Reyneke Wines - Bio-Weingut in Stellenbosch, Südafrika

The Reyneke Wines Winery is located in the Polkadraai Hills of Stellenbosch. Under the management of owner and winemaker Johan Reyneke and the oenological expertise of winemaker Rudiger Gretschel, the winery produces organic certified wines of high quality and prestigious names. Under the three wine ranges "Biodynamic Reserve Range", "Biodynamic Range" and "Organic Range", Reyneke Wines offers an award-winning portfolio of pure red and white wines as well as carefully blended cuvées from biodynamic cultivation.

Biodynamic wine production - the future is still in baby shoes
When the Reyneke farm was founded in 1863 under the name "Uitzicht", there were neither chemical nor technological advances. Only the land and nature.
Uitzicht (Dutch for "view") overlooks Stellenbosch and False Bay and has north, east and south slopes, planted with vines in the best locations and complemented elsewhere with pastures, compost making and areas left wild.
And it is precisely this kind of balance that embodies the essence of the true and time-honoured tradition of wine making.
This holistic approach to agriculture requires a retreat from monoculture and although the vineyards are the mainstay of the Reyneke farm, they exist in synergy with the vegetable gardens, animal husbandry and, of course, the people on the farm.
Biodynamic agriculture dates back to a time when there was a deep spiritual understanding of life in general and agriculture in particular. Reyneke Wines tries never to lose sight of this, putting people first and naming the cows instead of numbering them. And even the weeds are examined here instead of just pulling them out and they try to gain an understanding of why they grow in this particular place.

Natural solutions naturally make for better wine
The vineyards of Reyneke are free from herbicides, pesticides and fungicides. Just as every organic vineyard should be.
Instead of spraying weeds with poison, we carefully select accompanying plants that are grown under the vines in the vineyard to mattify the weeds. These companion plants also have the ability to bind nitrogen from the atmosphere, break up compacted soil or even favourably accommodate one or two useful insects.
While all kinds of poisons are normally used to control pests, Reyneke simply releases its natural enemies like ducks - for a duck there is nothing more delicious than a good, juicy snail. No poison that gets into the grapes. No expensive fertiliser, because the ducks do it for us. And so everyone is happy.
Reyneke Farm is independently certified, which means honestly and transparently that what you preach is really being practised here.
By allowing dandelions to grow, they ensure that the phylloxera here prefers to live from dandelion roots rather than from the vines. Instead of systemic fungicides, only very limited amounts of natural fungicides such as copper and sulfur are used.
Planting, pruning, harvesting and general vineyard practices are also carried out at the pace of nature. Reyneke Wines works with natural and cosmic cycles, rhythms and forces that regulate all life on earth to create a harmonious whole.

Biodynamic agriculture brings the soil to life - and this is the philosophy that Reyneke takes to the winery
The dream of every serious winemaker is to find a growing location where a special soil composition and a favourable climate are available. The idea is then to express these characteristics in the grapes, in order to produce a wine that is able to reflect its origin and terroir in a unique way.
Doing without artificial additives in the agricultural process is a practice that is continued in the Reyneke cellar. Thus, no commercially cultivated yeasts or bacteria, acidity regulators or fermentation aids are used. Only natural solutions for natural challenges - and the results are impressive!