Banged a case of 1985 Warwick Cabernet Sauvignon on the head this weekend

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Warwick in Wonderland - The best kids entertainment this rainy Easter Weekend!!

Leave it to Alice, The White Rabbit, The Mad Hatter and the Queen of Hearts to keep your kids entertained this rainy Easter Weekend. See what fun we are having...

 

  

 

  

 

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Mike Ratcliffe with Bartholomew Broadbent, Adie Badenhorst, Brian Rosen and Shem Hassen from Arrowine in Washington DC

Buyers and Cellars: Business Students Learn from South African Vineyards

Back in Cape Town, business students headed to Warwick Estates in the famed Cape Winelands with Dr. Alysse Morton, this semester’s professor of Operations Management and Global Management. Morton, a Semester at Sea alumna who last sailed as a college student herself, brought her two classes on a one-of-a-kind field trip to the vineyards to better understand how a small business operates in today’s global market.

 

Student Photo: Nick Hamilton, Drake University

Warwick Estates is a third-generation family-owned winery in Stellenbosch, an area of the Cape famous for its vineyards, and the small company invited SAS students to witness wine production firsthand. “We toured the facilities first,” explained Taylor Goddu, a business and psychology student from the College of William & Mary, “then we went into the vineyards. Our guide literally plucked bunches of grapes straight from the vines for us to try them. They called it a ‘Winelands Safari,’ and they referred to the different varieties of grapes as members of the Big 5.” To clarify, the Big 5 is a term typically used on safaris to refer to big game like elephants and rhinos which, coincidentally, SAS students also saw in South Africa.

Warwick Estates, despite being a small operation in a competitive region, has crafted a sustainable industry and carved an international business model from production to export and every step in between. “Their company was interesting because nothing goes to waste at all,” Goddu continued. “They have a compost area and they pick the grapes, ferment, and filter them on site.” Additionally, Goddu explained, the family company has a remarkable international reach. Wine barrels are made using wood from France and the Balkans, and Warwick’s two main export countries are the USA and China, proving that everything is interconnected in today’s business sphere.

The students ended their day at the vineyard gathered around a long outdoor dining table on the sunlit brick patio. The winery served freshly baked ciabatta loaves, oak-smoked salmon, and sun-dried tomato pesto as the sun peaked in the afternoon sky. How’s that for a business field trip?

Goddu, a student in both of Morton’s classes, previously visited Bamboosero Bike Company in Ghana, and will soon be touring the Coca-Cola bottling plant in Shanghai along with her business classmates.

Click here to read Dr. Alysse Morton's Bio.

Click here to learn more about Warwick Estates.

Magnificent Warwick gourmet wine dinner at 'Mountain view grand' in northern New Hampshire USA

Warwick in Wonderland - Bigger & better than before! Have you booked your ticket?

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Harvest is wrapping up in South Africa

While winemakers inevitably have a multitude of different opinions on the outcome of a harvest, there are some threads that come through that when woven together correctly, can start creating a clear picture. The Vilafonte Vineyards winemaking team wrapped up harvest this week while the Warwick Wine Estate team have another couple of days to go.

In general, harvest 2012 in South Africa can, in my opinion, be considered a huge success. But why? What are the defining characteristics?

The one overwhelming common theme is that an unseasonal heat-wave descended on the Winelands in early January - a critical period for phenological ripeness. With the benefit of advanced weather forecasting being relatively common these days, the heat wave was identified about a week in advance and any and all reasonable responses to the impending temperatures were taken by those that were paying attention. Unfortunately there are very few tools to deal with excessive heat and the most powerful tool is irrigation. For those that have either decided not to invest in irrigation or who have a philosophical preference to dry-grown viticulture - 2012 will probably at least get them thinking that the judicious application of supplemental irrigation is more of a necessity than a nice-to-have. Dry-grown vineyards in the Cape lost significant tonnage and the remaining grapes would have suffered from heat stress symptoms like high pH and dropping acidity. Berry shrivel would also be an unforseen sumptom that can lead to elevated alcohol. All of these outcomes are not good. 

On the other hand, this heat-wave was the only speed-bump in 2012 and for those that were able  to manage it - there was no measurable negative outcome. Since mid January, the Cape has been characterized by refreshing lower than average temperatures which have provided what could best be described as an idyllic environment for the steady accumulation of sugar and the pursuit of phenological ripeness. Interestingly, in many of our vineyards we observed advanced ripeness at lower sugars which again provides an indication that 2012 could be considered a benchmark year.

On observation of the grapes at harvest, we noticed a slightly larger berry size, but excellent levels of all the goodies that lead to colour extraction, flavor compounds as well as nicely ripened tannins which create mouthfeel and texture in the wines. Without trying to 'talk it up' too much, possibly the biggest indicator of quality comes from the significantly reduced rate of berry variability which leads to concentration in the wines and is one of our most important indicators of quality - this is not a subjective measure and at the risk of being technical, we had the lowest berry variability measurement of standard deviation in my career. This basically means that at harvest, a huge proportion of berries were perfectly ripe - simultaneously.

Despite the above, I remain a cynic and I like to see out beautiful wine through fermentation before a truly great vintage can be pronounced but the signs are there at Warwick and at Vilafonte.

Stay tuned.

Mike Ratcliffe

Have you tried the The First Lady Unoaked Chardonnay 2011?

Warwick 'The First Lady' Norma Ratcliffe posing in the Alps

Wow - Warwick is so busy. So many happy people visiting

Our bold new signage on exiting Warwick Wine Estate - merging social media with wine tourism

Ho hum - a lazy sundowner after a long day of harvest at Warwick

3 Decades of Warwick Estate's Trilogy with Mike Ratcliffe

Event: Tasting with Mike Ratcliffe of Warwick Wine Estate 

Where: Handford Wines, 105 Old Brompton Road, South Kensington, London, SW7 3LE

When: Tuesday 6th March

Time: 6.30pm

Price: £45.00 per person

Warwick Estate is a family-owned and run winery. Managing Director Michael Ratcliffe is the 3rd generation family member to oversee this high quality boutique operation that has been lauded globally for excellence and consistency. It was in 1986 that the first Warwick Trilogy was released - a Bordeaux style blend which has since become one of the flagships of the South African Wine Industry. Warwick has won many accolades over the years and was featured for a second time in Wine spectators’ wines of the year. We will taste this first ever vintage and eleven more wines from the 80’s 90’s and 2000’s, A rare opportunity to try this much loved South African Bordeaux blend spanning 3 decades.

We will be tasting 12 vintages 86, 89, 91, 92, 97, 98, 2000, 01, 03, 04, 06, 08

RSVP: +44 20 7589 6113 / vicky@handford.net

Harvesting Sauvignon Blanc

Facebook dominates Warwick Vineyard Manager Denver Skippers

The first bottle ever consumed of Warwick 'The First Lady' unoaked Chardonnay

Lovely boozy day at Warwick Wine Estate with 'Masterchef South Africa' judges Pete Goffe-Wood, Benny Masekwameng & Andrew Atkinson

Valentines is going to Rock at Warwick

Valentines Day Picnic bookings open today - Dont miss out!

Valentines Day bookings