Launching our new Wine Collection next week!
Named after South Africa’s most iconic bay, which frames much of the country’s premium winelands, False Bay Vineyards was borne out of a desire to make ‘real’ wine affordable.
Back in 1994, long before founding Waterkloof his biodynamic vineyard overlooking False Bay- Paul Boutinot came to the Western Cape to seek out and rescue grapes from old, balanced and under-appreciated vineyards. These treasures were otherwise destined to be lost in the large co-operative blends that were dominating South Africa’s wine industry back then.
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Unusually for that time, Paul transformed those Cape gems into wines with a minimum of intervention: Wild yeast ferments, no acid additions…you know the drill. A familiar story to many ‘real wine’ lovers now, but back then he was swimming against the tide. Even today, making wine this way at the price-level is almost unheard of.
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Today the ingredients remain the same for Waterkloof’s Cellar Master Nadia Barnard: Fantastic coastal fruit, old vines and wild yeast abound, with additions avoided.
WINES
False Bay Chenin Blanc
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Slow Chenin Blanc is not fermented with fast-acting, or aroma-‘enhancing’ commercially selected yeast. The grapes do not take three weeks to get from vineyard to bottle. It is crafted the wild way – old vine fruit, fermented with wild yeast found naturally on the grapes...not in a packet. This magical transformation takes at least six months. At False Bay Vineyards we make slow wine.
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False Bay Sauvignon Blanc
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Windswept Sauvignon Blanc is not concocted from over-cropped grapes, nor pumped up on clever winemaking additives. This authentic wine comes from cool, windswept, coastal vineyards. These gems give up meagre yields of small berries, imbued with their own natural acidity and intensity.
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