ANTARES, is an ever changing field blend of Chenin blanc, Semillion and Sauvignon blanc. It is made with natural fermentation and minimum sulphur, all with the idea to serve the most natural wine in your glass. The "alter ego" vs Antares Blend. 

ANTARES is the brightest star in the Scorpius constellation, also referred to as “the heart of the scorpion”.

50% Chenin blanc | 28% Semillon | 22% Sauvignon blanc. 60% Skin Contact, 40% Free Run. 100% malolactic

The vineyard is designed, planted, pruned and managed by me and my father on our small farm, Le lit de Franken, in the beautiful valley of Buffeljags River, close to Swellendam, in the heart of the Overberg Region.

The grapes are also from the Antares Field Blend block and the varietal blend is exactly the same as that of Antares. The only difference between the two wines is the winemaking. For the Out of Orbit, I de-stemmed the grapes into a small stainless steel tank with no sulphur addition. Fermentation started naturally on the skin and was left to ferment with the juice in contact with skin for 2 weeks - with daily punch downs to mix
the skins back into the fermenting juice. After two weeks the fermenting was transported to 3 x 54 L glass demi john pots, where it was left to age for 9 months. At bottling I blended 40% of stainless steel aged Antares wine back into wine to balance acidity and mouth feel. The result, an orbiting star that goes wild and shoots out of orbit.

Tasting Notes: A 60% skin-fermented white wine crafted from the exact same vineyard block and varietal blend as Antares, but naturally fermented on the skins to add tannin, texture, and complexity. In the glass the wine shouts with aroma. The nose is pure with lots of tropical fruit - yellow peach, quince, pineapple and passion fruit with a touch of lemon zest. These aromas follow on the palate with a certain freshness and lingering goodness. The mouthfeel is smoothly textured with a slight pithy, savouriness and a fresh, balanced acidity, combined with the tropical fruit aromas to ensure a long lingering finish. A wine to savour and enjoy on all occasion. 

Food Pairing: I have paired it with watermelon slices in the summer and hearty dim sums in the winter.

ANALYSIS: ALC 12.59% | TA 4.9g/L | pH 3.55 | RS 1.81g/L