Vintus

Capaia is the most exciting new vineyard/winery in South Africa, and promises to make some of the best red wines on the Cape. In love with South Africa where they had vacationed for many years, Alexander Von Essen and his wife Ingrid purchased land for the Capaia estate with Lodovico Antinori in 1997. Their choice was the former De Hoop wheat farm near Philadelphia, a beautiful area in the expansive plains to the north of Cape Town. Three hills on the property form a suntrap sheltered by a 376-meter-tall hill called Koeberg. The ‘Cape Doctor’, a southerly trade wind from the Antarctic, provides perfect aeration, while proximity to the ocean, less than 7 miles away, guarantees a temperate climate. On that well-rested soil, in which vines had never grown before, Alexander Von Essen turned his vision into reality. Situated in the Typerberg area in the Coastal wine-growing region, the Capaia terrain comprises 346 acres that range from near sea level to 260 meters in elevation.
 
The vineyards total 138 acres spread out over three terraced north-facing (the sunny side in the southern hemisphere) slopes, the Bluegrove Hills. The soil is bright colored slate containing some loam and volcanic rock. Red grapes dominate at Capaia, occupying eighty percent of the total wine-growing area. Cabernet Sauvignon, rich in tannin, covers 40 acres, and 35 acres are reserved for mellow Merlot. This is followed by light and hardy Cabernet Franc (25 acres), which thrives at higher altitudes exposed to wind, and the exquisite Petit Verdot (12 acres), which prefers sheltered sites. The remaining 26 acres are planted with Sauvignon Blanc to produce a refreshing white wine to be released in the US in 2007. The state-of-the art winery was designed by the late Tibor Gál, former chief oenologist at Ornellaia. The grape reception area is located at the winery’s highest point, where the red grapes are de-stemmed and gently crushed without causing damage to their seeds. The must then flows directly into upright wooden fermentation tanks (custom made on-site by Tonnellerie Taransaud) that can also be temperature-regulated. These 52 fermentation tanks, each with a capacity of 5,000 or 8,000 liters, represent the most extensive wood-based fermenting facility in the world.
 
Following the tragic death of Tibor Gál in February 2005, Comte Stefan von Neipperg, owner and oenologist at several famous Saint Emilion properties including Canon La Gaffeliere and La Mondotte, is now the consulting winemaker at Capaia for the red wines.  Winemaker for the Sauvignon Blanc is Manfred Tement, one of the great Sauvignon Blanc producers from Austria.