Introduction

Welcome to Darling Vines. This blog was created by the viticulturist of Darling Cellars, South Africa, Jaco Engelbrecht. It is intended to be a weekly blog, so I will try to update it every Friday. I don’t plan on writing a lot, its more of a photo blog.

Just a few things before I start with the actual first post.


In 1948, Mamre Weg Cooperative Cellar was established. 1996 heralded a new era for the region of Darling with the establishment of the private cellar: Darling Cellars. With the unique terroir and recent demarcation of the Darling district, the focus has been on wines which are region and varietal true. About 23 shareholders produce grapes from a total of ±1300ha, averaging 6 tons/ha.

The cool and temperate West Coast climate lends itself to a variety of different micro- and mesoclimates which, along with the different soil types, lead to unique grapes which we guide into even more unique wines. Having 90% of all vineyards dry land and roughly the same percentage bush vine (i.e. not trellised), this is as close to what nature intended for grapes to be as one can get. This all culminates into wines which are true to the terroir from which they come and are true to the identity which we have crafted over time for our wines.

(Adjusted from the Darling Cellars website: www.darlingcellars.co.za)

That’s all for the intro, more on soil, weather and things in the vineyards at a later time.