Solms-Delta Wines

Classical wines with a difference. The Solms-Wijn de Caab range, released in 2005, consists entirely of Rhône-varietal blends. Two of the wines in this range have components made by the ancient method of ‘desiccation’ on the vine. (The exception is the dry rosé.) The Solms-Hegewisch range, released in 2006, is made entirely from desiccated grapes. These are intense, concentrated, luxurious wines. The lighter Solms–Astor range, an innovative fleet made from traditional Cape varietals, was released in 2008.

Nico Jansen (Deltameer), Mark Solms (Delta) and Richard Astor (Lubeck-Delta)

Mark Solms, whose family had not produced wine for generations, guessed that the estate’s Mediterranean climate would be ideal for Rhône varietals. After soil and climate analyses, under the expert direction of viticulturist Paul Wallace, confirmed this intuition, he planted the bulk of the estate to Shiraz, Mourvèdre, Grenache and Viognier.

Next, he asked ex-Boschendal winemaker Hilko Hegewisch to experiment with the largely forgotten practice of desiccation (strangulation of whole bunches on the vine), which was championed thousands of years ago by the ancient Greeks and Romans. This hallowed method - which greatly intensifies flavours and colour, but retains fresh acidity - could not be transplanted to the cooler, damper regions of Europe, where wine-making excellence re-emerged after the collapse of the ancient world. The hot, dry, windy conditions of Franschhoek, on the other hand, seemed ideal. It was therefore not altogether surprising that Solms-Delta’s new vintages - re-launched for the first time in a century - received such unprecedented accolades from the critics. [FOR REVIEWS AND RATINGS, CLICK HERE.]

The next task was to redress South Africa’s painful history of dispossession, slavery, and apartheid. This was done through the establishment of the Wijn de Caab Trust, which represents the historically disadvantaged tenant-workers on the estate. Using loan funding secured by the Solms and Astor families, the Trust purchased an adjoining farm, Deltameer, and linked it with another neighbouring property, Lubeck, owned by the Astors. The Solms’s and Astors and the Trust thus became equal partners in a greatly expanded enterprise. Today their three farms are united in a pioneering attempt to transform the bitter legacy of South Africa’s past. The character of Solms-Delta’s wines derives as much from the quality of life of the people that work it, as it does from the climate and the land itself.