Simonsig wine tasting by cleocat
Simonsig is a beautiful farm. We did a cellar tour where the whole wine making process is explained and showed.On the picture you will see that in front of every group of vineyards is a rose bush.
I first thought they were very visually orientated and the idea was to make the vineyards look pretty ( well it does look pretty)
Ok so I was wrong. The reason they plant the roses is so that they can check for diseases.
All they have to do is to check the roses and if the rose bush has a disease it means the vineyards in the same row is also infected and needs to be treated. Apparently it is easier to spot it on the roses than on the vineyards itself. I thought this was very clever and it still looks pretty as well..
The farm belongs to the Malan family. It has been in the family since 1688 when the first Malan a French Huguenot came to the Cape.