Muratie Alberta Annemarie Merlot 2018

About the Wine Estate

Muratie is a historic wine farm in the Simonsberg ward. Owned by the Melck family since 1763, at Muratie they take pride in offering hand crafted wines, instructive and tutored tastings, home cooked food, and challenging mountain bike tracks all in a stunning setting. At Muratie, the passion for preserving their rich heritage, and the wonderful human stories that are woven into the very fabric of our history, are matched only by the way in which they produce their fine wines. The wine industry has evolved rapidly in recent years, bringing with it some necessary advances and, sadly, losing at times some of the skill that makes winemaking the enigmatic endeavor that sets it apart in a modern world of mass production. At Muratie they are at pains to balance this blend of tradition and evolution to ensure that they continue producing the same classic wines for which they have become internationally renowned for. Muratie still handpicks all their grapes as they believe this gives them a better understanding of the quality of the harvest even before they start extracting the juice. Not content with that, they then hand select the grapes on a sorting table - ensuring that only the best bunches are used in the winemaking. Even the way they extract the juice is considered. A 3-ton open pneumatic bed presses the grapes, using a rubber membrane. They believe this is the gentlest method, avoiding mechanical crushing and grinding of the skins and seeds. Throughout the process - from fermenting to bottling - they use a balance of winemaker's intuition, time-honored processes and contemporary best practice. Even the vineyards themselves are kept pest-free by ever-vigilant flocks of ducks and geese, avoiding the need for environmentally insensitive pesticides. If you wish to witness how wine is made in the truest sense, you are invited to visit them at the farm.