RICKETY BRIDGE

This remarkable winery has a long-standing tradition of winemaking, as the original cellar infrastructure of concrete and underground tanks proved. However, a new winery was built in its place in 1997, during which the old cellar was renovated and converted into a barrel fermentation centre. Over the last few years the cellar has been re-equipped and modern cooling equipment was installed. Today, the cellar has the capacity to handle 500-tonnes of grapes.

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During the late 1980s, the Rickety Bridge estate, then known as Zandrift, started a new era of development with a replanting programme which was initiated in 1989 and in 1992 the first wine was produced from these vines. The total size of the Rickety Bridge wine estate is 56 Hectares of which 27 Hectares are made up of currently producing vines with another 6 Hectares under development.

The vineyards are broken down into the following cultivars: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc and Semillon. More recently the following cultivars were planted: Viognier, Marsanne, Roussanne, Grenache Noir, Grenache Blanc and Mouvèdre.

They believe that the actual quality of the grapes harvested, arising from good viticultural practices, is crucial to ensure the best possible wine is bottled and the mild Franschhoek valley provides the perfect canvas for our winemaking team to create a portfolio of outstanding Franschhoek wines.