Bussell Retief, winemaker at Van Loveren in Robertson (and one of the famous Four Cousins), is obviously not superstitious as he started his 2010 harvest today, the 13th of January. The first grapes to be brought in are Muscadel, destined for a light-styled wine to be released towards the end of February. Van Loveren report that they expect their harvest will be 10 % down in volume from 2009, with the grapes very healthy thanks to the dry weather conditions that persisted the last 2 months. Getting off much lighter than we on the Paardeberg, who are looking at a 40% crop reduction thanks to oidium and wind theft. “Harvest is a magical time for all on the farm and we are very excited about the fruit in our Sauvignon Blanc grapes and the small berry size of the reds which will help our winemaking team in the crafting of our wines” says Bussell and they certainly look happy (below). That’s beaming Bussell in the horizontal stripes.

Van Loveren starts harvest 2010

A lovely quote from Loelia, Duchess of Westminster and Ian Fleming’s model for Miss Moneypenny in his James Bond franchise. “Decorators should be treated as friends and allies, but never allowed to become bosses. That is my first and most important piece of advice. Like all experts they need the curb of the amateur.” For decorators, swap cellar advisors.