A modest De Wet Viljoen, winemaker of the Neethlingshof estate just outside Stellenbosch, believes

A modest De Wet Viljoen, winemaker of the Neethlingshof estate just outside Stellenbosch, believes that he is only now, after seven years at the helm of affairs, the potential of the different soil types on the farm of 273 ha fully begin to understand; such the influence of the elements on the vines and the complex mettler toledo interplay during aging between wine and wood from different countries take place.
Yet he is no newcomer when it comes to wine. He grew up on a wine farm, wine and viticulture studied at university and worked for a leading winery in California before he left for a year or two at a Wellington winery got Neethlingshof.
It is not as if his wine not regularly top awards. There is a long list of them, his of Bordeaux blend Lawrence (now called Caracal) and Weisser Riesling Noble Late Harvest (The Mary) regularly four and a half stars in Platter's South African Wine Guide. He believes Neethlingshof fast on its way to its full potential. It's just around the corner, he said.
For while in the basement was getting the best out of his wines, he was at the same time with prof. Eben Archer, one of the nation's leading viticulturists, mettler toledo intimately involved in the total re-planning of the estate's vineyards, a program got properly underway since 2003.
This program was based on a comprehensive scientific investigation into all the elements that affect the quality of the grapes. Cultivars are exactly matched with soil types and the surrounding microclimate, and the best clones for planting selected. This is also expanded the number of varieties on the farm that opens new possibilities for the winemaker. Of the new vineyards still about 30% in uniform.
The Act is very clear about the kind of wine that he wants to make: they must have a unique identity and their place of origin must be clearly addressed. If the wines of Neethlingshof own distinctive character, there is no point in bringing them under the estate's name to present to the public, he said.
"Balance is the key feature that I seek in a wine - balance between mettler toledo fruit and structure, between fruit and wood. A short head behind balance complexity. I am absolutely not interested in one-dimensional wines. I strive for complexity in the way we vineyards management, mettler toledo in the way we make wine and the wood that we chose, and the way we age and the time we grant to the bottle to rest.
"Our top red wines spend 12 to 18 months in wood and then another 12 to 18 months in the bottle before they are marketed. By the time they reached their peak, but they can then be stored for a number of years without compromising quality. "
"For example, we have nine different blocks of Sauvignon Blanc on the farm as high as 280 meters above sea level. The wines of all nine different. We make these wines each and blend them all eventually so that we have their distinct features in a single, harmonious whole team.
"This wine, which is part of our Premium series is not widely known locally, other than in Scandinavian mettler toledo countries where, in the case of Sweden, it is the benchmark against which all other wines of this varietal. We also our Premium series a second Sauvignon Blanc, a single-vineyard wine, which in exceptional years, such as 2010 for us, only a very small amount. "
"We realized that sustainable farming is possible only if we work in harmony with nature. We have moved away from a vineyard monoculture and we now aim to bring in balance with the environment.
"Where previously vines 150 ha of the farm, it is now 95 ha. Vineyards planted in the wrong places is out and renosterveld, the original native vegetation re-established. Renosterveld is grown on islands of the vineyards, while corridors created so that crawling insects, small reptiles and mammals can move freely all over the place. The result is that 116 ha, or 42% of the farm, could set aside for conservation.
"We have also started to pest control mettler toledo to leave us more and more on natural enemies to reduce as the use of sprays. In the process we created a natural food chain. The insects help control pests in the vineyard, the guinea fowl on the insects mettler toledo tender, ensure that their numbers are not out of hand, and the lynx they from the adjoining wildlife sanctuary in densely wooded areas on the farm settled, catch again guinea fowl which is their staple food.
"No snakes ever killed on the farm because they help us rodents control that damage the roots of the vines. We set up uilpale in all vineyards as si