Description
Vrede en Lust Early Mist Riesling 2025 is an Elgin white made in a German Kabinett-inspired style, with off-dry sweetness balanced by bright acidity and a strong sense of place. Riesling is one of the clearest transmitters of terroir, and in Elgin’s cool climate it can deliver both aromatic purity and fine mineral tension. This is a wine that leans into fragrance, freshness, and delicacy rather than weight, making it especially appealing for drinkers who enjoy whites with lift and precision.
On the nose, it shows honeyed notes, citrus, and a mineral edge that gives the wine focus from the outset. The palate is elegant and lightly off-dry, with lingering citrus flavors supported by fresh acidity that keeps the sweetness in check and the finish clean. That balance makes it particularly well suited to hot or cold smoked salmon and smoked trout, where the wine’s gentle sweetness and bright line can work beautifully with richer, smoky flavors.
Best enjoyed while young and aromatic, this is a refined, fragrant Riesling that captures both the charm of the Kabinett style and the cool-climate character of Elgin.
On the nose, it shows honeyed notes, citrus, and a mineral edge that gives the wine focus from the outset. The palate is elegant and lightly off-dry, with lingering citrus flavors supported by fresh acidity that keeps the sweetness in check and the finish clean. That balance makes it particularly well suited to hot or cold smoked salmon and smoked trout, where the wine’s gentle sweetness and bright line can work beautifully with richer, smoky flavors.
Best enjoyed while young and aromatic, this is a refined, fragrant Riesling that captures both the charm of the Kabinett style and the cool-climate character of Elgin.
The wine was fermented at very low temperatures in stainless steel tanks to preserve aromatic clarity and freshness. Fermentation was stopped at the desired sugar level to retain the wine’s off-dry style, resulting in a Riesling made in a German Kabinett-inspired mode with a semi-sweet residual sugar balance. The cellar approach keeps the focus on purity, fragrance, and terroir expression.
Winemaker: Karlin Nel
Winemaker: Karlin Nel
Vrede en Lust was founded in 1688 by a Flemish Merchant called Jacques de Savoye. The Governor of the Cape allocated this farm to De Savoye, who fled Europe with his wife, Marie-Madeleine le Clerq, due to religious persecution. After 70 days at sea, they arrived in Table Bay on 26 April 1688 on the 160ft Oosterland. The scene shifts to the Drakenstein, sparsely populated with only 23 Dutch freeburgers having settled there before. The valley is majestically beautiful, though quite rugged, with dense forests, game, lion and leopard, and the only human inhabitants, some nomadic Khoi. The pioneers lived in simple clay and reed homes. This is where De Savoye became the owner of a magnificent piece of land against the foothills of the Napoleonsberg (today known as the Simonsberg). He called his farm Vrede en Lust (Peace and Delight/Eagerness), nurturing visions of a rural paradise where he could spend his last days. He immediately started improving the 55 Ha of land that starts at the Bergrivier valley floor and runs up the eastern foothills of the majestic Simonsberg Mountain.
