We are very excited to announce to all our friends around the world that we planted the very first Vermentino in South Africa on 13 November 2014. After a six-year wait for the six imported buds to be propagated and cleared by the authorities as ready for use in South Africa, we finally made it!
“We decided on a clone from Sardinia after lots of deliberation with one of Italy’s best-known viticulturalists, Augusto Fabbro, who was present on the day to see his brainchild being born in a new country and on a new continent,” explains Ayama winemaker Michela Dalpiaz.

“Vermentino  is a perfect match for our terroir, which is hot and windy and features mostly clay soils with sandy areas from disintegrated granite.  The berries and bunches are large and the grapes are late ripening, all of which fit in perfectly with the existing varietals on the farm and the harvesting schedule.  I also know and love the varietal as it produces aromatic, white wines which can handle wood and gives you a beautifully powerful wine.”

According to Johan Wiese of Voor Groenberg Nurseries near Wellington, who was responsible for the propagation of this brand-new varietal from the original plant material,  it’s always a huge privilege to be part of a totally new venture like this. “It’s good for South Africa to bring in and test new varietals and in that way broaden our cultivar choices, and we look forward with excitement to seeing the eventual results in the bottle,” he says.

We had a great day together with a group of around sixty friends, South African clients, colleagues and media who joined  us for a “Festa” to celebrate their first decade in South Africa. On the same day everyone participated in a planting ceremony of the first-ever Vermentino grapes in South Africa. And our thoughts were with all our friends who couldn’t join us for the day.

You can have a look at some of the beautiful pictures taken during the day, in the meantime we are working to other fantastic projects. www.facebook.com/ayamaslent

With lots of passion for our work.

Ayama Team