Sweet wine of the Old
Karoo
SoetKaroo Red
Muscat
d’Alexandrie
At the turn of this Century Herman planted
vines in his large
town
erf in Prince Albert.
The first wine was
made four years later, in 2004. Flip
Smith of the Kango Winery in Oudtshoorn produced the first three
vintages.
In 2007, with Flip's
encouragement and ongoing support, the Perolds equipped a small cellar
and started making SoetKaroo
themselves .
The little vineyard
produces mainly Red
Muscat
d’Alexandrie or Hanepoot, but also provides small quantities of three
complementary cultivars. Each
cultivar is picked and vinified separately.
When these develop sufficient character in the tank, the blending
decisions are made.
The red variety of
Hanepoot is unusual. As it
is a pale pinkish grape, one or more of the other varieties is blended
in to enhance the colour of the wine.
The Maiden Vintage (2004) exceeded all expectations by winning a
Double Gold medal and the Garagiste Trophy at the 2005
Michelangelo International Wine Awards competition.
Since then the wine sells so well that stocks are too low to
enter competitions!
Harvesting the
grapes for SoetKaroo is a drawn-out exercise: Muscadel early in
February, followed by the Touriga Nacional, then Petit Verdot and
lastly, five mini harvests of the Red Hanepoot, finishing at the end of
March.
An enormous amount
of learning and practicing simple cellar craft for the first time, made
2007 an interesting year for the Perolds!
They could not have done it without generous advice and support
from Flip and other (real) winemaker friends.
Herman and Susan
enjoy showing visitors their vineyard and little cellar and, of course,
sharing in a tasting of SoetKaroo.
Contact Details: 56
Kerkstraat,
Prince Albert
6930
Tel 0235411768
Fax 0865243801
Perold@netactive.co.za
www.soetkaroo.co.za
