SOUTH AFRICA
Ken Forrester Vineyards
Scholtzenhof is one of the oldest vineyards in the Cape. It was granted as Zandberg in 1689 just ten years after Stellenbosch was founded. It was given by Governor Simon van der Stel to Frederick Boot, who later changed his name to Botha - the forefather of that illustrious family of South Arican politicians. Mr. Boot was a colorful character, a soldier who had completed his contract with the Dutch East India Company and hence was a ‘free citizen’. He established the first documented agricultural partnership in the Cape with Jan Cornelis and fathered no fewer than eight children – out of wedlock. This earned him and his mistress banishment to Mauritius for 10 years!
Prior to that, however, in 1692 Zandberg was recorded to have 12,000 vines planted and the construction of a house began that same year. It is one of few remaining examples of 17th century architecture left in the Cape.
In 1994 Ken Forrester purchased the estate at an auction. Instead of selling the fruit to De Helderberg Co-op, as it had been done for 100 years, he made his first vintage. Ken had the help of Larry Jacobs and Mike Dobrovic, of Mulderbosch fame, in producing his Blanc Fumé. The rest has been a successful story for Ken and his family. Now Ken Forrester and Martin Meinert work together to make the wines along with a viticultural team at Scholtzenhof.
Ken becomes quite excited when he speaks about his wines. He should - his enthusiasm is justified. His wines are outstanding. They convey what has come from the vineyard and achieve balance that translates into a great dinning experience. Ken has proven that Chenin Blanc from South Africa is a world-class wine and Ken has been at the vanguard of the recent trend in South Africa to take Chenin very seriously.
Ken also endeavors in the restaurant industry. He founded 96 Winery Road, an outstanding establishment set in a traditional Dutch setting, not far down the road from his vineyards.
Ken Forrester wines are so exceptional that they were chosen for the celebratory dinner for Nelson Mandela’s 85th birthday party.
Here on the outskirts of the historic village of Stellenbosch, in the lee of the Helderberg mountain just 4 miles from the cool Atlantic Ocean we live and do our utmost to cultivate our wines in harmony with nature and our community.
Our list of bird sitings ranges from exotic nimble, multicoloured sunbirds to majestic eagles and owls, we have small, wild deer, porcupine, otter, jackal, field mice and even shrew as well as a variety of snakes, lizards, chameleons. Amongst the insects and a myriad beetles and lady-bugs, we have wild hives of bees, praying mantis and lots of other little folk too numerous to mention.
Within our local community it is extremely important and our hope and vision to improve the lot of our labour force, specifically by growing our business, by training incessantly, thereby providing the maximum skilled possibilities in a job market that is desperate for support. We go a step further, we farm the land sustainably, with absolutely no herbicides or pesticides. To this end we create capacity to employ more people, we till by hand, hugely labour intensive, but very satisfying.
We prune, remove canes and form the shape of the vines by thinning during spring all by hand and we pull leaves, comb bunches, green-harvest and finally harvest all by hand. This additional employment we hope goes some way to improving the skills and quality of life right here in our community and we believe that if every community actually took the trouble to look after their own, no-one would go wanting......For us each and every bottle is a victory and represents a small change - for the better in someone's life.