Winemaking

Beyerskloof's beginnings were very humble. Beyers Truter has said: "When I arrived on the farm, there was nothing except a donkey. Oh ja, and some ducks." Now there is a small but modern cellar that, along with tasting room, had a face-lift in 1997. Beyers uses stainless steel roto-fermenter tanks for some of the Pinotage grapes to achieve the extra skin-juice contact that leads to improved colour and extraction levels. The grapes for the Cabernet-based Beyerskloof are still fermented in the old-fashioned way in open-air tanks. A barrel maturation cellar to store the new French Nevers oak 225 litre barriques, a crucial element of the Truter wine making philosophy, stores in the region of about 1 300 barrels. Beyerskloof was the first Cape wine to enjoy early maturation in 100% new barriques.