RAKA Five Maidens - a decade of winemaking

Proprietor Piet Dreyer dreamed up the idea of producing wine, and in particular a blend of all five Bordeaux varieties, while spending many hours at the helm of his fishing vessel Raka.

This dream slowly became a reality and in 2011 the Dreyer family celebrated 10 years in the wine industry. By this time Piet's blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot (named Raka Quinary) was quite well known. Josef Dreyer, Raka's winemaker and second of Piet and Elna Dreyer's four children, decided to make a special wine to commemorate this milestone. He created Raka Five Maidens 2011, a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, 8% Malbec and 7% Petit Verdot, matured for 24 months in new French oak barrels from different Coopers (Demptos Boutes Tarransaud and Saury)

This celebratory wine is now ready to be released and can be bought at the Raka cellar on the R326, 17km from Stanford. The Five Maidens will have its first public tasting at the Juliet Cullinan Wine Show 10-11 June at Summerplace, Hyde Park, Johannesburg.