MW Tim Atkin traveled SA in 2012 and shared some lovely pictures on his Flickr account.

On Kalmoesfontein he snapped Adi

Gabriel 

some Swartland scenery

as well as some of our vineyard views.

Have a look at the album for more Swartland stunners and beautiful pictures of South African vineyards in general. Thanks Tim!

Good morning from the sunny Swartland.

We are ready to roll with 2013 and looking forward to another great (hot) vintage.

We hope you have had a lovely holiday. We are getting straight into it and our first tasting of the year is at WineGems (at &union in Cape Town’s Bree Street) on Tuesday 15 Jan. RSVP to gemma@gabrielcollective.com to book a spot (only 18 spots!) and we’ll see you there!

cheers.

Another year has come and gone. 2012 has been good to us in the Swartland. Hot summers, a wet winter, a windy spring and as the heat waves roll in again we get ready to retire to the coast.

I asked Adi for some news from the vineyards and he replied “die wingerd lyk mooi” (the vineyards look pretty, literally for those whose Afrikaans isn’t too hot). So there you have it.

Highlights of 2012 include another super successful and fun Swartland Revolution;

And a successful Cape Wine with the other Swartland Independent members;

5 stars in the Platter for our 2010 Family White Blend;

finally getting the “Funky White” approved by the board;

selling our Cinsault at this year’s Cape Winemakers Guild Auction;

watching Jasper bottle his first two personal projects (Die Muskeljaatkat and Die Boskat);

working with enthusiastic harvest interns from Chile, India and Germany

and hosting a bunch of exciting tasting brunch events.

We just wanted to take this opportunity to show some gratitude and love, thank you for your continued support and for helping us grow and reach new heights. We wish you and your family a very blessed festive season, rest well, drive safe and get ready to do great things in 2013.

Season’s greetings and cheers!

Dutch press on the Swartland. As an Afrikaner I can understand *most* of it…

Independent, original and remarkably good it says. We approve!

Ana helps prepare Cape Winemakers Guild Auction wines for their new owners. 

Jasper and Adi working hard at fixing the old water tank:

Adi, Samuel and Ana nesting at Babylonstoren where we had our final Swartland Revolution meeting:

winning Five Stars for our Family White Blend at the launch of 2013 The Platter Guide:

\
next week this time the Revolution will be almost over. Crazy how this year is flying by.
Happy weekend everyone!

Jasper really emerges himself in his work…

Did you know, the Badenhorst family grows more than just grapes and wins awards for things other than wines!

Hein (Adi’s “dynamic, good looking” cousin) and his father Fred continue the tradition of a long line of farmers in a family who have lived off the soil and its bounty for generations.

They saw the unique micro climate of the Prince Albert district producing beautiful figs, grapes, pomegranates and citrus – and realised that olives would be a natural fit. Today they produce olives and make award winning Olive oil, oil we use to cook everything at home (and on tasting brunch Saturdays.)

Our blogger (that’s me!) has now extended the family client base and has started a blog for the Olive farm, keep an eye on it for interesting information and fun facts.

Our official corespondent at this year’s Cape Winemaker’s Guild reports that we sold 26 x 6 packs of 750ml (at around R230 per bottle) and 30 magnums of the 2011 Chateaux Ramnasgras from Kalmoesfontein.

We believe most of it went to private collections.

Says Adi: “a small step for mankind but a giant leap for cinsault!”

In her column this week for San Fransico Examiner, Pamela S. Busch asks friends and experts in the food and wine industry to recommend wines for their unique autumn weather.

The first person she consulted was Barbara Haimes, “an instructor of culinary arts and hospitality studies for City College of San Francisco, as well as the longtime wine buyer for Café Rouge in Berkeley and truly one of the most gifted people I know.”

Barbara (bless her) “picked the 2010 Badenhorst Chenin Blanc Secateurs ($15) from Swartland, South Africa, saying it’s “perfect as we move from tomatoes to winter squash and richer, fattier foods.” OK, I’ll buy that.”

Maybe you should go buy it too… Just a thought!

Read the rest of the article here. Happy weekend!