Background
Du Toitskloof Wine Cellar (DTK) was established by six wine farmers as a co-operative winery in 1962. Today it has 22 members whose vineyards all lie within a 10 km radius of the cellar. It is located near the town of Rawsonville in the Breede River Valley, at the entrance to the Du Toitskloof Mountain Pass. The stony soils of the area are ideally suited to grape growing. DTK’s award-winning wines are known for their excellent quality at affordable prices, and during the last five years it has been rated the South African cellar offering the best value by WINE magazine, three times. The cellar produces some 10 million litres of wine a year from 13 500 tons of grapes, of which 60% is white and 40%, red. Its major white cultivar is Sauvignon blanc, followed by Chardonnay, Chenin blanc and Semillon. The main red cultivars are Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Merlot and Pinotage.

In the vineyards
The grapes were all harvested from selected farms predominantly from the cool mountain slopes and from vines between 5 and 10 years old, growing in sandy, slightly clay soil with high water retention. The vines were mostly grafted on Richter 99 rootstock and received supplementary irrigation based on hydrometer readings. Canopies were actively managed to ensure bunches were kept in the shade and away from direct sunlight. To ensure they reached the cellar in the coolest possible state, the grapes were mechanically harvested at night at 19º to 21º Balling and transported enveloped in layers of dry ice to reduce contact with oxygen. The first grapes have a high acidity with flavours of grass and green pepper followed by the ensuing harvest’s aromas of gooseberry and tropical fruit blending to form the perfect balance.

In the cellar
After crushing, the juice was pumped to an enclosed press where it was kept on the skins for 24 hours to allow for optimal flavour extraction. Only the free-run juice was then pumped over and allowed to settle under reductive conditions. The juice was cooled to -4ºC and kept at that temperature for two to three weeks when all excess water in the juice was frozen, a practice which increases the flavour concentration and the sugar level. The juice was then pumped out of the cold tanks and the temperature allowed to rise to 8ºC to 10ºC after which it was inoculated with natural yeast strains. Fermentation took place in steel tanks at a controlled temperature of 10ºC to 12ºC. After about four weeks the wine was fermented dry and was then protein- and cold- stabilised before bottling.