Sparkling Chenin Blanc

Shellfish, Appetizers and snacks, Aperitif

As budding young winemakers back in 2001, we sometimes struggled to find decent wines we could afford. My brother Philip and I were involved with our family winery (Joostenberg Wines) and José was busy at his (Stark-Condé Wines).We weren’t looking for rockstar bottles that cost a fortune. But we had pretty high standards (in our own opinion) and wanted wines we could enjoy with our friends, most of whom were also in the wine industry. We were wine geeks in need of an everyday wine. We saw a niche in the market and got to work but first had to come up with a name for this new project. To keep peace in the families, we took our wives’ initials (we each have one wife!) — and that is how we explained to Marie, Anette and Nicky that we were going to be “busy” most weekends. “It’s for you!” we told them. We immediately got to work in an old tractor shed and that first year, we made a total of 600 cases of Pinotage. – Tyrrel Myburgh, co-founder

A relatively warm and dry start with a favourably wet winter. Water retention in the soil was good, allowing vines to ripen fully without stress. The Chenin Blanc vineyards in the Agter-Paarl region are sustainably grown and 100% dry-farmed (unirrigated). These bush-vines are mostly over 25 years in age. The soils are primarily Malmesbury Shale, which impart minerality and fresh acidity.

The grapes were harvested at 19° 20° balling for optimum freshness and natural acidity. De-stemmed, crushing and pressing then takes place followed by settlement of the juice through a light clarification process. Cold fermentation in stainless steel tanks to preserve fruit and crispness. A final clarification is done before the wine is moved to a pressure tank and CO2 is added.