Monsonia

Well paired with a mature steak, barbequed over a hotbed of coals and served with sauteed baby mushrooms, or try a hearty, slow-cooked pork belly with root vegetables and tomatoes.

Vondeling meaning ‘foundling’ lies on the slopes of the unspoilt and undiscovered Paardeberg mountain approximately 45 minutes’ drive from Cape Town. It was granted to Swedish immigrant Oloff Bergh in 1704 and a three-centuries-old winemaking tradition began. Today an environmentally sensitive approach to farming and minimal intervention during the winemaking process ensure wine with a distinct fingerprint of origin. Vondeling’s flagship wines Vondeling Babiana and Vondeling Monsonia are named after rare species of fynbos that are endemic to the Paardeberg mountain the home of Vondeling Wines.

The Shiraz vines grow in ancient, well-weathered granite soils on southeast-facing slopes – ideal for our warm South African climate. In total, six clones of Shiraz can be found on the farm and only the best performing clones go into the final blend. Typically, each clone contributes different characteristics to the wine and the different blocks are picked at varying degrees of ripeness, best suited to their character. The Mourvedre, Carignan, and Grenache are best adapted to hot sun and are grown as bush vines on North East-facing slopes. Highly selective hand-picking guarantees that only the best fruit arrives at the winery.

The wine is allowed to mature for 16 months before a final barrel selection, blending and bottling takes place.

After being chilled overnight, bunches are partially destemmed, but not crushed, and whole berry fermentation takes place in open-top fermentation tanks. An initial two-day period of cold soaking is applied before wild yeast fermentation is allowed to commence. During fermentation, hand plunging, commonly known as "punch downs" is the method of mixing and extraction. After fermentation, the wine is pressed in a traditional boutique-size basket press. All wine is then transferred directly to barrel where malolactic fermentation takes place. Only large format French oak barrels are used, with about one-third new and the rest 2nd and 3rd fill.