Episode 49 – Pomelo

Technical Information:

Producer:	Quando
The Wine:	100% Colombard
Vintage:	2026
Wine of Origin:	Robertson
Alcohol:	12,5%
Bottles:	1344 bottles
Released:	August 2026

Afrikaans for Grapefruit, Pomelo is the antidote to Orange Wine…

Is someone here taking the pith…?

Being a natural cynic, Rick couldn’t resist goading those bearded, split at the knee denim-wearers, orange wine-drinking Hackney Hipsters, or equally those north of the Border who continue to think that orange wine is a by-product of Irn-Bru… He’s also forgotten the number of times he’s been asked at tastings whether the wine is actually made from oranges…

It’s only taken 49 Episode releases for Rick to discover his first ever Colombard to be worthy of an endorsement by The Liberator.

Colombar(d) is considered an heirloom variety in the Cape, where it represents a fraction over 10% of all vineyard plantings. It remains one of the mainstay grape varieties for the distillation of domestic brandies. It’s also used for many entry-level varietal and blended wines, both dry and semi-sweet.

Pomelo is also the first ever Liberator to be sourced from the Robertson Wine of Origin. Rick has been working with Fanus Bruwer since the early noughties, sourcing Quando Sauvignon Blanc from the farm. A wine made in Fanus’ garage… His Colombard is usually delivered to the local co-operative, but when Fanus mentioned he was keeping a little back to experiment on himself, it immediately sparked an idea, Rick knowing that the inherent grapefruit character in young Colombard might just be the catalyst for his vinous treatise about Orange Wine.