BlankBottle

Pieter Walser started BlankBottle with a goal to create an honest wine brand with no limitations on style, vintage, area or cultivars in order to break down any preconceived expectations allowing him to introduce once off limited runs of interesting wine. In the beginning no wines were repeated, but Walser grew attached to certain vineyards and committed to making them year on year, for example the Moment of Silence. All grapes come from different vineyards all over South-Africa, BlankBottle doesn’t own a vineyard themselves. This allows them to travel and experience different areas, and convey as many different stories as possible. In the 2020 harvest they picked 165 tons from about 80 vineyards; 35 different varietals, creating over 40 different wines. 

When working with so many vineyards it is important to create relationships with great farmers and knowledgeable viticulturists. The vineyards are all over the Western Cape, where all the grapes ripen at different times. At the beginning of harvest, the focus lies with maybe 10 vineyards all in Wellington and Darling, then the winery moves on to the next area, and 13 000 km and 100 days later they pick the last vineyard in Witzenberg. 

BlankBottle is more than just a winery – it’s a philosophy. The winery is about embracing the unknown, celebrating diversity and pushing the boundaries of what wine can be. One of Pieter’s passions is storytelling and this is evident from the intricately detailed stories he has for each of his wines.

To find out more about the stories behind his wines, visit his website: http://www.blankbottle.co.za