13/05/2026
A final wrap-up on Harvest 2026 and what a vintage it became. 🍇
It started early. A warm, dry December and January pushed us into the vineyards five to seven days ahead of schedule, with clean canopies and fruit of remarkable concentration.
Then the season rewrote its own script. Tonnages climbed 22% across Vrede en Lust and Casey's Ridge, Pinotage yields doubled, a Grenache block jumped from 7 to 32 tons, and the cellar moved a planned rosé over to reds without missing a beat.
Through the volume, the velocity, a 70 mm downpour in Elgin, and what Elaina called "incredible chess moves," our teams under Karlin Nel & Anette Human, kept the standard exactly where it has been for three hundred years - uncompromised.
By March 4th, every grape was in. 821 tons of precision-processed fruit. Vibrant whites with serious lift. Reds with deep colour, structured tannins, and exceptional promise.
But before we closed the cellar doors on the season, we did something a little different. We passed a disposable camera around the team and asked them to capture harvest the way they lived it. Sun-bleached mornings. Dusty boots. Quiet moments between the rows. The faces behind every bin, every tank, every long shift.
Heritage. Celebration. Family.
The values we live by, caught on 35mm.
To every intern, picker, winemaker and seasoned set of hands who made Harvest 2026 what it was: thank you.
This vintage is yours.
Here's to celebrating it. 🥂
