Kleinood
Kleinood means something small & precious.
Kleinood is a family farm nestled in the Upper Blaauwklippen Valley just outside the town of Stellenbosch. With just twelve hectares of arable land, ten hectares are devoted to vines, with the remaining two under olive trees. The rest of the farm is planted with trees, fynbos, roses and vegetables, or left wild.
i. The Vineyard
Winemaking is alchemy. It is wind, rain, sun, and soil mysteriously absorbed by the vine to produce juice filled berries that we, through the fine balance between magic and science, gently coax, to become a thing of beauty in every sense of the word.
Before planting any vines on Kleinood Farm, extensive soil tests were conducted involving more than 150 inspection and sampling pits on the 12 hectares available for cultivation. These tests showed up different clay-based soil types – Tukulu, Kroonstad, Klapmuts and Witfontein. Combined with meticulous monitoring of weather patterns and sun and wind directions, it was clear that the terroir dictated Shiraz as the variety of choice, with a hectare each of Viognier, Rousanne and Mouvèrdre for blending purposes, to further underpin the vision and desire to make the best Northern Rhône style Syrah the farm could produce.
Great wines are made in the vineyard.
Our viticultural philosophy aims to express the best our vineyards have to offer, and as such we practise precision viticulture on Kleinood Farm.
We have divided the ten hectares devoted to vines, into individual vineyard blocks based on the unique terroir of each half-hectare.
Each block is managed as a separate unit, which allows the grapes from each unit to be cared for, irrigated, harvested, crushed, fermented and matured in wood separately.
We establish the pruning weight of the canes, the weight of the bunches, the size and weight of the berries for each block, affording us the opportunity to understand our vineyards and learn how to farm them better and create the correct balance between terroir, vine and grape.
Annual infrared surveys of the vineyards, to determine vigour and ripeness of different areas in each block, enables us to pick our grapes at exactly the right times – the essence for making Tamboerskloof wines.
Grapes are selected in the vineyards on a regular basis from the start of veraison, with as many as five passes conducted before being hand-harvested into small picking boxes.
Kleinood Farm has a maximum-hands-per-bottle philosophy.
ii. The Winery
The winery is the heart of the farm.
A study in simplicity, the Kleinood winery combines the design and structural expertise of owner-engineer, Gerard de Villiers in a clever combination of technology and tradition, to work very softly with the grapes and to afford the winemaker the most flexibility possible.
The Kleinood winery is a manifestation of the unique terroir and character of this simple, unassuming haven where, in a delicate balance between science and passion, no viticultural or oenological effort is spared, to produce a wine that is truly honest and elegant – a wine that does not reflect what we have done to it, but expresses the complexity of its origin and our dedication to producing singular wines of the highest quality.
Softly-Gently is the Kleinood mantra.
At arrival in the winery, the bunches are sorted by hand on a sorting table. After de-stalking, the individual berries are hand sorted on a separate table before being crushed into a satellite tank, which is lifted up to roof level, suspended and rolled overhead to the fermenter earmarked to receive the particular block. This intricate process protects the grapes from undergoing any harsh pumping treatment.
The ‘free run’ wine gravitates into barrels from the fermenters, while the fermented skins are scraped by hand into a basket for pressing in the cellar’s state-of-the-art press.
The skins and stalks and unused berries make their way to the komposjaart, where they eventually become food for the vineyard and gardens.
Fine wines require flexibility and time.
The Kleinood cellar houses a wide variety of fermenters – both in size and style to so create a flexible environment wherein the full potential and origin of each pocket can be explored and nurtured.
Only when we blend, do we decide which wine is good enough to become part of the final blend comprising all the different components, which form the building blocks for our Tamboerskloof wines.
The distinctive, yet characteristically understated, Tamboerskloof wine labels are hand printed with an antique wooden press on handmade paper that is torn to size by hand and stuck onto each individual bottle by hand.
Attention to detail every step of the way.
iii. The Tasting Room
The tasting room on Kleinood is a homely extension of the winery.
It captures the intimate and inviting spirit of this small and precious farm.
Savour the current vintages of our beloved Tamboerskloof wines.
Enjoy an abundant and ever-changing seasonal platter, filled to the brim with carefully curated local farm fare.
Peek inside The Cupboard of Curiosities to discover de Boerin’s Farm Honey, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Syrah Verjus, Beeswax Candles, Olive Oil Soap, Kitchen Linen and other handmade goodly things inspired by and made on Kleinood Farm.
Try on a collection of natural terroir parfums inspired by Kleinood terroir and made by de Boerin, blended and bottled by hand on the farm.
On balmy days, sitting in the shade of the old Oaks with a view of the vineyards, the olive grove and the forest against the backdrop of the majestic Stellenbosch mountains, is as good as it gets.
A bothersome breeze may convince you to sit in the courtyard by the duck-pond, amongst the fragrant roses.
And when the Cape winter is grey and cold and wet, the long table by the fire place, surrounded by art and stories, is just the place to be.
A short stroll down the leafy pathway below the winery takes you to a glasshouse, filled with all kinds of orchids and other green curiosities collected and cared for over the years by de Boerin. Peek inside.
Just beyond that, in a small stone cottage, is a secretive shop. Here, in The Room of Curiosities, you’ll find de Boerin’s garments, adornments, parfums, objects and many other goodly things, made by hand on Kleinood Farm.
For those who live for a view, a guided meander to the viewpoint on the wall of the farm dam will sate their appetites. Ask a friendly wine advisor to lead the way.
Visitor
Information
Kleinood Farm is open
Monday to Saturday
from 10am to 4pm
Open on Public Holidays
Closed every Sunday
Kleinood Farm Experiences
Experience Kleinood Farm with a private guided meander. Then, sit down to savour the fruits of our labour. Booking essential!
An exclusive wine club offering seasonal deliveries, including early releases, limited wines & 15% off current vintages.
A homage to a cultivar and its aficionados. Gather in a hidden corner of our winery for a private in-depth Syrah tasting.
Join us to get schooled on Syrah. Class schedule: vineyard walk, cellar tour, and a tutored Syrah tasting.
iv. The Gardens
An ongoing process of dreams woven into pictures…
The Kleinood gardens, a refuge against the scorching summer sun, also supply de Boerin with oils, tinctures and materials.
They constantly evolve along with the whims and discoveries of de Boerin and her small team of merry gardeners.
In creating and keeping the gardens, we are guided by the seasons, and the need for small biospheres ideal for the wide variety of plants as well as creating a haven for the abundance of bird species, bees, butterflies, frogs, insects and other wildlife.
Specifically designed with nooks and crannies, the Kleinood gardens were created to wander in, to get lost in, and to simply be in – far from the madding crowd.
The perfumery garden is a small experimental biosphere created in between two vineyard blocks.
Here plant species that serve as inspiration for the de Boerin perfumes are exposed and grow under exactly the same conditions as as the vines to so under-write our philosophy of rooting whatever we do in the terroir of Kleinood.
We can see who eats them, which diseases they get and which of those are shared with the adjacent vines.
So over and above the scent and beauty of these plants, they afford us information and support in keeping our vines healthy.
The Kleinood gardens are private. To wander here, book ahead.
Ode To The Garden
The glasshouse, with quietly breathing, growing plants.
Ponds of irises. Poppies. Roped stones.
The bound dry branches and brooms on the flower room floor.
A place of peace at the water.
The mountain with the line of tree guardians;
tall and dark observing and keeping watch.
The ancient oaks that bring age and care and great solace.
Mature olive trees with drooping branches laden with olives.
A lifeline of water networked everywhere,
feeding the growth from the earth.
New shoots, buds, everything playing and transforming.
Donkeys, hens, ducks, dogs, a whistling man.
Walking alone along the river;
the stumps of cut wood piled listening to the water praying;
the shadow patterns dancing in the midday heat from tree to tree.
The water licking rocks in the river touched by the sun.
Triangles of creeping winding plants directing and redirecting us,
marking our way back through another day,
which will feed the rest of my life.
Amen to that, whispered the breeze.
With love
from Jill.
v. The Olive Grove
Within A Budding Grove
Kleinood is a small farm with just twelve hectares of arable land. Of these, two hectares are under olive trees.
Three Tuscan varieties were selected and planted proportional to the blend we wanted to make. In this way, the flavour of de Boerin Extra Virgin Olive Oil is always consistent with the only variations from vintage to vintage brought about by natural elements.
Frantoio: The oil from this prolific variety is fruity and very aromatic.
Coratina: A very robust cultivar, which adds fruity aromas as well as body and intensity to the blend.
Delicata: An aromatic and delicate mild oil that tones down the more robust cultivars. As a result of the different terroir along the stone wall around the farm, it adds complexity and charm to the blend.
When ready, the olives on Kleinood Farm are picked by hand and cold-pressed, before being bottled, unfiltered, then labelled by hand. The vintage, the date of bottling and the number of each individual bottle is handwritten on the back label.
A gutsy oil with the strength and generosity that echoes the goodness of the native soil, the sun and the great care that goes into its making.
With great care and attention, the ancient olive grove in the garden, near the farm dam, with trees over a century old, still produces enough fruit to use for drying and pickling, which we then serve on the seasonal platter in the tasting room.
vi. The Komposjaart
Komposjaart = Compost Yard
Sweet-smelling heaps of compost, made from garden cuttings and pressed grapes lie like huge hippos that, with time and care, turn into food for the gardens and vineyards.
Here too, we have tanks for compost tea made from these heaps for liquid feeding.
In a small dedicated nursery, young vines are nurtured to maturity to replace weak ones in the vineyards.
All the recyclable debris from the farm is collected and kept in three red metal containers in the komposjaart, until there is enough to be delivered or collected by our recycling partners.
The komposjaart is also home to the studios of de Boerin.
vii. The Studio
Far from the madding crowd…
de Boerin has been an integral part of Kleinood Farm from the beginning – before the buildings, the wine, the tasting room – she was there when it was just a small patch of land…
At first there was only two of us dreaming and making in a little cottage, which has since become the shop. Now de Boerin’s studios fill two whitewashed stone buildings in the komposjaart, surrounded by gardens, trees, beehives, birds and insects. The doors are adorned with witches brooms, but that is as far as the witchery goes. Here de Boerin makes and does all the things she loves.
Seven women of different ages and background with different skills gather every morning, each doing what she does best, but always together.We pick flowers and gather petals. We harvest and bottle honey. We make candles and soaps. We dream up patterns, which we sew and knit and embroider. We print and paint. We wash each garment, but very seldom iron anything. We build with clay and carve into wood. We blend olive oil and parfum oils. We make verjus and balsamic vinegar. We feed our baby boy and read stories to him. We make a huge mess and clean up. We take pictures of it all.
We also have deadlines and orders. We have to procure bottles and fabrics and wool and such. Our printer is mostly out of order. We often don’t have power or steady wi-fi, and so it goes. But, we have fun. Our hands are busy. We laugh. We sleep well.
Here we make and do all the things we love.
Made by hand matters.
Since its small beginnings, Kleinood Farm has taken pride in the hands that nurture it and help it grow. It has become part of the ethos of living close to and off the land. We know the value in the honesty and mindfulness of each pair of nimble hands. Lest our hands forget the skill of darning socks or sewing real patches on hand-me downs to wear again. Lest we forget, clean and paid for, is good enough.
The de Boerin studios are private. To visit, book ahead.
viii. The Glasshouse
Down the leafy lane below the winery, in the shade of the old oaks, is a glasshouse. It is filled with green curiosities which de Boerin has sprouted, collected and cared for over the years. Do wander inside….
The glasshouse is a folly, not a practical space – where things grow and hang and droop and climb, then unexpectedly burst into bloom, purely for our delight.
ix. The Shop
Goodly things, from times when people still had time…
To find de Boerin’s secretive shop, visit Kleinood farm. Follow the narrow leafy pathway on the mountain-side of the winery, and just beyond the glasshouse, in the shade of the old oaks, you will find a small stone building.
Here, in a vernacular unique to Kleinood, de Boerin showcases a small body of ever-evolving goodly things rooted, as are Kleinood’s Tamboerskloof wines, in the terroir of this small and precious piece of land.
In this curated room of curiosities, de Boerin trades garments, terroir parfums, adornments, objects and other goodly pretty useful magical things – all made by hand in her studios on Kleinood Farm.
goodly things
to collect to hold to wear
to give or keep
to touch and smell
all things
weird and wonderful
simple and sweet
out of this world things
to wish for, to take home
or to save for a rainy day
de Boerin welcomes you
with a coffee, the view,
and all the time in the world…
x. The Forest
Introducing the most beautiful place on earth.
The forest on Kleinood farm, has always been hallowed ground. The very first thing we saw when we first drove onto the farm, was the forest. It was love at first sight. Small as it is, it is a place of serenity and peace. It is where you go at the end of the day to find solace, to contemplate, to dream or to cool down in the fresh clean river water. We have always kept it to ourselves, not wanting to share or disturb the quiet, to keep out the noise and protect whatever it is that we find there. And it was the inspiration and reason behind our much loved parfum, Winter Water.
This is an ongoing project,
to keep a precious part of the farm
wild and free.
Originally the wild olives and very old oaks were surrounded with masses of poplars. As they fell with each winter storm, we replaced them with indigenous yellow woods, stink woods, assegaai bushes, water berries and more. Eventually we found the courage to really climb in and remove all the poplars. It was a year-long project of sawing, carrying out the trees, and remove saplings that kept on reappearing. Even while we were still chopping away at the invasive aliens, the wild olives and indigenous species we had planted began to thrive in the new environment.
Once the clearing was done, we planted more and more, made pathways and cleaned an area around the largest natural pool in the river. It is here where we now spend our best summer days with long lunches in the dappled shade, cooling down in the icy water, throwing sticks for the dogs – lazing about far, far away from the world out there. Now when we go for walks, we walk from tree to tree watching them grow and knowing that one day, when we are no longer here, they will still be standing, growing stronger, and caring for one another in their own special ways.
“…Here is a little forest, Whose leaf is evergreen;
Here is a brighter garden, Where not a frost has been;
In its unfading flowers, I hear the bright bee hum:
Prithee, my brother, Into my garden come!”
Emily Dickenson
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de Krant
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