Our Vineyards: Groenland - Stellenbosch
The Steenkamp family are the third generation who, over the past seventy-five years, has developed Groenland Wines to its present status as a premier red wine producer.
The father and son team, Kosie and Piet Steenkamp, have been a force to reckon with for the past 10 years when Piet joined his father on their family farm. They have a wonderful father-son-relationship and are also good friends as well. Kosie himself has been making wines now for 37 years.
Groenland consists of 188 hectares, of which 152 ha is under vine. It is situated near Stellenbosch on the beautiful slopes of Bottelary, which is known world wide, as an area for the production of premium red wines.
Wine making:
Groenland’s wine cellar was built in 1932 and they still make use of open cement tanks where the red grapes are fermented dry on the skins. During this process the wines are pumped over at 3-4 times a day to generate optimal colour extraction. After this process, only the best wines are selected to be matured in small French- and American oak barrels for at least 12 months.
Kosie and Piet also shares the philosophy that the making of top quality wines starts in the vineyard, and therefore a big emphasis is placed on viticulture, canopy management, and good relations with their working force.
The wines:
Groenland has always been recognized as specialists in the production of red wines and this focused approach has ensured the successes of the past and presentThe Groenland range of wines (Classic Range and Premium Range) has won numerous awards and accolades over the years.
The Classic range comprises of a Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and a special red blend, the Antoinette-Marie and named after Kosie and Heléne’s two daughters.
The introduction of the Groenland Premium range by the end of 2006 celebrates the latest successes achieved by Groenland Wines. The concept of a Premium range was born when Kosie and Piet decided to make a more complex and elegant wine by using 100% new oak barrels for the ageing of these special wines.
Both these two ranges reflects certain characteristics of New World Wines with their fruity flavors combined with their own complexity, but have a strong enough foundation for further maturation.
Developments:
Groenland is proud to be a member of the Biodiversity and Wine Initiative.
With Black Economic Empowerment as the main aim, Groenland is also a partner in the Bottelary Hills (Pty) Ltd. Although already established some time ago, it is however still the beginning of what we all hope will be a great success. The company consists of 6 wine farms in the Bottelary district that all bought shares into this project.
