introduction
The Holden Manz wine estate is located at the top of the Franschhoek valley dominated by the spectacular mountains which stand guard over the beauty below. Situated between the Franschhoek and stony brook rivers, this 22 hectare wine estate benefits from fertile and dark loam soils and a state of the art wine making process. The estate cultivates 16 hectares of vines, and produces different grape varieties, exclusively red ones: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Syrah and Merlot.
What's different
For some wines, the Holden Manz wine estate uses a complete vinification in barrels. This winemaking technique allows the grapes to come into contact with the wood of the barrels from the beginning of alcoholic fermentation. Find out more on this method in our overview!
They also plant roses at the beginning of their rows of vines and it isn't just to be pretty! Indeed, roses are supposed to get diseases before vines do: as they'll be the first sick, the winemaker'll then have more time to know precisely which disease is coming and how to treat it.
WORK TIME
During the day, we worked in the cellars with the winemaker Annamarie. We participated in some steps of the vinification process of a rosé wine made from the Grenache grape variety. We helped to carry boxes filled with grapes into the press, to measure and control the sugar level of the juice from the press, to add sulphur to allow the wine to be sanitized and stored better. During this day, we also met 2 French people, Lucie and Julien, who have studied oenology and who will spend 3 months in this vineyard in order to discover new production methods abroad.
