Kaloorup cottage

About Kaloorup cottage

We are on 2.6 Ha of land, of which 2 Ha is vineyard. The vineyard was planted in 1999 as a large block of Houghton clone Cabernet Sauvignon. It started out as an irrigated vineyard, but the irrigation was scaled back over time and completely removed in 2019. The vines are now “dry-grown”.
When we took over the property in 2022 we decided to convert the Eastern side of spurred Cabernet to cane pruned vines. This has dramatically increased the health of the vines. On the Western side we pulled out 4 unproductive rows near the bush and grafted the rest to Chardonnay, Nebbiolo and Tempranillo.
Within the vineyard we have interplanted different trees and bushes as a trial to see how it effects biodiversity above and below ground; in turn seeing over time how that effects nutrient cycling and vine performance.
We are both committed to managing the vineyard regeneratively. No pesticides, herbicides and “traditional” fungicides. We only incorporate biological sprays and lacto-fermentation sprays for protection or when required.
We have a small flock of babydoll sheep that move through the vineyard all year.