Sauvignon Blanc

A nice apéritif with fresh cheeses like chèvre (goat), or with oysters, shellfish and white fish like trout, cod and halibut.

Sutherland Vineyards is situated just 9 kms off the Atlantic Ocean with altitudes of 140 to 250 meters above sea level. The cool maritime climate allows for slower ripening than in other Cape Wineland areas producing wines with vibrant concentrated fruit flavours and an elegant minerality. All Sutherland wines are bottled and produced at the estate in Stellenbosch.

The 2024 harvest demonstrated resilience and adaptability, with high-quality grapes and optimistic prospects for the resulting wines. Over all, the harvest was earlier than usual due to warmer weather. However, the wet and cool conditions of winter 2023 were beneficial for vine dormancy and soil moisture replenishment, setting up the vineyards for a strong growing season.

The grapes were gently de-stemmed, pumped through our mash cooler, (Glycol set at 5°C) to cool the fruit down, receives a dose of pectolytic enzymes as well as a small amount of SO2 to aid in the juice clarification process, prevent oxidation and spontaneous fermentations. Once the press is full the cycle is started, and the juice is moved to a holding tank. Clarification takes place via floatation in the late afternoon and the juice is moved to its fermentation tanks early the following morning. We inoculate with a commercial yeast strain, the ferment runs at 14°C, to maintain a progressive yet stable fermentation curve. The wines are left on their gross lees for 6 months after which we rack them and add a light fining to clean them up a bit for evaluation and then bottled.