The idea for Lubanzi as we know it today, was birthed when co-founders Charlie Brain and Walker Brown were backpacking along South Africa’s Wild Coast in 2014. ‘Lubanzi’ is the name given to the wild dogs that roam the area, including the one which chose to match the boys stride for stride on their six-day,…
The ‘Old Vine’ Question
To consider the perceived qualitative differences in ‘old vine’ fruit we must first define the term, and this begins with Phylloxera – the pest which decimated European vineyards throughout the 19th century. The damage caused and the efforts to combat and restore the wine industry during this time dictated a necessary shift in viticultural practices,…
Indigenous Cypriot Grape Varieties
While this isn’t an exhaustive list, we have recently shipped some exquisite wines from Cyprus and sampling these was my first exposure to some of the indigenous varietals that many Cypriot winemakers are understandably so proud of, which form an integral part of their wines. Cyprus, along with Santorini, is one of the only European…
Astral Projection? Biodynamics, its proponents and detractors.
‘Biodynamic’ is a pretty common buzzword in winemaking, with roots dating back to the Second World War. It is based on the then cutting edge works of an Austrian Philosopher presented in 1924 – Rudolf Steiner – and centres around a holistic and homeopathic approach to farming. This approach forgoes the use of any inorganic…