Despite its no-airs-and-graces ambiance, this maverick winery in Plettenberg Bay has helped to firmly establish Plett on the epicurean agenda.
While Cape wine producers tout centuries of tradition, there’s something refreshing about pioneering a “start-up” in a region where, a decade ago, vineyards didn’t even exist. And winemakers don’t come more visionary than Sue and Doug Lund, whose 11.5-hectare Newstead at the foot of the Tsitsikamma Mountains is one of just 20 wine farms in the Plettenberg Bay Wine Of Origin district, which was only established in 2006.
In 10 short years, the area has garnered a reputation for itself as “bubbly country”, its climate and geography having been compared to those of New Zealand. In fact, it was a visit to the Pacific Ocean country that first inspired the Lunds – who both hail from KwaZulu-Natal sugarcane stock to consider vines.
And Newstead’s winemaker Anton Small has put those vines to good use. The first vintage, in 2012, was a Sauvignon Blanc gold medallist, which sold out the same year. The 2012 MCC Brut & 2014 MCC Rosé scooped Michelangelo Grand d’Or (Double Gold), and today the wines are top sellers on several high-profile wine lists. Says Doug: “We make wines that we like to drink – unwooded Chardonnay, dry, traditionally-made Méthode Cap Classique, a pale salmon MCC Rosé, a Pinot Noir. We believe that good wine is grown. We net our vines, use organic fertilisers and hand-pick our grapes.”
The same care bestowed on the vineyards is given to Newstead’s culinary offering. Lunches served on the veranda feature only seasonal produce, most of it grown on the farm. Today, a salad of fennel, radish and figs, shaved Parma ham and Parmesan, topped with a dressing made with honey produced in the next-door lavender field, is star of the show. Tomorrow it may be shoulder of pork slow-roasted with chilly and ginger and served with spring onion pancakes. Home-grown macadamias and apples from the Newstead orchard are used in an assortment of bakes and the vegetable garden’s fragrant tomatoes shine on artisanal pizzas.
Newstead’s foray into food had a serendipitous start, Sue explains: “In 2012, Ellen, from Germany came to the farm on her bicycle. She looked tired so Doug invited her in and I served her a platter of cheese and wine. On leaving she asked if she could book a table for eight for the following week. I explained that we weren’t actually a restaurant but she was quite insistent and, the next week, we hauled a table into the vineyards and set it with the family silver. Every guest who came booked again for the week after and soon I was cooking for 40 a day. Last December, we fed 90 people daily and we took our first bookings for this December in February!
“It’s not fancy,” she is quick to add. “It’s really just a down-to-earth farm kitchen, with made-from-scratch food inspired by what’s fresh. It’s relaxed and unhurried and guests love that it’s an extension of our home. Most stay a good few hours; some even enjoy a nap on the sofa after lunch.”
Open 10am to 4pm, Tuesday to Saturday (extended hours during season). Booking essential on 044 534-8331 or info@newsteadwines.com.
Visit www.newsteadwines.com
Words: Jocelyn Warrington
Photographs: David Ross
