Timeline
History & achievements
- 2016 Delphin Wines is established in Ballito KZN but we decided to relocate to the Western Cape to be closer to vineyards and the wine making industry.
- 2017 We acquire a portion of the farm Heuningkloof outside Greyton. Heuningkloof has some established vineyards (Shiraz and Chardonnay) but the vineyards are neglected so we initially had to buy in grapes from selected vineyards.
- 2018 We build and equip the house and cellar
- 2019 The first grapes are crushed and first wines are made. A lightly wooded Chardonnay and a medium bodied SMG (Shiraz/Mourvedre/Grenache) that was co-fermented. We start rehabilitating the Shiraz vines on Heuningkloof (Wheatlands block).
- 2020 We make our first barrel fermented Chardonnay and produce a lovely full bodied Shiraz from our own grapes on Heuningkloof. Obtain Platters 3 stars rating on the 2019 Chardonnay and a 3 ½ Stars on the SMG. We obtain our Liquor Licence in September and sales take off at local restaurants and bottle stores in Greyton. However the Covid 19 pandemic has a huge impact on wine sales both locally and exports resulting in a glut of wines in South Africa. Tough time to launch a new brand!
- 2021 We produce a cool climate Sauvignon Blanc using grapes from Elgin and obtain a bumper harvest from our Wheatlands Shiraz block. We experiment with extended maceration on the Shiraz to get more body and colour from the skins. We add online sales to our Web site.
Wine
All done by hand in our cellar on Heuningkloof
Unique
Cultivated in Greyton with its unique terroir
Flavour
Extended maceration to extract more flavours
Aging
Barrel fermentation and aging in oak.
More Than Wine
What makes us unique
We use open tanks for the red wine alcoholic fermentation with manual punch downs coupled with cold maceration before yeast inoculation and an extended maceration after fermentation to extract more flavours and colour from the skins.
After pressing Malolactic fermentation is done either in steel tanks or in oak barrels. All red wines are aged in oak barrels for 10 to 12 months . The white wines undergo fermentation either in steel tanks or in barrels and all our Chardonnays are aged in old oak barrels to produce a lightly oaked bouquet.
