Nuvo Nivo x Yo El Rey - Inyanga 2025

(Paarl, South Africa) 

100% Merlot 

For these two releases from Nuvo Nivo range it only made sense to work with Modal's own Angelo Van Dyke, who made these two cuvees while he was down in South Africa working on his own Yo El Rey wines. The grapes for this wine are from the Houmoed Farm in Paarl, where they are farmed by Gerard Freyter, a philosopher and deep thinker. He's farmed this tiny unicorn vineyard biodynamically for over 10 years, but until this year has sold the grapes anonymously, to be made into bulk wine. His commitment to biodynamics inspired the name Inyanga, which means Moon in Zulu. 

While much of the project is designed to give a home to already made wine, in South Africa we wanted to specifically use our resources to support growers such as Andrew Melllish, who supplied the Chenin. Finding organic fruit in the region is often difficult, as growers either have established markets, or choose not to even if they have the interest, as it's not financially feasible to farm organically. For us, these wines are an opportunity to bring about real change in the agricultural scene by supporting these rare growers by taking the fruit at a better price and sharing the risks - if we take on the risk of making the wine and finding buyers, they can take the risk of growing in a better, more ethical way.