Swartland Winery

History

Swartland Winery is situated just outside Malmesbury, a town that was established in 1827 and named after the Governor of the Cape's father-in-law, the Earl of Malmesbury. The area surrounding the town was (and still is) very much a farming community, renowned for its wheat, sheep and vine cultivation. In 1948, 15 farmers joined forces and founded their own cellar for wine production. Today, the co-operative has 100 members, with an area of 3100 hectares under vine, crushing approximately 25,000 tonnes of grapes each harvest.

Viticulture & Vinification

The Swartland region (Swartland meaning black soil) is an open , undulating area north of the Cape, with fertile soil fanned by cool Atlantic breezes (the coast is only 30km away). As much as 85% of the land farmed by Swartland members is planted with bush vines, giving an average low yield of 7 tonnes of grapes a hectare. Grape selection is therefore not only by hand but by nature's way.

The result is smaller berries with extremely good fruit concentration, enabling Swartland Winery to produce large volumes of single varietal wines to an exceptionally high quality. Another extremely important factor, which further secures the high quality of Swartland's wines, is the top specification bottling line on site, so that the winemaking team are able to supervise all aspects of the vinification through to the finished product.

A strength of Swartland has been their willingness to invest in wine quality for the future. Major investments include a huge investment in the wine cellar to separate red and white into new state of the art facilities and in a new premium oak barrel cellar

The Wines

Swartland produce an excellent selection of wines for bespoke labels as well as under their own Swartland and Eagle Crest brands.   Swartland Pinotage 2008 Spicy plummy fruit abounds in this soft smooth Pinotage, with hints of ripe cherry fruit and juicy tannins. Available at: Majestic

Wines

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