Napier Winery is named after Sir George Napier, Governor of the Cape (1837 – 1843) who christened the town of Wellington in honour of the famous Duke of Wellington.

The present owners purchased the farm in 1989, and replanted it extensively. Three years later the Winery was built. In 1997 a maturation cellar was added. The following year the brandy distillery was built. In 2005 the Winery was upgraded to state-of–the-art with a tasting room and a boardroom added to the cellar.

The size of the farm including Ranzadale (purchased in 2001), is 66 hectares. 34 hectares are under vines. 7 dams provide water for irrigation. 80% of the vines are under drip and 20% overhead spray. The grape varieties are Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Colombar, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot and Shiraz. The main root stock is Richter 99, with 101/4 and Paulsen 1103.

Our climate is ideal for growing grapes, with average summer day temperatures from 25ºC - 40ºC. Cooling breezes from the Hawekwa Mountains lower the evening temperatures. Average winter temperatures are between 15 and 20ºC during the day - and nights below 10 ºC. There are occasional snowfalls on the higher mountain peaks. Annual rainfall is 792 mm in the winter wet season.

Napier’s soil is made up of a layer of loamy coarse sand and fine coarse gravel, which overlies a soft weathered granite layer. There are 3 main soil types. The Cartref soil form which is found on the lower half of the farm, where the topsoil overlying the weathered granite is washed out due to lateral water seepage over the denser underlying granite. The Oakleaf soil form is on the higher part of the farm. Its lower subsoil layer consists of accumulated clay. Lastly, the Klapmuts soil form. In some places the upper 15 cm of weathered granite has developed a moderate blocky structure.

Harvesting is a personal affair at Napier Winery. The grapes are selected and hand picked from the vines in the early morning while the sun is still low in the sky. Hand sorting before and after de-stemming on the sorting tables removes any residual leaves and stems. The first grapes to be harvested are Chenin Blanc, in early January for Brandy distillation. From the middle of January Chenin Blanc is harvested for the dry white Greenstone brand. Chardonnay is also harvested at this time. From February to early April the red grapes are picked, with Cabernet Sauvignon usually being the last. Napier’s vineyards yield on average 8 tons per hectare.

As with the harvesting, meticulous care is taken in the wine making process. Chenin Blanc grapes for the Greenstone are picked ripe at ± 21ºBalling, inoculated with wine yeast and fermented dry (under 2.5 grams per litre residual sugar) in stainless steel tanks. This Chenin Blanc is unwooded and no malolactic fermentation takes place. The wine is protein and cold stabilized before sterile filtration, prior to bottling.

Chardonnay grapes for the Saint Catherine brand are picked at full ripeness (23.5ºBalling). The bunches are pressed whole to ensure clean clear juice. The juice is inoculated with wine yeast. Alcoholic fermentation takes place in French oak barrels (1/3 in new oak, 1/3 in second fill and 1/3 in third fill). Juice is fermented until dry. Battonage is applied. After alcoholic fermentation, the wine undergoes second fermentation (malolactic) in the barrel. Maturation takes place on lees for at least 6-7 months and can continue for up to 11 months depending on the vintage. The wine is protein and cold stabilized before a light filtration prior to bottling.

After hand sorting the red grapes are fermented in open stainless steel tanks. Depending on the wine style, the grapes are in the open fermenters from 8-12 days. During this period they are punched down frequently – every 4 hours if possible, depending on the fermentation and vintage. Pump-overs are done for better colour extraction and to keep the skin ‘cake’ wet. Yeast is added to dominate the natural wild yeast and control the fermentation process. The tanks have cooling for temperature control. Sugar levels are monitored and when the fermentation is dry, the wine is drained off and the grape skins are gently pressed in a basket press. The pressed skins are later ploughed back into the ground as fertilizer. The wine goes into a closed tank and undergoes natural malolactic fermentation before being transferred to French oak barrels for maturation. It is then bottled and left to lie in the underground cellar to mature for a further 2 years before labelling and release.

Our flagship Red Medallion is a classic Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. The components are fermented and matured separately in French oak for 12-18 months. Several different blends are then made and the perfect blend is selected for the brand. This blend is then left for a further 6 months in barrel for the components to “marry”.

Napier’s vintage brandy is distilled from rebate wine made from 35 year old Chenin Blanc vines, using the traditional pot-still method, á la Cognac. After distillation the brandy is then matured in French oak barrels for five years before release. The brandy is called Sir George, after Sir George Napier.

Napier Winery typically handles 250 tons of grapes, and at full production can handle 280 tons. The potential production is 12 500 cases of wine (12 bottle cases) per vintage.

Our first vintages to be bottled were Red Medallion in 1994, Cabernet Sauvignon in 1996, Chardonnay in 1996, Chenin Blanc in 1996 and the Brandy in 2000.

The expected release dates of the wines are - the Chenin Blanc is the same year as the vintage; Chardonnay two years after the vintage; the Varietal range two years after the vintage; and Red Medallion four to five years after the vintage.

Wines planned for the future are a Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon blend; and a Bordeaux blend of all 5 classic varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec.

The Napier Team