Organic Philosophy
Org de Rac's PhilosophyOrganic: It’s Only Natural
Org de Rac was one of the first wine farms in South Africa committed to 100% certified organic wine-farming. Today it is one of only 18 local wine producers certified for the making of wines from organically farmed grapes.
From the outset, Org de Rac’s motive for organic farming was our conviction that the best, healthiest grapes make the finest wines. And if you want healthy grapes expressing the characteristics of each variety, creating as natural an environment as possible for the cultivation of vineyards is the best way to ensure quality grapes for the making of premium wines.
Organic farming entails natural agricultural practices, the same as those used by farmers centuries and generations back before the landscape was changed by the introduction of chemical fertilizers and poisonous pesticides. Org de Rac thus does not – and has never – subjected its soils and vineyards to artificial fertilizers and pesticides composed in a laboratory.
Natural compost and sea-bird manure, as well as crop-covers, fertilize our soils, creating a natural environment for vineyards to flourish, ensuring optimum health of roots, scions, shoots, leaves and grapes. To keep harmful bugs and disease-carrying pests at bay, natural predators such as wasps are released into the vineyards to decimate the unwanted insects.
The result is vineyards farmed in harmony with nature. A minimum-intervention approach in maintaining soil health and unhindered purity allows the vines to maintain healthy profiles allowing for the delivering of superior quality grapes from which our wines are made.\Organic farming also brings life to the environment, therefore Org de Rac’s vineyards teem with non-invasive creatures such as ladybirds and earth-worms, while the farmland is full of birds and mammals flourishing on a truly living wine farm.
Vineyards and Winemaking
Org de Rac’s Vineyards
Org de Rac’s vineyards are grown on some of the oldest viticulture soils in the world, the results of tremendous tectonic shifts some 800m years ago. They comprise granite and slate, rich in iron and ideal for the growing of wine grapes. The Mediterranean climate ensures cold winters with an annual average rainfall of 300mm, while summers are warm and sunny. Grape varieties are planted in pockets of terroir proven to be suited in allowing each specific cultivar to express its unique and individual flavour profiles. Vineyards are south-facing in east-west rows.
Grape varieties include (red): Shiraz, Grenache Noir, Mourvèdre, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Pinot Noir and Tempranillo. White: Chenin Blanc, Roussanne, Verdelho and Chardonnay.
Most of our vineyards are trellised on wires using the split cordon method. A comprehensive soil improvement programme using regenerative practices such as mulching, cover crops and biological control is increasingly resulting in more balanced canopies and elevated fruit quality.
Winemaking
Using organically farmed grapes means that in the winery Org de Rac is committed to minimum-intervention winemaking. Sorting tables ensure selection of only perfectly ripe, healthy berries for crushing and fermentation, and state-of-the-art pressing equipment enable gentle extraction of top quality juice. The use of sulphur, an agent found naturally in the vineyards and the wine-making process, is kept to the minimum. Natural fermentation is applied for most of our wines to capture purity and varietal expression.
Pump-overs are done judiciously to keep the wine calm, intact and balanced. Wines that undergo wood-maturation are allowed to rest in specially selected French oak barrels, each vessel chosen by the cellarmaster to bring the best features of each variety or blend to the fore. Amphoras and older oak support our New World style of gently extracted, lower alcohol wines, and allow the terroir of each wine to take centre stage.
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