Following the announcement of the 2020 #SAOliveAwards & #AbsaTop10 Olive Oils Awards in South Africa, we are presenting a series of interviews with each Gold-winning producer.
Absa Top 10 Winner: Wildekrans Endless
SA Olive Gold Winners: Wildekrans Endless & Wildekrans Keerweer
Name of the oil: Wildekrans Endless
Style: Medium
Cultivars used for this oil: Nocellara
Litres produced: 500 lt
Tasting notes: Fruit of green and ripe olives, almond, walnut, fynbos, tropical fruit, pineapple, and floral notes.
Best paired with which food: Ek sal gaan met vars groen slaai, ciabatta brood met sop, vir enige Thai disse, vis, enige Kerrie disse. Dit sal ook werk saam met blou kaas of enige “ryk” kase.
Name of the oil: Wildekrans Keerweer
Style: Medium
Cultivars used for this oil: FS-17
Litres produced: 1000 lt
Tasting notes: Fruit of green and ripe olives, grass, artichoke, olive leaf, walnut, tomato, herbs, and green fruit.
Best paired with which food: Ek sal gaan met vars groen slaai, ciabatta brood met sop, vir enige Thai disse, vis, enige Kerrie disse. Dit sal ook werk saam met blou kaas of enige “ryk” kase.
Producer history: Wildekrans Wine Estate is a picturesque 1 000 hectare estate tucked away in the beautiful Botrivier Valley. What is now an estate that produces international award-winning wines, Wildekrans was originally established as a mixed farming operation. It was soon realized that the cool terroir of this picturesque farm in the Botrivier Valley, had all the key components to produce grapes of the highest quality expressions.
The winemaking process, similarly, adheres to principles of low intervention with a focus on capturing and retaining the essence of the vine and its terroir. The Wildekrans winemaking philosophy is based on the premise that great wines begin in the vineyard. Consequently, infinite care is taken to match varietals to suitable soil types. The vines are thereafter nurtured to produce low yielding crops of pronounced structure and fruit intensity. The estate is planted to around 70 hectares of red and white varietals with future plantings set to enrich and balance the portfolio.
The unique terroir is ideal for the production of premium wines as evidenced by the attainment of numerous local and international awards. Wildekrans Wine Estate was recently awarded membership of Cape Vintners Classification (CVC) and is a Certified Heritage Vineyards member.
Short introduction to the oil maker & his/her comment on the 2020 harvest: Ek sien die plaas nie net as my werksplek nie maar my huis. Die plaas is in 2007 gekoop deur twee amazing mense: Amanda en Gary Harlow wat sedert toe baie vernuwing, vervanging en uitbereiding mee gedeel het. Ons eerste halwe hektaar olywe het ek in 2010 geplant as ‘n eksperiment en vandag het ons 16 Ha olywe op die plaas. In 2017, het ons ons eie Oliminio aangekoop en was nog nie ‘n dag spyt oor die keuse van masjien wat bydra tot die kwaliteit van ons produk. Ons fokus op kleiner batches wat ons as bou blokke gebruik om ‘n gebalanseerde olie te produseer. Hier gaan dit nie oor my nie maar die idee en manier van benadering is dat ons elke seisoen se uitdagings as ‘n span in die oe staar maar dan ook as ‘n span fees vier indien ons ‘n sukses daarvan maak. So om van myself hier te praat sal nie reg wees nie. Hierdie is ‘n span poging en elke persoon dra by tot die suksesse van wat ons verwag. Ons is ‘n tight eenheid wat mekaar respekteer. Ons is familie wat al 13 jaar saam deur alles gaan en wat ons anders maak van die res.
Where to buy: https://shop.wildekrans.com/
Email: orders@wildekrans.com
Website: www.wildekrans.com
For more SA Olive Awards winners click here.
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