An innovative new winemaking technique comes to Durbanville.
“Wood imparts its own flavour, and like concrete and amphorae, is porous, while stainless-steel is influenced by static electricity,” says Thys Louw, sixth-generation scion of his family’s estate in Durbanville. “The glass wine globes allow for a totally closed, unfettered environment in which the wine is permitted to express clarity of terroir and variety to the full.”
This is relayed on the back terrace of the Louw home (and manor house), which dates back to the late 1600s. The view is timeless, a swatch of green vineyards blur off into the surrounding hills. The smell of must and crushed grape skins is in the air as harvest ticks around us. Some places seem exempt from the mundanity of time passing, this is one; and there’s proof of over three-centuries of winemaking, too – in the form of a leather-bound 1702 inventory book.
History of innovation
For all of its history though, innovation is second nature to the Louw family. Particularly when it comes to sauvignon blanc, a speciality of the Durbanville region. Currently, Diemersdal makes eight different versions of the grape, with quixotic bottlings such as the Winter Ferment, made in July from juice frozen at harvest in February, as well as the skin-contact, natural ferment Wild Horseshoe.
Now, enter the glass wine globe. Inspired by a trip to the Loire’s Dagueneau where Louw saw hermetically-sealed wine globes bubbling away in the famous cellar. Made in Bordeaux, France, the 220-litre vessels have only been on the market since 2020, and Diemersdal lays claim to the first and only South African producer to make use of them.
In the cellar there are five of them filled with juice from the 2025 harvest, likewise on the bubble. Though this isn’t their maiden voyage. The first was in the 2023 vintage, with fruit from an estate vineyard planted in 1992 – another feat, as older sauvignon blocks are fairly unusual.
The juice is fermented in the glass vessels, in a spot in the cellar that is kept at a constant 18°C, so no cooling is required. This follows a rest period in situ for 12 months, the glass covered by casings to protect the contents from light. The wine was then bottled-aged for another year.
“We stir the liquid once a month upon which the lees is held naturally in suspension for a subtle influence as we don’t want to overdo it, preferring to keep things as pure as possible,” explains winemaker Juandré Bruwer. He says they also add some wholeberries to the ferment for added texture.
“It feels like seeing – and tasting – a visual manifestation of the vineyard,” enthuses Louw. “The precision and purity of the wine has allowed us to view Diemersdal sauvignon blanc in a new dimension of clarity.”
The Globe Sauvignon Blanc 2023
It’s a stunner. Delicate notes of blackcurrant, thatch, fynbos-spice, with a hint of pink ginger and quince. The aromatics are understated, elegant, buffed in a golden shine. The palate is wonderfully detailed with a core of tangy, just-ripe peach, with a broadening, cooling acidity and yellow-fruited twang. Only 1000 bottles have been made.
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