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The RAFI Drop: Craven Wines

Meet The Maker: Craven Wine

Discover the passion and craftsmanship behind this months RAFI Drop: 2021 Craven Wines ‘Karibib Vineyard’ Chenin Blanc, Stellenbosch, RSA

At RAFI this July, we invite you to embark on a sensory journey as we delve into the world of premium wines and introduce you to the remarkable winemakers behind this month’s RAFI Drop.

Winemakers, Mick and Jeanine met in 2007, sharing a passion for site-specific and honest wines. Since then, they have embarked on a remarkable journey tasting & learning as much as they could, before finding the perfect site for ‘Craven Winery’, in the Polkadraai Hills. Scroll down to find out more about the winery and discover the unbeatable flavours of this months RAFI Drop.

Join us at RAFI from Monday 26th June – Saturday 29th July between 4pm – 6pm, to experience this wine at a reduced price as part of The RAFI Drop! This wine is also on our wine menu to order when dining with us.

About The Winemaker

Mick and Jeanine Craven met in 2007 while working a harvest as cellar hands in Sonoma. The Aussie (Mick) and Saffa (Jeanine) hit it off right away, kept in touch while finishing off their enological studies, fell in love and took to the road to work, taste and learn as much as they could about what they shared a passion for: site-specific, honest wines.

To do less, you need to know more. Their low-interventionist winemaking is as much hands-off, as it is tuned on. The duo knows their vineyards intricately, and craft only single-vineyard wines, picked early and respectfully to best reflect site and vintage. They use no cultured yeasts, enzymes or fining agents, allow the wines to stabilise naturally, and utilise only older oak and larger format barrels whenever possible. A minimal amount of SO2 ‘which is our friend’ is the only addition, and the wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered.

About The Winery

Toward the end of 2015, Mick came across the perfect site in the Polkadraai Hills, called the Karibib Vineyard. Planted in 1981, rooted in granitic soils on an east-facing block, the grower has been working with the Cravens to bring it back to a more ‘natural’ state of farming.

Mick refers to it as a “faux bush vine” vineyard. The vineyard sits in a unique pocket that is characterised by undulating topography & varying elevations, sites on elevations from 60m to 400m above sea level.

About The RAFI Drop

“Smells righteous. Lemon butter, sea spray, green apple and wet steel. More of the same to taste, limey, appley, saline, crisp in a way but also with this nice juiciness and a little puckering, river pebble grip too. Good intensity, good sense of richness and yet freshness. One of those gourmand wines that does a lot on a dinner table, but sits in a glass with great interest” Mike Bennie, The Wine Front”

It pairs well with a variety of white meats. Namely creamy chicken or pork dishes, meatier flaky fish & more opulent seafood (especially white crabmeat and lobster!)

To discover more about Craven wines visit their website or follow them on socials to learn from the experts and stay up to date on new vintages.