Botha Kelder
Wine in Worcester

Situated at the foothills of rugged mountains in the Breedekloof Valley and has combined nature with science to make wines of distinction.

One year later, they enjoyed their first harvest despite the cellar not being completed yet. Today, Botha Kelder has a capacity of 38 000 tons and produces 30 million litres of wine, a large portion of which is sold to Europe, the UK and other parts of the world under private labels. It is a competition with a difference, as it is judged solely by top South African Sommeliers. This wine list will be distributed countrywide to trade and restaurants. The nose displays citrus, peach as well as an intriguing herbal note before some leesy complexity. Big but balanced on the palate with layers of flavour. With rainfall at record lows and the possibility of an earlier than expected budbreak, there are feelings of uncertainty around the impact of the current drought and how this will affect the production of wine going forward. Groundwater levels are becoming low and extensive monitoring thereof is underway, but groundwater does not make up for lack of rain. It is predicted that the current status quo will continue and it is therefore imperative that grapegrowers will need to develop contingency plans to draw on extensive resources and information exchanges that will benefit everyone. The amount of water available will determine yields. A water shortage will mean that growers could be looking at greatly reduced yields, come harvest next year. Despite the possibility of lower yields, the water shortage will not necessarily have an impact on the quality of the grapes.