With Boschendal’s bubbly category successfully wrapped up, we’re focusing on the next grapes in line: the white varieties. Michael Langenhoven is Boschendal’s White Winemaker, responsible for ensuring that all the grapes under his guise come in at their optimal time. To do this, he has busied himself by taking grape samples twice a week and analysing them for sugar, pH and TA (Total Acidity).
“Our viticulturists are constantly in the vineyards monitoring the grapes. When one of my vineyards is almost ready to be picked, I go see the vineyard and taste the grapes to assess the flavours and determine the picking date with the team per block.”
The current harvest started quite late, with the first batch of Sauvignon Blanc only making its way through the cellar doors on the 15th of February. “This is the latest that I ever received Sauvignon Blanc in my career. The quality of the grapes are excellent though,” shares Michael.
The team is done with Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay. The cellar team is being put through their paces, working day and night shifts – each at 11 hours long. It’s for this reason that Michael is grateful he is solely focused on white wines: “It gives me more time to concentrate only on the wines I am responsible for, and therefore allows me to give more attention to detail.”
