IN THE CELLAR

The original cellar was built in 1909 and still forms an integral part of the current cellar facilities. Through the decades new additions have been made to ensure that the wines made in the cellar continue to optimize the richness of fruit the vineyard has to offer.

The unique Overgaauw terroir offers the gift of natural high acids. By harvesting the white grapes at full ripeness in the cool morning hours the full varietal characteristics come to the fore, delivering wines of excellent balance. To further obtain the maximum flavour from the grapes the Sauvignon Blanc for example undergoes a 6 hour pre-soak on the skins before pressing.

All the red varietals undergo a pre-soak on the skins for anything from 10 to 24 hours prior to fermentation this ensures maximum colour extraction and imparts extra flavour. Depending on the style of wine being made the red wines could be fermented in any of the following three ways; Roto-tank, open fermenting or tank fermentation complemented with pump overs. The extended maceration on the skins for the red wines after fermentation results in more weight and a softer fuller mouth feel due to the polymerizations of the harsher tannins producing wines of depth and elegance.

Through the philosophy of minimal intervention during the winemaking process David and his cellar assistants M'daan and Ezra ensure that the richness of fruit arriving at the cellar is carried through into the bottle.

Wood maturation Philosophy

David van Velden senior was one of the pioneers at the Cape during the early 70's in using small new French oak barrels for the maturation of his Overgaauw red wines. Winemaker David’s philosophy around the use of wood is based on the wood acting as a ‘frame’ for Overgaauw’s unique terroir and varietal ‘picture’, never overpowering but adding dimension, nuances and subtle structure to the wine. The type of wood used depends on the varietal and the style of wine. For example; the Tria Corda and Cabernet Sauvignon are matured in 100% new French Oak barrels while for the Merlot  a combination of new and used barrels is utilised. All our Overgaauw red wines spend an average of 18 months in the oak, which allows enough time for the wood to integrate with the wine.
Abraham and David snr each purchased a number of 4000L and 4500L vats and Braam followed suit and bought his in the 1980's. These beautiful and majestic vats that form such an integral part of our history still come in handy at times; i.e. for malolactic fermentation of the Shepherd’s Cottage Red or as a storage vessel.

The wood fermented portion of the Chardonnay is fermented in a combination of 1st, 2nd and 3rd fill oak barrels. David spent some time with the cooper in France to select his barrels. For the Chardonnay he prefers to use barrels of three different sizes; 225L, 300L and 350L and when tasting the wine you have to agree that he has chosen well.

HACCP- the result of a continuous strive for quality

While it’s true to say that the more things change the more they stay the same we can definitely also say: “The things we’ve dared to change have made a great difference”. 

Innovation has run through the veins of the Van Veldens for four generations: ‘Oupa David’ was one of the first to use small oak barrels and produce a Bordeaux style blend in 1979; Braam introduced port in the ‘drier’ Portuguese style; and also produced the first South African Merlot in 1982 and we will continue to supply South Africans with their only Sylvaner.

Since David took over as winemaker in 2007, he has been working on furthering the quality standards in the cellar and vineyards by making a few changes and we are proud to announce that Overgaauw was HACCP accredited in March of this year. (International accreditation: Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points)

Follow Winemaker David van Velden on Twitter and keep abreast of what's happening in the cellar and in his tasting glass!