False Bay Slow Chenin Blanc

An independent company, owned by Waterkloof founder Paul Boutinot, False Bay Vineyards aims to make 'real' wine affordable. These are sustainable certified wines bottled in South Africa and naturally crafted from mature and often old vineyards that, crucially, are naturally in balance. This means that, unusually at the price, the grapes from these coastal gems can be transformed into wine with wild yeast and an absolute minimum of intervention.

False Bay Vineyards is proud to be a WWF (World Wildlife Fund) Biodiversity Champion and certified by WIETA (Wine and Agricultural Ethical Trade Association). All of their wines are Vegan friendly.

False Bay are also certified as part of South Africa's sustainability accreditation, the Integrated Production of Wine (IPW) system. The IPW scheme, started in 1998, consists of a set of audited guidelines specifying agricultural practices, manufacturing practices and bottling activities.

Chenin Blanc,

The grapes for False Bay Slow Chenin Blanc stem from old bush vines in the coastal region. Old vines are key to making stand-out chenin and although The Swartland is not as coastal as most of the vineyards used for the False Bay wines, it is an area where, quite frankly, grapes from old vines are available at the required prices. Thankfully, the area's old vines produce naturally low yields and retain good acidity despite being warmer and less windswept than Stellenbosch, so cooler, coastal Atlantic winds are less of a necessity for these gnarly old vines.

Made by Waterkloof's talented young Cellarmaster Nadia Barnard. Balanced grapes are hand harvested, fermented spontaneously with wild yeast in stainless steel tanks and then left on lees for a minimum of ten months before bottling. No additions other than sulphur as a preservative. Grown, made and bottled in South Africa. Vegan friendly wine, sustainably farmed and naturally crafted.

Chenin crafted the wild way, old vine fruit, fermented with wild yeast found naturally on the grapes. Up to six months lees ageing after fermentation gives a slow and natural evolution and a harmonious and balanced wine.

Bready aromas and dried herbaceous notes, including fennel and aniseed dominate the nose, followed by a creamy lemon character. The palate is reminiscent of the nose, with great textural complexity, attributable to the long, slow wild yeast fermentation.

A versatile wine equally well suited to partner lobster and other seafood, risotto or herb roast chicken. Can also handle spice very well.

Nolan - Text from the Spotlight On The White Wines of South Africa blog.

Here is the False Bay Chenin, as easy drinking as it is easy on your wallet. The whole range of False Bay wines are genuinely very good, far better than they actually deserve to be at their moderate price point! As a testament to the quality of False Bay Chenin, our delivery driver, Soph, has lost track of the amount of this wine she has actually consumed, though I estimate that you could re-glaze the entire Shard in London with the left-over bottles.

False Bay is an independent company owned by Waterkloof founder Paul Boutinot. False Bay Vineyards aims to make 'real' wine affordable. These wines are produced following sustainable practices, instead of commercial, off the shelf yeasts that are easy to control and predict, False Bay instead rely on wild, airborne yeasts, adding an extra element of “terroir” that is almost always missing in a wine of this modest price point.

Here is a little snippet direct from the horse’s mouth regarding sustainability:

“False Bay Vineyards is proud to be a WWF (World Wildlife Fund) Biodiversity Champion and certified by WIETA (Wine and Agricultural Ethical Trade Association). All of their wines are Vegan friendly.

False Bay are also certified as part of South Africa's sustainability accreditation, the Integrated Production of Wine (IPW) system. The IPW scheme, started in 1998, consists of a set of audited guidelines specifying agricultural practices, manufacturing practices and bottling activities.”

Grapes are hand harvested and transported to the winery, then, under the watchful gaze of Cellarmaster, Nadia Barnard, fermented spontaneously with wild yeast in stainless steel tanks and then left on lees, (the dead yeast cells), for a minimum of ten months before bottling. This is all treatment that would usually be reserved for higher priced wines. Be under no illusion that this is a game changing range of wines, they are not. What they are however are excellent value for money.

Bready aromas and dried herbaceous notes, including fennel and aniseed dominate the nose, followed by a creamy lemon character. The palate is reminiscent of the nose, with great textural complexity, attributable to the long, slow wild yeast fermentation.

Pair this with simple summer salads or a risotto.