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Elgin has not been a wine region for very long. Historically the valley, is packed full of apple and pear orchards, but when the bottom fell out of the apple market in the mid-1990s, many of the farmers turned to planting vines. At the peak of the Elgin wine rush, just before the turn of the century, there were over 2000 hectares of vines planted. But those vines were very quickly grubbed up as soon as the fruit markets recovered. However…! By the time apples and pears had bounced back, the potential of the Elgin terroir had been well documented, and there was a small group of vignerons who could not turn their backs on that potential, despite the significantly higher profitability of apples and pears.

Oak Valley was the very first property to have vines on it. These were trial blocks planted and funded by the then cash-flush Nederberg in order to explore new possible regions for their expanding empire. So in one sense, it’s impossible to truly explore the history of Elgin without starting with a little Oak Valley in your glass.

In this video we discuss Pinot Noir in its various guises, as well as touch on the history outlined above.

👃🏼- Mushroom, dried leaves, lavender, cherry, hint of purple flowers,

👄 – Super dry in style, and a splendidly elegant mix of sour cherry, raspberries, strawberries, mushrooms, some smoke, flint, and a few splinters of cedar wood. Eye-watering acidity that leaves the mouth watering for days. Tannins are fine, but present, with bright sour cherry lingering into a med+ tail.

🔬- WO Elgin. 100% Pinot Noir. Vines are planted on SSW and SSE-facing slope in the foothills of the Groenlandberg, at altitudes around 450m ASL. Grapes are treated very gently during fermentation, to avoid heavy extraction. Matured in french barrels for 9 months.