Unfortunately the 2008 Weather Girl is ‘finito’ …but the good news is that the 2008 Sauvignon Blanc is at its best at the moment and we do have in stock. This vintage received 4 ½ Platter stars and Francis says it’s “drinking better than ever!”.

If you don’t have any – don’t stress - you can now order direct from us and we’ll have it delivered to your door. (Min. 2 cases/12 bottles). You can also order the imminent 2009 Weather Girl and Sauvignon Blanc now to ensure you don’t miss out!

In the cellar we’re busy blending the 2010 vintage of the Weather Girl and our Sauvignon Blanc, as well as the 2009 Shiraz which is tasting fantastic.

The 2009 Pinot Noir is just about ready for bottling and we’re excited to see what you think of it as it has been an amazing challenge for us.

Pictures from the recent bottling of some of our 2009 vintages...

Having recently bottled the 2009 Sauvignon Blanc we thought we should compare the various vintages of The Berrio Sauvignon Blanc. Whilst all the vintages are definitely refreshing and more-ish – the complexity of the 2009 seems clearer. Does that make it less complex?

As discussed in “Secrets of the Soil” the complexity of a wine is the multitude of nuances that are revealed as you drink it. The more complex the wine (i.e. the more nuances) the more intriguing it is.

It seems that as time passes with each vintage, the individual nuances in our Sauvignon Blanc become more distinct, the notes clearer and more identifiable. In earlier vintages, there was a ‘hint’ of the hallmark Elim passion fruit flavor; this has developed into a very distinctive ‘burst’ in the 2007 vintage.  The 2005 vintage had lots of herbal notes but it was difficult to identify exactly which herbs you were experiencing, with the 2008 vintage those notes were clearer and you can clearly identify green fig leaves for example.


So, what I’ve been contemplating in comparing the various vintages of The Berrio Sauvignon Blanc, is whether the degree to which the nuances can be identified influences the complexity of a wine.

Is a wine more fascinating and captivating and more-ish when the nuances are distinctive or when they are not?

What do you think? Let us know – if you have various vintages do a vertical tasting – it’s really interesting, and make sure you include the 2008 vintage which received 4 ½ stars from Mr Platter this year.

The Weather Girl 2008 has astounded us. It seems that everyone is as crazy about her as we are!

This is our 70% Sauvignon Blanc / 30% Semillon, Bordeaux style blend that the Wine Diva has said is “intensely drinkable”.

The Platter Guide gave her 5 wonderous stars AND she’s been whisked off to London for the Mega Tasting. Not bad for a maiden vintage!

She was also auctioned at the Cape Winemakers Guild and snapped up by The Berrio fans everywhere. So the naked truth is that you’ll find The Weather Girl rather elusive.

We have no stock at the cellar. We’re all sold out and missing her terribly. Your favourite stockist may have a bottle or two – and if they do, snap them up, savour them, and try to share them.

Don’t panic if she doesn’t last long because the 2009 vintage promises to be as gorgeous as her predecessor and will be ready early next year.

Let us know if you’d like us to keep some for you.