DELHEIM

Thrill Dad with the opportunity to join in this fun wine blending competition. We provide the samples; Dad makes the best possible red wine blend by using at least two of the three cultivars provided.  The aim is to make a complex blend with a lot of different fruit layers and a big structure – the wine must be able to last for at least another five years.  Then, choose your own original name for it. Our Winemaker, Reg Holder, will judge the entries and a prize will be awarded for Best Blend as well as Most Original Name. Wine blending competition restricted to amateur winemaker Dads only!

 SET MENU LUNCH

A complementary glass of Gabriele Fortified Red

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Hearty Pea Soup with Bacon Bits

 OR

 Cauliflower & Blue Cheese Soup [Vegetarian]

OR

Leberwurst Pâté

 served with freshly-baked farm bread

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 Cape Malay Lamb Curry

served with basmati rice, a roti and sambals

OR

Venison Pie

served with basmati rice and roasted vegetables

OR

Oven-Baked Salmon Trout

served with lemon-butter sauce, baby potatoes, green beans

OR

Exotic Mushroom Tagliatelle

served with a green salad [Vegetarian]

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 Gabriele Chocolates & Filter Coffee

 Wine blending competition for Dad, lunch and complementary glass of Gabriele ~ R150pp

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Children’s Set Menu (under 12)

 A Glass of Fruit Juice or Sparkling Grape Juice

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 Homemade Chicken Pie

served with rice and fresh fruit

OR

 Bratwurst

served with mashed potatoes and fresh fruit

OR

 Fishcakes

served with rice and fresh fruit

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A Gabriele Chocolate Brownie

Children’s Set Menu – 50 per child

UPDATE: REVIEW http://merrynyoung.wordpress.com/2012/06/22/fathers-day-at-delheim/

Delheim Edelspatz 2011 has just won the Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show’s trophy for South Africa’s Best Dessert Wine! And to think, this wine may have never come to fruition were it not for a chance meeting. Herewith the story in ‘Spatz’ Sperling’s own words:

“At Delheim it happened this way. We had experienced weather particularly conducive to the growth of the botrytis fungus in 1979, with intermittent rain and coolish days. Checking on my vineyards, I found extensive rot and wrote off the grapes as basically useless material. Or so I thought.

“Having nothing better to do than swallow my sorrow, I went to collect the mail at the Koelenhof Post Office – this was a routine early morning chore – and ran into Frans Malan of Simonsig. The usual oes discussions followed, and I shared my distress over the bad rot in my Chenin Blanc vineyards.

“Dié wingerd kan ek maar afskryf! Alles opgevreet deur die botrytis. Dis net muggies waar jy kyk, en daar’s so ‘n soet-suur reuk.”

Frans’ reaction to my gejammer was: “Nee man, Spatz! Dis noble rot, man! Die beste basis vir ‘n edelwyn!”

“I didn’t quite believe him, because everyone knew him as a born optimist, although he was sometimes right. Nevertheless, I rushed home. The cellar had already closed and the workers were packing up to head homeward after yet another miserable day. “Sorry, ladies and gentlemen”, I shouted as I rushed up to

them. “Daardie vrot druiwe wat ons so oor worry is eintlik goeie goed – ons moet dit nou gaan pluk!”

“The poor grapes looked at me sourly, but by 4pm we had gathered about two tons of the most rotten grapes I have ever seen. There was hardly any juice left in them, just a conglomeration of raisin grape nectar.”

“An urgent half-hour phone call was placed to Germany, the home of Edelbeerenauslese, to get the recipe on how to make wine from this gemors… when it came to centrifuging the few hundred litres of so-called noble juice, the senior cellar assistant, Jackson Matabela, proclaimed in disgust: “No more for me! I am going home!”

“Well, as it turned out, our first efforts to make a Botrytis cinerea wine reached the market and was a big hit!”

Dessert wines were highly prized at the time, as using sugar to sweeten wines was a punishable offense. Having tried unsuccessfully to source the recipe from Nederburg’s Günter Brözel, who had produced the Cape’s first Noble Late Harvest a decade earlier, Spatz couldn’t have been more pleased. The following year he tried to create the required humidity within the vineyards with the help of an Austrian intern – fan and hose in tow – and while very entertaining, the experiment failed dismally.

Now much wiser in the ways of botrytis, or noble rot, Delheim has changed tack and is using Riesling grapes; a cultivar selected for its naturally high acidity. This move has paid off with Dessert Wine Trophies at the Decanter World Wine Awards and the Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show, most recently now for the 2011 vintage, and multiple 4½ star ratings in the Platter guide to wine.

Each year the grapes are left to hang a little longer; a measured risk as the team understands the vineyard so well. A briskly acidic profile prevents the nectar-like fruit from becoming cloying or sweet; and with age, the fruit-rich flavours – apricot, cumquat and quince in the 2011 vintage – give way to a slate-like minerality that is prized by Riesling enthusiasts.

Attractively packaged and reasonably priced at R145, Edelspatz is ideal as an interesting gift, or a talking point that doubles as a celebratory toast. National orders can be placed here or via email at orders@delheim.com.

* English translation below

Me pressing grapes

Nun bin ich schon seit zwei Wochen zurück in der Schweiz. Zurück in meinem angestammten Beruf, meinem gewohnten Umfeld. Und doch sind meine Gedanken noch immer auf dem Weingut „Delheim“, wo ich mein siebenwöchiges, ausserschulisches Praktikum absolvieren durfte. Ohne grosse Ahnung vom Wein-Business kam ich in Delheim an und wurde mit offenen Armen empfangen! Sieben Wochen andere Arbeit, neues Umfeld, unbekannte Leute und ein neu zu erlernendes Fachgebiet lagen vor mir. Als wissbegierige Praktikantin und voller Tatendrang durfte ich anderntags meine Arbeit im „Tastingroom“ aufnehmen. Eine gute Einführung in alle Wein-Produkte von Delheim inklusive Wein-Degustation (Tasting), viele Notizen und anschliessend intensives Lernen liessen mich den Alltag zu Hause schnell vergessen. Es blieb mir gar keine Zeit an anderes zu denken! Die neue Umgebung, die Landschaft und die Farm als mein temporäres Zuhause liessen mich schnell in ein neues Leben eintauchen.

In the new shop

Dann war es soweit: meine ersten Gäste für ein Wein-Tasting traten im „Downstairs“ ein. Nervös stand ich am Tisch, begrüsste und erklärte in Englisch und war freudig überrascht, als einer der Gäste den älteren Herrschaften meine Ausführungen auf Schweizerdeutsch übersetzte! Damit war der Bann gebrochen; ich konnte mein erstes Tasting in deutscher Sprache halten! Das half mir enorm meine Nervosität abzulegen und das Gelernte weiter zu geben. Es folgten Tastings in Deutsch und Englisch und rasch fühlte ich mich sicher und wohl in meiner neuen Arbeit.

Bald durfte ich einen weiteren Aufgabenbereich übernehmen. Das Umstrukturieren und Umbauen eines kleinen Souvenir-Shops wurde mir übertragen, was ich sehr schätzte! An dieser Stelle möchte ich mich für das entgegengebrachte Vertrauen herzlich bedanken. All die zwischenmenschlichen Kontakte zu Angestellten auf Delheim in der Werkstatt, im Office oder in der Informatikabteilung und besonders die herzliche Aufnahme in der Besitzerfamilie, brachten mich bei diesem Projekt weiter. Ich erfuhr eine Horizonterweiterung und zusammen mit den tiefen Einblicken in den Betrieb wuchs die Identifikation mit Delheim.

Stomping grapes with Nora

Ein Highlight war für mich das Herstellen des Family-Weins. Nach alter traditioneller Art stellte die Familie Thiel-Sperling ein eigenes Fass Familienwein her. Gemeinsam fuhren wir früh morgens in den Weinberg und pflückten Cabernet-Trauben. Zurück im Weinkeller lasen wir die Traubenbeeren von Hand ab und pressten den Saft mit unseren Füssen. Den anschliessenden Prozess der Vergärung  und die ganze Arbeit mitzuerleben, die es benötigt, um ein Fass Wein zu erhalten, war für mich ein super Erlebnis. Ich habe sehr viel dabei gelernt und profitiert.

Nun ja, die Zeit verging wie im Flug. Kaum war ich da, war ich auch schon wieder weg! Aber um eine riesige Erfahrung und tausend guten Erinnerungen reicher, die ich so schnell nicht vergessen werde.

 Was mir nun bleibt sind tolle neue Freundschaften, Fotos und natürlich guter Delheim-Wein im Keller, den ich beim Aufkommen von Fernweh genüsslich trinke! Vielen Dank an Nora und den Rest der Sperlingfamilie, die mir eine so tolle Zeit in Südafrika und auf ihrem Weingut ermöglicht haben.

 Ich vermisse euch

Alex

 ENGLISH VERSION

A great internship and a great time!

Now I’m back for two weeks in Switzerland. Back to my original profession, my usual environment. And yet my thoughts are still on the estate “Delheim” where I was able to complete my seven-week, extracurricular internship. Without much idea about the wine business, I arrived in Delheim and was received with open arms! Seven weeks in another job, a new environment, unfamiliar people, and a new-to-learn field lay before me. As an inquisitive intern full of energy, the next day I was allowed to begin my work in the tasting room. A good introduction to all the wine products including wine tasting from Delheim tasting notes, and then left me to the intensive study and daily life was quickly forgotten. I did not have time to think of anything else! The new environment, the landscape and the farm as my temporary home left me quickly immersed in a new life.

Then it happened: my first guests for a wine-tasting event occurred in the “Downstairs”. Nervously, I stood at the table, greeted and spoke in English and was pleasantly surprised when one of the guests translated to the older folks in Swiss German! Thus the spell was broken and I could give my first tasting in German! This helped me enormously and my nervousness abated so I was able to convey to them what I had learned. This was followed by tastings in German and English, and soon I felt safe and comfortable in my new job.

Soon I was able to take on another task. The restructuring and rebuilding of a small souvenir shop was transferred to me, which I appreciated very much! At this point I want to thank you for your trust. All the inter-personal contacts with employees at Delheim in the workshop, the office or in the computer science department, and especially the warm reception in the owner’s family, brought me further with this project. I experienced a broadening of horizons and together with the deep insights into the operation and grew to identify with Delheim.

A highlight for me was the making of the Family wine. According to the old traditional way, the family Thiel Sperling make their own barrel of family wine. Early in the morning we went to the vineyard together and picked cabernet grapes. Back in the wine cellar, we sorted the grapes by hand and squeezed the juice with our feet. Witnessing the subsequent process of fermentation and all that goes into making a barrel of wine was a great experience for me. I’ve learned a lot and benefited much.

Well, the time flew by. As soon as I was there, I was gone again! But with vast experience and a thousand good memories richer, which I will not soon forget. What remains now are my great new friends, photos and of course good wine from the Delheim cellar that I drink to the emergence of wanderlust with relish! Thank you to Nora and the rest of the Sperling family, who enabled me to such a great time in South Africa and at their winery.

I miss you

Alex

A little over a decade ago, Delheim staged its inaugural grape and wine tasting; a unique chance for guests to taste grapes fresh from the vine, alongside the finished wines made from the different varieties, right in the thick of harvest time. In what has become a tradition, the tenth annual Delheim grape and wine tasting is set to take place on Sunday, 19 February 2012.

Seating is limited to 45 guests who will be hosted by the winemaker, if harvest allows, or a member of the Sperling family who have farmed Delheim for sixty years. The tasting will offer an unpretentious look at the magic of winemaking, the flavours to be found in the grapes and how these transform into a bottle of varietal wine.

The tasting commences at 11h00, finishing at 13h30, at a cost of R50 per head. Booking is essential; please go to www.delheim.com. Enquiries may be directed to directors@delheim.com or telephone Juliet at 021 888 4604.

 The R50 cost of entry includes a traditional mosbolletjie, a harvest time treat introduced to the Cape by the French Huguenots in the 17^th century, which is made by using fermenting grape must (the freshly pressed grape juice undergoing the first step in winemaking) to leaven dough. You will also be given a glass of the grape must to taste, as well as an educational tasting of five wine grape varieties together with their associated varietal wines.

Squish-squash!

Get knee-deep in grape juice and family fun at the 2012 Delheim Start of Harvest Festival to the tunes of a live jazz band. Gather from 12 noon on the shaded riverside lawns behind the historic Delheim cellar. Sumptuous picnics featuring gourmet fare can be pre-booked (menu here), while delicious snack foods such as beef fillet ciabattas, bratwurst hot dogs and chicken salad will be available on the day.

A competitive grape stomp relay event to be held at 3pm will entertain the adventurous (and doubtless amuse other guests) with prizes up for grabs to winners and grinners (team spirit champs).

Tickets will be restricted to the first 130 guests at R50 per adult (children under 18 free of charge); which includes entry to the festival area, live jazz, a glass of partially-fermented grape must, a traditional sweet mosbolletjie, a cellar tour at 12h30 and participation in the grape stomping competition. Picnic hampers can be pre-booked at R130 per adult and R65 per child, and takeaway foods, Delheim wines, soft drinks and coffee will be on offer throughout the day. Please note no BYO.

Vera Cruz Shiraz 2008                                                   4½ stars

Delheim Cabernet Sauvignon 2009                            4 stars

Delheim Shiraz 2008                                                     4 stars

Delheim Grand Reserve 2008                                      4½ stars

Delheim Spatzendreck Late Harvest 2010                 4 stars

Delheim Edelspatz Noble Late Harvest 2011            4½ stars

Delheim Merlot 2009                                                     3 stars

Delheim Pinotage 2010                                                  3½ stars

Delheim Chardonnay Sur Lie 2010                              4½ stars

Delheim Gewürztraminer 2010                                     4 stars

Delheim Cabernet Sauvignon-Shiraz                           3½ stars

Reg Holder has been appointed as winemaker at Delheim wine farm. Well-travelled and driven by a passion for terroir, Reg hails most recently from a five-year winemaking tenure at Neil Ellis Wines.

Having extensive experience of the Stellenbosch terroir, Reg is greatly enthused by the Simonsberg ward in which the Delheim vineyards reside. This, he feels, is ideally suited to classic cultivars; among them Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and his personal favourite, Shiraz – largely for its natural fruit and performance with minimal oak.

“Respecting the terroir and planting it to the right cultivar is a top priority,” Reg says. “Clearly expressing the region should be the ultimate goal of all activities, from vineyard management practices to choice of wood regime.”

“It’s critical to recognise that wine is a living thing. It will evolve long after bottling, and it must remain true to terroir, and unique.”

Wines with identity, Reg believes, are “South Africa’s real opportunity”, rather than a specific style or chosen cultivar. “If we stay true to the region and site with which we are charged, planting it to the right variety and handling it carefully, we are sure to create wines that are different and unique. With our incredible choice of top terroir, generic wines should not be considered a possibility.”

Reg is keen to experiment with lesser-known cultivars – such as Delheim’s popular Gewürztraminer; and looks forward to working with dessert wines made in “traditional style”. Methods and styles are likewise up for trial, in their ability to contribute to ultimate wine quality. The single proviso, Reg says, is that “the region remains clearly evident to the person holding the glass”.

Get  knee-deep in grape juice and family fun on Saturday 28 January at the 2012 Delheim Start of Harvest Festival!

Gather from 12 noon to the tunes of a live jazz band on the shaded lawns behind the historic  Delheim cellar. Sumptuous picnics featuring gourmet fare can be pre-booked,  while delicious snack foods such as ostrich panini and smoked salmon treats will be on offer at farm stalls throughout the day.

A competitive grape stomp relay event will be held at 3pm to entertain the adventurous (and doubtless amuse other guests) with fantastic prizes up for grabs to winners and grinners (team spirit champs).

Tickets will be restricted to 130 guests at R50 per adult, which includes a glass of  partially-fermented grape must and a traditional sweet mosbolletjie. Entry for children and to the grape stomp relay will be free.

Picnics are available at R130 per adult and R65 per child and takeaway foods will be on offer throughout the day. Bookings are essential, via restaurant@delheim.com, or telephone 021 888 4607.

Delheim is located on the Knorhoek Road off the R44, between Stellenbosch and Paarl.

Winemaker Brenda van Niekerk reports that the cellar is hectically busy at the moment – we are experiencing a severe heat wave which is causing all the grape varieties to ripen at the same time and of course they all need to be taken off the vine and processed as soon as possible. We are currently even harvesting the Cabernet Sauvignon which is way earlier in the season than usual.  At this rate, we expect that the harvest could be completed as early as the end of next week.

Vasbyt, vineyard and cellar teams – you will have earned a well-deserved break after this!

UPDATE Monday, 14 March 2011:  Well, the cooler weather has helped a great deal, and we are still busy with the harvest.