Meerendal is one of only a handful of brands in South Africa with the proud tradition of 50 years since bottling our first vintage Pinotage in 1969. We celebrated this important historical occasion by hosting a very special tasting on the Estate.

This vertical tasting started with the very first Meerendal Pinotage that was bottled in 1969, following on from this were the 1974, 1978, 1982, 1996 vintages and ended with The Flagship Heritage Block Pinotage made for the first time in 2005, when the vineyard was 50 years old.

A number of the attendees have written about their experience at this special celebration. links are provided below:

The Menue

Tim James at Meerendal

As we enter into 317 years of the Estates Winemaking history it has never been more important for us to focus on our future, giving considerable attention on what we need to do to protect the land in our stewardship which in tern will hopefully allow us to continue producing exceptional wines for at least another 300 years! So what are we doing to ensure our sustainable future?

·         Planting of cover crop- this helps to prevent soil erosion as well as putting back organic material into the soil which helps aeration and adds nutrients to the soil benefitting the growth of the vine during summer. It also improves water holding as well as having the added benefit of smothering weed growth which would otherwise compete with vines for water and nutrients.

·         Planting of Agroforestry corridors around the Vineyards. We will be planting Vygies and Fynbos both indigenous to South Africa. These help to prevent erosion as well as attracting bees and insects who will in turn eat the mealy bugs which are harmful to the vines. overall creating a favourable ecosystem.

·         Continuing to Handpick our grapes-as well as allowing us to produce high quality wines this is much kinder to our environment and provides local employment. By handpicking we reduce energy usage, emissions and the damaging effects of compacting the soil.

·         Minimal Ploughing- we are extremely mindful of the damaging effects ploughing has and keep this to a minimal going through the vineyards only with mulching in of the cover crop residue. This prevents compacting of the sub-soil allowing the soil to build up an active ecosystem with bacteria, earthworm and other organisms, all helping to create nutrients and nitrogen for the vine to use. 

·         Drylands Estate- as water is becoming a more scarce resource it is ever more important for us to continue conserving water, the fact that we are a drylands estate saves enormously on our water usage. We also adapt our pruning style using the suckering technique which helps our vines to adapt and flourish with less water.

Saturday, 27 October 2018, 11h00 – 20h00

The Bubbly Festival brought to you by Events & More, will be hosted on Meerendal Wine Estate.
Come and celebrate Champagne, Bubbly, Glitz, Glam, Fashion and the best entertainment in town!

TICKETS:
Standard price R360,00
VIP price R595,00
Get your Ticket

Meerendal Heritage Block Pinotage 2010 sold for record prices today at the 44th Nederburg wine auction. The prices varied from R4800 to R6000 a case of six bottles!

Meerendal’s Heritage Block Pinotage was the only Old Vines Project wine at this years Auction.