Our Vineyards | Wine Growing Philosophy

Quoin Rock strives to produce wines that are unique to Quoin Rock and that hopefully maintain a level of similarity throughout the different vintages. Although this topic is hotly debated, we believe that “terroir” - or a sense of place and authenticity - is very important. It is for this reason that Quoin Rock goes to great lengths to employ viticulture practices that encourage the expression of these nuances.

Manual Labour

Vineyard workers are very important as it is their hands that form and create the vines and the resultant fruit. Our workers are trained in a production philosophy unique to Quoin Rock and a mentorship program ensures the continuity of this philosophy, where “apprentices” are trained by more experienced workers.

Herbicides and Pesticides

Herbicides and pesticides are kept to an absolute minimum and should a treatment be required, it is limited to localized manual spraying on a vine per vine basis with a manually operated back pack spray machine. Organically certified products are always favoured over non-certified as they are generally more forgiving on the environment. Mechanical options are used to control ground cover in the vineyards in place of chemical herbicides which tend to denude the soil and destroy the natural balance.

Fertilising and disease prevention

Composts, mulch and cover crops are favoured over chemical fertilizers and where soil chemistry correction is required, a minimalist approach is preferred. Fungal disease prevention is kept to a minimum with our spray volumes constituting 20-25% of the industry average. Contact products are preferred to systemic products and organic certified products are favoured over non-certified products. Vine canopy management which allows air movement through the leaves is key to preventing disease and allows for much lower spray volumes.

Irrigation

We try to exclude irrigation from the growing season limiting it to a post-harvest use. Crops are controlled to minimise stress on the vine although water is available as a life line to rescue a vineyard that is in serious decline.

Biodiversity

We encourage biodiversity in the vineyards with indigenous fynbos vegetation finding it’s way back into the actual vineyard blocks. The fynbos is pruned on an annual basis to prevent growth into the vine canopy.

Anyone is welcome to visit our vineyards to witness our production practices. Please arrange for an appointment should you wish to visit.