May is such a stunning month in the Cape and on the farm, as autumn sets in and the array of golden hues multiply daily. The vineyards on Rondekop are a spectacular golden colour. The weather has been generally warm, but with the occasional cold front passing through, we have begun to receive the winter rainfall that replenishes the soil after the dry spell. As night temperatures start to drop, the vines have begun to receive their cold units—temperatures under 10°C. There will be many of these in the next few months as our mountain location traverses winter.In The Tasting Room, we have hung our new Map. Our Map is a detailed encapsulation of our journey on Rondekop over the years. In particular, it demonstrates how far we have progressed our vineyards with precision viticulture.
I want to dig into this further, as we have reached a fascinating point, marking the transition to the next phase of our journey to make the calibre of wines we know are inherent in our Rondekop vineyards.
The Map highlights the incredible viticultural diversity that our site offers. The 360° planting surface of Rondekop, the impact of the 8 Elements, our diverse rocky soils, and the wind have all taken time to understand. I believe the current layout and plantings are a solid interpretation of our terroir.
The text on the Map is an abbreviated version of the Rondekop Garden Philosophy. We have realised that to achieve our goals, we need to treat each vine separately, yet also as a part of the entire farm. This approach is similar to how one manages a garden—hence the ‘Garden Philosophy’.
While we ascribe the inspiration for this methodology to my grandmother, Una van der Spuy, the ideas and execution come from all of us involved in the project. It has been a team effort, bringing many great ideas—all with the single-minded focus of creating something incredible!
When I purchased the farm in 2003, five vineyard blocks covered approximately 13 hectares. Subsequent replanting took us to 18 blocks, covering a total of thirty hectares.
In 2015, we increased the number of vineyard blocks to thirty-five whilst reducing the total area under vine to 25 hectares. This increased number of vineyard blocks provides more intensive granularity by matching cultivars to soil types. The adjustments to cultivars, rootstocks, clones, plant spacings and trellising are as critical to the improved outcomes of the new layout. For example, the wind can be detrimental at times. However, planting on poles (Echalas) and at high density allows the vineyard block to prosper in harsh conditions, as the vines protect one another. We have incorporated many such nuances into our thinking and the final layout, which is being re-translated into the next generation of wines from Rondekop.
In one of my favourite books, Legacy, about the hyper-successful All Blacks New Zealand rugby team, there is a saying that goes along the lines: “From learning comes knowledge, from knowledge understanding, and from understanding – wisdom.” It’s something we talk about as a team. The learning and knowledge part is relatively easy yet time-consuming. We are deep into the understanding part, and hopefully, as we apply our minds to the successful translation of Rondekop, we will create some wines that express a little wisdom, too.
