Badenhorst Caperitif Kaapse Dief, Cape of Good Hope, South Africa

Base: Chenin Blanc Cousins Hein and Adi Badenhorst are third generation farmers who have restored a 1930’s farming and winery operation in part of the Paardeberg Mountain. Kalmoesfontein Farm has 180 hectares of bush vines, ideally hearty in this terrain, and a focus on natural, traditional winemaking using a blend of conventional and organic farming methods to produce the best environment possible for their grapes.  Most of the vines were planted in the 1950’s and 60’s in granite and shale and yield Chenin Blanc, Cinsault and Grenache. The cousins use a light hand in the winemaking process, used casks and concrete for fermenting, long maceration times, low sulfur addition and large foudres for aging.  Referenced several times in the Savoy Cocktail Book is a ‘cape aperitif’ and the production of the Badenhorst fortified wonder is a nod to that important ingredient and a labor of love. Infused with 35 seasonal botanicals, making it vary just a tad from batch to batch. Primarily, you wil