Word of the day: 'veraison'

In the last month and a half, while we have been enjoying the festive season break, the vines have been working hard to ensure that your next festive season will not be a dry one, well not on the wine front at least!

The bunches have filled out nicely and as you can see, the ripening process has just begun. This photo shows the first signs of veraison in our Cabernet Sauvignon. This is the time when the hard green berries in red varieties begin to colour and soften. White grape varieties soften and become slightly translucent which is a lot more difficult to capture in a photo.

I will post a follow up photo in a few days so that you can follow the process but at this stage we are still about two months away from harvesting the Cabernet Sauvignon which is generally the last block to ripen on South Hill.

Back to Work, Back to Reality: The Priceless Gift of Relaxation

The New Year usually starts in drips and drabs with the first week of January reserved for a handful of sacrificial workers who are sent back at work. Most of them twiddle their thumbs for ten days, jealous as all hell that the rest of the country is still on holiday.

But before we know it, it’s back to the two day break after a five day working week and we all start to look for that little bit of well-deserved personal downtime.

The Elgin Valley is a best-kept secret just one hour out of Cape Town. Think rolling fruit orchards and winelands (and subsequently some pretty fantastic wine), outdoor activities, rumbling tractors ... and tranquillity.

So how about a visit to South Hill with a leisurely wine tasting, a delicious country meal at our restaurant, Gordon Manuel @ The Venue or a weekend stay in luxury at The Guesthouse or The Pumphouse. Whether you’re here for a few hours or a few days, the time away – your time – will help bridge the gap till that next long, lazy holiday.

www.southhill.co.za

A Glass a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

It’s that time of year again when we feel the need to make those pesky New Year’s resolutions. Isn’t everyone’s basically the same? Eat healthy, drink less, stop smoking, exercise…blah blah blah. But how many of us actually make head way with those resolutions? And, if you do manage, for how long?

At South Hill we have a 2011 New Year’s resolution we think our readers will enjoy ... drinking one glass of South Hill Cabernet Sauvignon a day – every day – to keep the doctor away. And of course, we are talking about drinking in moderation and only having one or two glasses! At one glass a day, that’s only 91.25 bottles of wine this year.

There’s as much debate about having a glass of red wine a day as there is about drinking coffee or eating chocolate. Research shows that there are significant health benefits to drinking red wine, (unfortunately white wine doesn’t contain quite as many anti-oxidants as a red). Take note, these benefits are from the grapes and not the alcohol – so a glass of scotch a day wouldn’t do the same.

Basically, red wine aids digestion due to polyphenol anti-oxidants that limit the growth of destructive bacteria and neutralize toxins from fatty foods preventing blood clots and blood vessel damage caused by fat deposits. It also helps regulate cholesterol levels in the blood by reducing the formation of bad cholesterol and increasing good cholesterol, thereby lowering the risk of heart disease.

We suggest you enjoy your glass a day with a fine meal and good company. Here’s to you, here’s to 2011!