South Africa

Tokara

Simonsberg Mountain, Stellenbosch

Acquired by GT and Anne-Marie Ferreira in 1994, TOKARA is the sum of various older estates, each with its own fascinating history,some of which date back to 1685 and can be seen named as ‘zonder naam’ on original Dutch records, which means without a name. TOKARA is situated on the crest of the Helshoogte Pass at the highest point of the Simonsberg ward, about 5km from the historic winemaking town of Stellenbosch. The dramatic Simonsberg mountain is a breathtaking backdrop to the architecturally award winning winery and on a clear day it is possible to see across false bay to Table Mountain whilst enjoying a fine meal at the TOKARA restaurant. Nothing is done at TOKARA without an eye to the ultimate, highest possible quality of the wines, and to this end it was only in 2005 that the TOKARA range was released onto the eagerly awaiting wine-drinking world. Although relatively youthful with only the second vintages released in 2006, TOKARA has won many plaudits, medals, trophies and, importantly, recognition from the trade and consumers to put it firmly among the best that the Cape has to offer. Sourced exclusively from estate grown fruit, the main vineyard holding is dotted with olive groves around the TOKARA winery on the slopes of the Simonsberg mountain. TOKARA also own smaller vineyard holdings in the cooler Elgin and Hemel En Aarde regions along the southern coast. Viticulturalist Aidan Morton uses a combination of traditional methods and cutting edge analysis to ensure pristine fruit quality, high density planting, limited yields and green harvesting are supported by NDVI vineyard analysis, which TOKARA pioneered in South Africa. This uses visible and infra-red light emissions, captured in a small two-man aircraft, to describe colour index variances throughout the vineyard, enabling the grapes to picked, by hand, according to optimum ripeness by vine and not by row or block.

Visit: www.tokara.co.za