Vineyard development: `Why worry be happy’

The vines which have been growing steadily, are now in flower. We are a bit worried about cold wet weather interfering with pollination, and also that low residual water levels  might make grape ripening difficult. With bush vines which are non irrigated, this can be a problem under dry conditions. But of course our worrying has nil effect, and this, after all, is farming, so we go along with Bob Marley and try not to worry and be happy .  

At the other end of the process, we are now bottling and labelling some  2008 and 2010 wines – a job mostly done by our volunteers . The volunteers include a couple Jamie and Eric from the USA,  two, Jonte and Sarah, from different parts of Germany and Sally from the UK. Apart from wine activities, the volunteers have helped in the garden and with cooking and  got stuck into maintenance and repair work.



Visit our "Volunteers" album on Facebook



Farm work

While guests have been partying, we have been busy with farm work. This has meant, cleaning up the vineyards and tending the olive groves, planting grass and more trees and doing building work.  A neighbour Riaan, has just harvested the Koerog (hybrid wheat- rye,) he grows on 10 hectares of our land in exchange for animal feed, and Meyer, another neighbour, has put his sheep into the harvested grain to feed them and give us fertilizer.  On the tree front, Ronel and Alan from Tierfontein, have been up in our wonderful old oaks, pruning them.

Visit our Farm album on Facebook

Open Day 2011 at Fynbos Estate

Open Day 2011 turned out to be a huge success, much food and wine was consumed and a good time was had by all as these comments we received show.

HI Diana and Johan

Open day was stunning.  Everyone at our table was saying there is something very special about your place which is hard to define. Beautiful, relaxed, friendly and …..we couldn’t name it. But we shall be back for sure

Suzanna .

Thanks Diana,

Had a fabulous time on Saturday by the way, lovely people, delicious food beautiful setting - thank you and Jo.

David

Just wanted to say we had a great time. Divine wine and food and fun people, Johan can I get the chicken recipe from you please.

Mark and Denise

A baby shower with a difference

Last Saturday, Tamsyn and Steve decked the garden out with camping chairs and tables, balloons, umbrellas and tables of food, to welcome little WIGLET  (at that point residing in Tamsyn ‘s tum,) into the world.  It was a baby shower with a difference lasting two days and providing an occasion for much merriment. (By the way WIGLET is a diminutive of WIGGEL which is Steve and Tamsyn’s surname)

From Tamsyn and Steve ( prospective mother and father)

It was a lovely weekend, thanks so much for having us and for opening up the farm for our Baby Shower and overnight stay, which everyone absolutely loved

Tom's Birthday

On Sunday another party happened at Fynbos. This was Tom’s birthday lunch  for a group of 20 or so friends. From mid-morning till late afternoon guests ate and swam and chatted and ate some more.  And the donkeys were delighted with leftovers fed them by small boys.

Scenes from the festivities

A 50th to remember

Enjoying lunch

On the 24^th September Steve Hall celebrated his 50^th at the farm with 60 guests.  The weather was perfect, lunch in the pavilion was delicious and a  jazz –blues- rock trio made wonderful music. Not to mention some special performances by friends.

Swimming and lazing about and drinking wine went on until supper time when 40 remaining guests  had a braai in the farmhouse garden. Next morning they were all treated to hot breakfast on the farmhouse stoep and after more lazing about and drinking of wine the last guests left for home at 6 pm Sunday night.  A weekend celebration of note.



Friends entertain the birthday boy!



Beautiful illustrations

We recently received these beautiful illustrations from Kevin Ghiglione, one of our
recent Canadian visitors. The farm certainly inspires creativity in people!

Swartland Country Market a huge success

Saturday 8th October saw the entire Santam Swartland Wine and Olive Route invade the Kirstenbosch Stone Cottages. The day was without a doubt a huge success and will hopefully not be the last one. Residents of the Southern Suburbs were thrilled to sample the best that this region has to offer. Johan tried his new creation, Rigel, on the public and it garnered rave reviews. Named after one of the stars in Orion's Belt this sweet creation promises to surprise.

Riding the Rhino

About 300 mountain bikers came through Fynbos Estate on Sunday morning. We took some pictures of them as they entered the farm before they braved the road up and over Dragonridge. Some of them looked rather tired already, so we were a little worried about how they would manage the sharp inclines and the loose stones.

The `Rhino’ as the name suggests is in aid of Rhino Conservation.

Visit www.renosterveldmtb.co.za to find out more.