Rietvallei Wine Estate is a family-owned wine estate and one of the oldest wine farms in Robertson. It is situated in the Klaas Voogds ward, eight kilometers east of Robertson in the Western Cape, South Africa.


The farm was bought in 1864 by Alewyn Burger for his son Jacobus Francois. Koos Burger then farmed the estate and was 70 years old when he planted a Muscadel vineyard on the farm, today the oldest of its kind in South Africa and celebrating its centenary.


His son, John, received awards for his Muscadel making since he had started making wine, and in 1968 he won a gold medal for the most outstanding wine on the Robertson Show. He made wine until the age of 76 years and was succeeded by his son, Kobus (Johnny’s father).


In 1973, after two years at Elsenburg, Johnny took over from his father and started to make the wine on Rietvallei. His maiden vintage Muscadel was released in 1975, the first time Rietvallei’s wine was bottled.


In 1981 a new wine cellar with cold fermentation capabilities was built and in 1987 the first estate white wine was released, a wooded Chardonnay.


Today the fifth and sixth generations of the Burger family, Johnny and his son Kobus, are actively running the estate. Johnny takes care of the farming side and is in charge of the viticulture while Kobus makes the wine and oversees the marketing of the wines and general management of the business.

Rietvallei Estate comprises 370 hectares of which 180 hectares are planted with vineyard. Plans are to expand the vineyards to 200 hectares during the next couple of years.


At the moment the estate is still planted with predominantly white noble cultivars covering 75%, with red being only 25%. Apart from the traditional Red Muscadel, Rietvallei is also planted with the following classic noble cultivars, namely Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Colombar, Rhine Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Chenin Blanc, Viognier, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Cabernet Franc, Pinotage, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Ruby Cabernet, Tinta Barocca and Pinot Noir. Rietvallei's famous 1908 Red Muscadel vineyard is in the form of bush vines and is approximately one quarter of a hectare in size.


The trellised vines, planted in deep fertile soils, climb the cool south-eastern slope of the Langeberg foothills where they nestle in the shade, protected against the afternoon sun.


Because of the cold winters, these vines enjoy a deep winter sleep in the cold earth. The winter dormancy is essential for the vines to recover, so that in summer they can produce fine, healthy grapes. When the snow melt in the spring, water from the clear mountain streams is sometimes used to irrigate the vines.


Away from the pollution of the city, these vines thrive in the crisp clean Karoo air. Often, in the early morning, the vines are shrouded in mist and from the distant Indian Ocean comes a breeze to further cool the grapes, thus allowing them to ripen slowly and develop their summer sugars.


The soil types on the farm are well drained and rich in lime, with a high pH, yielding good acidity in the grapes. The soil types vary from red calcareous clay-loam, to deep calcareous loam, to rocky and even also to sandy alluvial soil. Rietvallei soils have the remarkable capacity to promote concentrated sweetness in the grapes and this enhances the flavour and aroma of the noble cultivars, which are picked at lower sugar levels.


IN THE CELLAR


In the cellar, Johnny and Kobus employ modern wine making techniques, but remain faithful to the dictates of Johnny’s grandfather's famous Muscadel recipe. Accordingly, the must is left on the skins until fermentation starts. This is to achieve the deep red colour of the Muscadel. Fermentation is ended by the addition of pure grape spirit and sufficient natural grape sugar remains to impart the full and sweet character.

The red wine making is conducted in open fermenting tanks. For colour and flavour extraction the cap (grape skins) is wetted every few hours by pushing it down into the must by hand during fermentation. Once again the traditional method… but still the most effective.


With white wine making ultra modern techniques are used with cold fermentation in stainless steel tanks.