THE VINEYARD
As possibly smallest commercial estate in the Cape, our vineyard comprises only 2,2 hectares, exclusively planted to Merlot vines. This comparably small size allows for a caring and environmentally responsible viticulture, based on the latest knowledge and techniques of modern viticulture, including Precision Viticulture (see inset or our info-poster about PV in Bein's vineyard-pdf)
Certified by IPW SA (Integrated Production of Wine SA) for environmentally friendly and sustainable viti-viniculture.
Bein Wine's vineyard is ideally suited for growing Merlot. It is situated on the cooler southern slopes of Stellenbosch's Polkadraai Hills, and is blessed with deep and highly weathered granite soils. The climate is Mediterranean with dry, sunny summers and sufficient rainfall in winter. And the proximity to the coast, with it's beautiful direct view over False Bay, ensures always refreshing breezes and sufficient air humidity during the warm South African summer months, so important for a slow and even ripening of the fruit.
- The vineyard has been planted in 1996 by Luca and Ingrid Bein, based on careful scientific evaluation
- Prior to planting, the soil has been lavishly prepared with deep ploughing, to promote deep and strong root development
- Planted to grafted Merlot vines, with different clones (MO192, MO12, MO36) to enhance complexity
- vines trained to split cordon in a high 7-wire hedge trellis with a spacing of 1x2,75 m, pruned to 6 bearers per running meter,
- with computer-controlled, water-economising drip irrigation system, allowing supplementary watering during stress periods, based on continuous soil-moisture measurements and actual climate data
At
Bein Wine, the
use of Precision Viticulture allows us targeted management decisions
according zonal requirements, e.g. fertilisation, water
allocation, and last but not least harvest timing and winemaking strategy.
In this way, the quality potential of each micro site within our
vineyard can be developed to its individual potential, yielding eventually
several wines of distinctly different character from one single
vineyard!