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South Africa's Bosman Family Vineyards produces first "orange" wine

Published:  02 September, 2014

Bosman Family Vineyards, the South African Fairtrade producer, has produced an "orange wine" to showcase its natural winemaking practices.

Orange wine from Bosman VineyardsThe latest natural wine launch from South Africa's Bosman Vineyards

Bosman Family Vineyards, the South African Fairtrade producer, has produced an "orange wine" to showcase its natural winemaking practices.

The wine is named after the Bosman family motto, Fides, Sper et Amor (Faith, Hope and Love) and is made from Grenache Blanc grapes, fermented on the skins for extra flavour and texture. 

The winery sees producing natural wine as an extension of its existing sustainable practices as a Fairtrade producer.

It hopes to build on the increasing popularity for natural wine, particularly in Europe and the UK. Winemaker, Corlea Fourie, said she was originally "inspired" to make a natural wine using Chenin Blanc grapes, but the 2013 Grenache Blanc vintage proved a more attractive alternative.

The "orange" wine was naturally-fermented over a period of three weeks with only one punch-down and one pump-over. The skins were gently-pressed in a basket press and the wine was put into older oak barrels.

Fourie said she did add a small amount of sulphur dioxide to the wine to prevent it from oxidising. "When it comes to Bosman wines, we feel that 'geeky' doesn't work. We want to make sure that we try things that are special and historic, for sure, but we always want our wines to be refined and elegant as well."

She added: "I think that orange wine is a style with merit, one that is worth exploring in a technical way which is what we've done with the Fides wine."

The Fides release, which only consists of 1,200 bottles, is one of a number of new experimental wines, known as "Projects of Passion", being produced by the South African producer based in Wellington.

Fourie explained: "It's a very personal project for me and it's been so great that Bosman managing director, Petrus Bosman and marketing manager, Neil Büchner, have supported me exploring new territories for our winery."

She added: "Watch out for more ideas coming soon."

It is hoped the Fides wine will prove popular with increasingly adventurous South African sommeliers. The wine costs R150 a bottle and is available via its website www.bosmanwines.com.

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