Avondale

Cyclus 2012 has been released  January 20, 2015

In tune with the latest wine trends that favour white blends, we have released the 2012 vintage of Avondale’s Cyclus. Made from organically grown Viognier, Chardonnay, Roussanne, Chenin Blanc and Semillon grapes, Avondale’s Cyclus embodies Nature’s power and dynamism that is so beautifully expressed in the spiral.

The picturesque 300-hectare farm that is today known as Avondale has been under cultivation for more than 300 years.  Early records show that the land was one of the first in the Paarl valley to be allocated specifically for the production of wine grapes.

In 1997, John and Ginny Grieve, owners of Vital Health Foods, purchased the Avondale as their family farm. Youngest son, Johnathan Grieve took up the challenge of transforming this long-used land into a robust, balanced vineyard ecosystem that would ensure that Avondale will support the lives of future generations.

The first vintage under the Avondale label was produced in 1999.

In 2000, a catastrophic fire swept down the mountains. Out of the ashes, rose the opportunity to truly sculpt the land and its natural systems in an unfettered, sustainable way.  Johnathan developed a unique approach to viticulture which he called ‘BioLOGIC®’.  He implemented organic and biodynamic practices – not for the sake of certification but because they worked to promote life on the farm.  Johnathan also looked to what modern science and technologies for sustainability could offer, and seamlessly blended these great ideas, knowledge and methodologies into his farming and wine-making.  Using Nature as model, mentor and measure, Johnathan built soil fertility, planted new vines and set about achieving the goal of making natural, delicious wines in a healthy, balanced environment.

In 2003, a new state-of-the-art, gravity-flow cellar was built to facilitate a high quality, slow wine production process.

Every step of the way, a holistic, systems-based approach and fine attention to detail has ensured that today, Avondale makes extraordinary wines approved by Mother Nature.

Terra Est Vita – Soil is Life

To make extraordinary wines you need an extraordinary rich web of life in the soil.  At Avondale we are acutely aware that healthy balance in our vineyard eco-system, in our wines and in our own lives is dependent on first achieving healthy balance in our soil.

Avondale has 13 different soil types on our land – from cool, dark loam to decomposed granite and decomposed sandstone; from no rock to 75% rock.

According to soil type, we planted our vines in particular soil pockets in blocks of around one-hectare.

When we built our cellar we made sure that fruits of each block could be vinified separately to gives us optimal blending opportunities.

Restoring balance and fertility to Soil:

We use the soil balancing system pioneered by environmental scientist Dr William Albrecht, a respected authority on the relationship between soil fertility and ecosystem health.

Through re-mineralisation we have returned vital, natural mineral elements to our soil which is enhanced by the pure quality of the spring water we use for irrigation.

This re-mineralisation process works in conjunction with maintaining a diverse plant community that provides food and shelter for an abundance of soil microbes.

Avondale makes use of up to 10 different mixes of cover crops, which includes the sowing of the seeds of indigenous plants, to create a vibrant, diverse plant community right in our vineyards.

Biodiversity throughout the system
The measure of the robustness of any ecosystem can be found in its biodiversity.  Multitudes of life forms reduce vulnerability, protect the ecosystem from shocks and enable it to restore and regenerate more quickly.

Avondale was one of the first South African wine producers to be awarded the Biodiversity in Wine certification.

While we do have an ongoing restoration project to clear alien vegetation on the farm and plant hundreds of indigenous trees, we do not confine our efforts to promote biodiversity to just the marginal uncultivated areas of our land.

We strive for biodiversity throughout the farm, and particularly in our actual vineyards.

Our intricate cover cropping system throughout the seasons, which includes the nurturing of indigenous fynbos plants, fosters micro-life in the soils and attracts an abundance of beneficial insects.

The land also supports a variety of naturally occurring birds, frogs, reptiles, small and larger mammals. The Cape Foxes which breed on the farm, the shy foraging of Common Duiker, Grysbok and Steenbok, the night-time wanderings of Red Caracal, Porcupine and Spotted Genets, and the pair of Black Eagles that soar down from the mountain cliffs to hunt Rock Hyrax are all testimony to the health of our environment.

Fruits of the Vine

We grow our vines in one-hectare blocks where cultivars are matched to soil types; soils are balanced and re-mineralised according the particular block of vines’ specific nutritional needs; and blocks are irrigated separately based on their requirements.  The focus of all this careful individual attention is on quality not quantity.  We never pressurise our vines nor employ stressful practices to boost the vineyards’ outputs.  Each hectare block yields between four and eight tonnes of balanced, healthy grapes providing us with the ideal fruits to make premium quality, extraordinary wines approved by Mother Nature.

Slow wines, naturally made

• Our state-of-the-art, 500-ton capacity cellar was built three-storeys deep in a dry riverbed.  It is a gravity-flow facility that ensures that the grapes are moved with the minimum of mechanical intervention.
• Our cellar is specially designed to receive and vinify the harvests of each separate block.  This enables our wine-maker to fine tune the ageing and blending of our wines in an exceptional way.
• We have no need to regulate or adjust our wines in any artificial way and so, no enzymes, catalysing agents or softeners are used in the production of Avondale wines.
• We make use of only natural yeast fermentation and adhere to strict international organic certification standards.
• Meticulous processing enables us to make wines that are particularly low in sulphur, less than half the norm.

We practice slow wine-making that gives our wines the time they need to develop to their fullest potential.  This ensures that by the time they reach the wine-lover, they are immediately accessible and delicious, while still bold enough in stamina and character to enjoy a long life in the bottle.

In 2003, we designed and built an extraordinary cellar that has become a striking feature of the farm.  A century-old dry riverbed provided the inspiration for an ultra-modern cellar that would be built two-storeys below ground.  This enables us to make the most of the cool, ambient temperatures offered by Nature underground and so reduce the carbon footprint of our wine-making facilities.  It also presented us with the advantage of having a gravity-flow cellar that enables us to protect our high-quality grapes due to minimal mechanical interference.

The winery comprises of a wine storage and tank fermentation cellar, a vat maturation cellar, a wine storage and packaging area; as well as our administrative facilities.  It is a full-service cellar that enables us to produce all our wines on site, optimising quality control. It also includes a gracious wine tasting and art gallery where we welcome visitors to the farm.  Visits to the cellar are included in our Eco-tours.