3:00 pm on Thursday afternoon we are welcomed to Silverthorn winery by the owners - John and Karen Loubster.
Hopefully, you are following our 2023 wine trip blogs.
On our other visits to vineyards the harvest is full-on - but to make sparkling wine, grapes are picked a lot earlier so they don’t have such a high sugar content. Today when we arrive at Silverthorn all the grapes are harvested and in tanks/barrels fermenting. At this stage, the liquid has little alcohol but the underlying taste is there.
We sampled the Chardonnay which is delicious - indeed there is a strong taste of sharp Granny Smith apples already showing strongly!
The vineyards themselves were being sprayed after all the grapes are harvested as it is important to protect and strengthen the resistance to mould on the leaves and plant generally - the result of this spraying will be rewarded by keeping the plants healthy and therefore in the following years grape quality will be improved.
Off to the stoep to taste the latest vintages of Silverthorn and enjoy a platter of local produce - also Karen has made a fresh loaf of bread and avocado/chilli salad - a special afternoon to be sure.
Sitting here with delicious wine, food and great company looking at the Breede river.
Perfection.
