Since its inception last year, the Franschhoek Wine Writing╬ô├╢┬╝Γö£├¡Competition has presented organisers thereof with the fact that a good concept is not going to work without a bit of thought, tact and plain old brains. One of the richest prizes in SA journalism – the aim of which is yet as murky as a glass of Semillon must – is turning into a laughable blip on the local media landscape.

Last year the organisers were so keen to announce the Franschhoek Wine Writing Competition  and its bevy of international judges that they forgot about the good smack of local wine writing done in Afrikaans. After a local wine writer reminded them that Jancis Robinson and Christopher Hope may struggle with the Afrikaans entries, it was hastily decided to offer translating services for the souls writing in this language.

This stop-gap approach to appease those Afrikaans writers taking their craft seriously caused a few understandable grumbles, and a boycott or two. Why should Afrikaans journalists have to play second fiddle in an industry built-up and still dominated by the Afrikaans community?

This year the call to entry announced once again that translation services would be offered. And although British hack Tim Atkin would be honouring the competition with his endless skill and profound presence, the judging process would benefit from a bit of local flavour. Ton Vosloo, chairperson of Naspers will also be serving on the panel, hopefully ensuring that the Afrikaans entries are not overlooked.

Two problems here.

First of all, Tim Atkin has been known to show the kind of aversion to South African wine writers that wine farmers display towards over-demanding farm-workers. He has blasted the local scribes for ΓÇô among other things ΓÇô not being endowed with the kind of vinous reference he and his Pom cronies share due to South African writers not being as exposed to international wines as they are.

To put him on this panel is like asking a Wosa official to sing the praises of pinotage, co-operatives and far-flung wine regions.

Neil Pendock has already boycotted this year’s Franschhoek Wine Writing Competition due to the Atkin Factor, which must be niggly for the organisers – it’s like Beyers Truter boycotting the Absa Top 10 Pinotage Competition.

The second problem is with the presence of Vosloo on the panel. This is not insinuating that Vosloo is a prick in the Atkin mould. Far from it. Besides being a foresighted media dynamo, he cut his teeth as an extremely competent journalist and newspaper editor.

Problem is, Vosloo is chairperson of Naspers, South Africa’s largest media company that also owns many of the publications in which wine writing appears. One thus has to look no further for a brewing scandal than the winning entry originating from one of Vosloo’s own magazines, newspapers or blogs.

Should the dynamic Riette Rust or the magisterial Melvyn Minnaar, for example, win this yearΓÇÖs Wine Writing Competition, questions are going to be asked as both write for Naspers publications, and the chairperson he is sitting on the judging panel.

Is the logic so difficult to define?

Of course, if there were less at stake the whole thing could be laughed off like these lesser wine competitions floating around the country. But the first prize of R25 000 makes the Franschhoek wine writing jaunt a serious matter.

Is any piece of South African wine writing really worth R25 000? Most articles run to – at a stretch – 1 200 words and let’s be serious: will there be more than 20 entries now that media houses are cutting down on their wine columns and thus not providing wine hacks with sufficient outlets?

To put this whole thing in perspective, R25 000 is R10 000 more than author Marié Heese recently received for winning the African Division of the Commonwealth Writers Prize with her bulky novel, The Double Crown.

If this prize is not going remain the laughable and inept concept that it is, it has to be rethought. Let the writers register and give them a 2000 word essay to write specifically for this wine writing competition. This would give contestants the opportunity of competing on an equal foot ΓÇô how many South African wine writers, for example, are confined to writing no more that tasting snippets, whilst others get the luxury of doing monthly features that are understandably much more appealing to judges? And after a few years the organisers could compile a welcoming and original book on a selection of the best entries.

We could even get Tim Atkin to write the foreword, if heΓÇÖd indulge us.

JP Bruwer

Chateau Ryk

GOLFERS do it. Musicians do it. And of course, winemakers do it. Now swimmers are getting into the act of connecting their name to a wine.

Hold onto your thighs ladies ΓÇô and Grape male staff members ΓÇô because hunk-of-hunks Ryk Neethling is to launch his own wine.

Who exactly is to make the wine that will be placed in a bottle obviously adorned with RykΓÇÖs dimply smile and ripped torso is not yet known as this information was leaked to your reporter in one of those off-guard moments. But the smart money says the wine will be produced at Val de Vie in Paarl where Monsieur Neethling runs a swimming academy.

While we eagerly await the news releases stating RykΓÇÖs lifelong ΓÇô but as yet unknown ΓÇô passion for wine and his commitment to ensuring the quality of his wine is up to scratch, it will be interesting to see how the athleteΓÇÖs rigorously athletic lifestyle is promoted alongside that of a part-time tippler. Golfers and rugby-players can talk convincingly about enjoying the odd snort. But an Olympic gold medallist whose sport demands training sessions of six hours a day does not a believable wine drinker make.

But IΓÇÖm sure some of us will buy the bottle of whatever just for those abs.

Darien Morgan

Tulbagh Wine Cellar’s new team, Hugo Lambrechts (viticulturist) and Naudé Bruwer (production manager), examine bunches of grapes from the different regions, which this year will be harvested and fermented separately.

I have decided to give the Tulbagh wine region a punt. Beautiful area, great wines and any place that has survived an earthquake has a story to tell. So, thanks to ML Communications for a lekker release.

Tulbagh Winery has this year appointed a new production manager and a fulltime viticulturist, namely Naudé Bruwer and Hugo Lambrechts, with a new strategy for the cellar in mind. There are seven distinctly different wine growing areas on which their members farm and they intend to vinify each area’s wines separately, with an emphasis on creating top quality wines.

The seven areas are Tulbagh, Halfmanshof, Riebeek, Porterville, Piketberg, Dwarskersbos and Berg River. Each cultivar from every region will be harvested separately, individually fermented and the final product will be kept in separate tanks for evaluation. Previously all cultivars from the same region were harvested together and the best wine was not necessarily bottled, but sold in bulk.

This new production team was created in order to professionally coordinate with the wine farmer-members for picking grapes at the correct ripeness and selecting the best cultivar from each region. Production manager, Naudé Bruwer, was a winemaker at the Boland Cellar until the end of last year and had a hand in many of that cellar’s international and domestic awards over the past few years. Hugo Lambrechts, previously winemaker at Porterville Cellar, is now the fulltime viticulturist.

“With the 2010 harvest and the new team, quality is being refined and the first step is to prepare the regional wines individually. Each wine out of every region will then be carefully tasted to select the best of the tanks for blending in Tulbagh Winery’s bottled range,” Naudé explained.

Besides Naudé Bruwer and Hugo Lambrechts, the wines are also tasted by two other Tulbagh Winery winemakers, Johnny King and Jurgen Gouws, as well as two independent wine-producing experts. The final tank selection is thus not left to just one person.

ΓÇ£Each region has its own terroir, differ quite considerably and each offers something different. At Dwarskersbos, for instance, there are vineyards which are a mere 800m from the sea, while in other areas there are different soil types against mountain slopes, some of which face in various directions and so are affected differently by wind and sun.ΓÇ¥ said Hugo.

“It looks as though the shiraz is going to provide an outstanding harvest. This variety was least affected by downy mildew this year and even when fermentation was first started you could already pick up the lovely ripe aromas and deep red colour. Uneven ripening of the sauvignon blanc crop, on the other hand, made the decision about when to pick difficult – even within the same vineyard. The wines, none the less, show lovely tropical fruit, asparagus, citrus and fig aromas, while tropical fruit is predominant in the chenin blanc wines. We will, however, only be able to evaluate the wines in finer detail come April,” said Naudé

Mike Ratcliffe as Robert Downey.

AMERICAN magazine Wine Spectator has been having a bit of late by comparing wines to actors. All this with coming SundayΓÇÖs Oscar awards in mind. The magazineΓÇÖs tasting panel has selected ten wines, across five categories, each of which suitably ΓÇÿpersonifiesΓÇÖ the nominee, and, by implication, the role he or she plays in the movie.

 Stellenbosch’s Warwick Wine Estate was in the limelight on the red carpet this week after receiving an impressive 90 points by Wine Spectator, says a media release. “In addition to this affirmation, Wine Spectator has nominated Warwick’s Sauvignon Blanc, Professor Black 2009, for Best Supporting Actor.  

╬ô├╢┬╝Γö£├¡Γò¼├┤Γö£├ºΓö¼├║Spotlighted for his supporting role as Fran╬ô├╢┬úΓö¼Γòæois Pienaar in the apartheid-rugby-allegory film, Invictus, is the handsome, charismatic and refined Matt Damon. Wine Spectator decided that a bright South African star – Pienaar, immortalized by Damon – commanded a bright wine with the same stellar constitution. The crisp, tropicality and liveliness – coupled with a long floral finish – of Professor Black, made this luscious wine the obvious choice for the Best Supporting Actor role.Γò¼├┤Γö£├ºΓö¼├æ

 No mention is being made however on rumours of another Hollywood production heading for South African shores, this time to film a script by Michael van Niekerk depicting the rise of the country’s wine industry post 1990. Using the Stellenbosch winelands as a backdrop, the story tells of five wineries’ vision and energy in using South Africa’s liberated status to launch the nations wines internationally. Strong personalities and a few dramatic events make, according to Van Niekerk’s publicist, for a terrific storyline. “No title has been finalise, but we might as well ride on Clint Eastwood’s recent success and call the movie InVino,” the publicist said.

WOSA, Shirley?

 Although casting has to be finalized, movie insiders reckon that Mike Ratcliffe, Warwick’s marketing dynamo and industry young-gun who is a character in InVino, is set to be played by either Robert Downey Jr or Ralph Fiennes. Steve Martin is a shoe-in to play colourful restaurateur turned winemaker Ken Forrester, while Shirley MacLaine is keen to take-on the role of Wosa whizz Su Birch.

 So who knows….perhaps the SA wine industry will make it all the way to the red carpet next year.

 Distribution seems to be the unknown force in the wine industry, and it would appear as if distributors would like keep it this way. These forces generally have the wine producers by the short and curlies, buying at a discount and then slapping on an average of 30% when selling to the retailer, who then still has to whack on a mark-up.

They move in mysterious way, as U2 sang, justifying their mark-ups with claims of superb connections in the trade and a lot of travel and hard-selling. All good and well, despite one wondering why so many distributors have gone belly-up recently if they were so shit-hot.

Recently, however, I have come across a situation which may just see distributors accused of uncompetitive practices. And once again we turn to the broad church of the internet.

A client briefed in a new website, which a bunch of tekkies in Observatory designed to perfection. We decided to go the whole hog and, following Paul Cluver and Waterford, added a shopping site. You know… customer clicks on wines, adds to shopping basket, pays cellar door prices by credit card and wine gets delivered. Boom. Convenience that we support.

Lo and behold if our distributor doesnΓÇÖt give us a call to inform us that he will not be distributing his wine if we are going to be flogging it on the website. By taking orders and despatching the wine ourselves, he claims, we are entering the distribution game and taking business away from him.

Funny one this: cellar door prices (as sold on the web) are pretty much the same as retail prices. The distributor is still getting his discounted price. So where could the threat lie?

We still depend on distributors to bash down doors and use their contacts. That is what they are good at, and that is why we are willing to discount. But by trying to prevent wineries from using the web to drive sales themselves, distributors are entering dangerous territory that is not going to make them popular at all. Especially once the authorities are alerted to this, seeing they are so eager to pounce on dodgy practices in the agricultural sector.

Darian Morgan

PORTOFINO RESTAURANT

Harbour Edge, 10 Hospital Street, Green Point. Tel. 021-418-4500

I was to meet Calculus to talk about a war and a good suit, and he suggested a bar and restaurant at the end of town run by an Irishman with a great hair-cut. Balking, I asked whether said Irishman was the so called ΓÇ£rudest restaurateurΓÇ¥ in Cape Town, whereupon Calculus nodded sagely and led me through the door.

Portofino is airy and white, and it looks clean and good, but with a modern homeliness. Walking in I almost tripped over a chocolate Labrador belonging to a well-known chef, but this went without incident: dogs like me, and I love them.

The wind was roaring outside, and we were pleased to be in a place promising sustenance and cold liquid containing good amounts of alcohol. Calculus provided, plonking a bottle of Henri Giraud Champagne into an ice-bucket. Besides that, he had brought a bottle of Chamonix Pinot Noir, while I had lugged a Kanonkop Paul Sauer 1995 as well as a De Wetshof Bateleur 2007.

But we drank Champagne. It was yeasty and biscuit and cold, with a lot of sparkle.

Cormac the Terrible waltzed over resembling a pop star from the 1980s. Cool and certain, and calm. He sipped the Champagne, and asked us what he was tasting. Brioche and grapefruit. Melon and chalk.

CormacΓÇÖs fringe flopped languidly as he agreed with our comments, and suggested we eat Parma ham with melon.

The tables looked inviting with their crisp linen, but Calculus suggested we eat at the bar. It looks cooler, like something out of a Peter Lorre movie. And the bar could accommodate all our booze.

Besides the melon, one could start with a prawn, watermelon and goatΓÇÖs cheese salad. Bruschetta. Capraccio or melanzana parmagiana. Then there is the famous antipasto platter with squid, vegetables and Parma ham.

Calculus poured the last of the Champagne, went through the battle plan one more time and ordered the Parma ham and melon. Ditto.

Upon deciding what to drink next, I asked Cormac whether he served Guinness on tap. I got a look that would make an ice maiden turn into Jameson. ΓÇ£Where do you think you are?ΓÇ¥ he asked.

I felt like answering by repeating the line from the classic movie The Hangover, the one that goes: ΓÇ£On the corner of fuck-off and get a map.ΓÇ¥ But I saw the glint of humour in CormacΓÇÖs eye, and let it pass. Besides ΓÇô Calculus was in the mood for war, so this was not a good time for a bit of IRA from another corner.

The Chamonix Pinot Noir was corked, with enough mouldy sack to make your contact lenses fall out. So we drank the Paul Sauer 19995. It was a fine wine, ripe and complete and full of nuances tricky to pin down. But in excellent condition.

The Parma ham came, and we ate it with the melon, and I loved those salty cured flavours hitting the sweetness of the melon. It was a civilised starter, in a civilised place.

I mentioned the good suit, and before we started the discussion, Cormac asked us what we would like for a main course. Pasta and risotto. Tasty-sounding meat dishes such as chicken thigh wrapped in Parma ham. A veal parcel. Honey and mustard porked fillet.

Calculus called for the prawn risotto while the spaghetti Carbonara had my name on it.

It was very pleasant at the bar. Soft music and interesting people whispering next to the coffee machine. Just then , we opened the De Wetshof Bateleur Chardonnay as the Paul Sauer was empty.

The food came just as Calculus had the last say about that damned bad suit, and we hunched over our bowls like Sicilian peasants protecting their first-born. My pasta was creamy and eggy with tasty lashings of Parmesan. Crispy bacon made for good salt in my mouth, which made the Chardonay tast very pleasant and excellent.

I like the place, and could see Calculus likes it too. It is a well-lit, accommodating restaurant with an agreeable air of formality and convention offset with a homely feeling of ease and comfort. Like a woman dressed in Chanel and Gucci, but not wearing any underwear.

Calcalus contemplated ordering some or other decadent chocolate dessert, but with battle now only a few days away, he relented. I joined him for an espresso as we finished off the last of the Chardonnay and walked out into the wind and the night lights, hoping the Irishman was looking forward to seeing us again.

JP Bruwer

The Outeniqua Mountains on the Garden Route.

 

After spending millions on international fact-finding trips and marketing jollies, the Cape winelands have failed to secure a base-camp for one of the 32 teams participating in World Cup 2010. As mentioned in a previous post, hosting an international team and its horde of followers and national media brings myriad short and long term benefits to a town or region – if it didn’t the Cape winelands would not have spent such a lot of time and money attempting to secure said team, would they?

Tourism bodies around the Cape have been pretty mum about these international teamsΓÇÖ decision to shun the region and see favourites Spain heading to the charming town of Potchefstroom and England heading for Rustenburg. Over 30 days of international TV coverage will propel these towns, as well as others selected as base-camps, into the limelight, something the South African wine industry would surely have appreciated.

So Stellenbosch, Paarl, Franschhoek and Constantia will not share in base-camp limelight. One wine region which is, however, going to benefit hugely is the Langkloof wine region. ΓÇ£LangΓÇ¥ what? Well, this is the area north of the Outeniqua mountains on the Garden Route where grapes are grown and wine is made, albeit on a smaller scale than the Cape. And this region will see three teams set up base-camps between 11 June and 11 July, namely France, Denmark and Japan.

This means over 100 000 international visitors alone, not to mention the whole of France, Denmark and Japan being exposed to the towns of George and Knysna for the duration of the tournament thanks to the glories of television, not to mention the social media tidal wave.

One or two throw-away sentences about the regionΓÇÖs wines, and this means more PR and exposure than a Wosa-sponsored Jumbo of golf-playing wine hacks.

The slight problem is that the Langkloof is not awash with wineries. The most prolific is Goose Wines, a  venture in which local golf icon Retief Goosen has a share, and one which makes some pretty nifty wines from grapes grown on South Africa’s coldest wine  farm.

Morné Jonker, partner in Goose Wines, has already made inroads into 2010 preparations and The Goose is going to be wetting many throats setting up camp in the Garden Route come winter.

Especially exciting is that the three countries camping out here ΓÇô France, Denmark and Japan ΓÇô are all wine-loving nations. The experience of the Langkloof wines is sure to provide a high level of emotional take-out, meaning that when the visitors return to their countries of origin they will seek out the wines they enjoyed during their stay. Good for Langkloof, but also for South Africa.

Throw in a couple of hundred million goggling TV viewers seeing the regionΓÇÖs natural beauty and discovering the Garden Route as a wine region, and things are going to go ballistic.

The problem is that Goose Wines is a pretty small set-up and will not be able to carry the cudgel in this huge marketing opportunity for the local wine industry. If I were party to a wine brand in the Cape Winelands, IΓÇÖd ask why my local tourism bodies stuffed-up by not securing a base-camp. And then IΓÇÖd look east towards the Garden Route. A piece of that action is to be had.

Morné Jonker and Retief Goosen.

One of the South African wine industryΓÇÖs most iconic symbols, the KWV La Concorde head-office on PaarlΓÇÖs main road, is to be vacated by KWV staff within the next few months. According to a wine industry insider, KWV staff will move to the vast buildings the company owns closer to the railway line.

ΓÇ£La Concorde will cease to house the KWVΓÇÖs activities,ΓÇ¥ the source said. ΓÇ£However, this will not come as a surprise to anyone who has visited La Concorde over the past few months ΓÇô inside it is as deserted as the Overlook Hotel in the movie, The Shining.ΓÇ¥

La ConcordeΓÇÖs impressive facade has become synonymous with the South African wine industry as it was for decades seen on the label of the countryΓÇÖs (then) most prolific exporter, namely the KWV. Erected in 1958, La Concorde is also seen as an aesthetically pleasing face of the Cape wine industry, and it would be a great pity if the building is lost to the wine world.

Rumours of converting La Concorde into a hotel have been bandied about, but developers maintain that converting the office space to rooms and recreation centres would be too costly.

 

ΓÇ£Come on, man, I ΓÇÖve never seen a horse win a race without a jockey!ΓÇ¥ enthused Duimpie Bayly, owner of more South African wine industry positions than youΓÇÖd find in the first 35 pages of the Kama Sutra.

Duimpie was responding to Dominique Hebrard, former owner of Bordeaux icon Cheval Blanc, who was discussing his involvement with Cape winery Constantia Glen by accentuating the role of terroir and vineyard. ΓÇ£All this stuff about wine being made in the vineyard is bullshit ΓÇô you need ΓÇÖn bloody good winemaker as well.ΓÇ¥

This forthright interaction is what happens when things get going at the Wine Swines, arguably South AfricaΓÇÖs most established wine club. Hoffie Hoffman (what else?), a former technical head at Distillers Corporation, joined the Swines in 1968, giving one an idea of the kind of history attached to this organisation.

DuimpieΓÇÖs ascerbic reaction to DominiqueΓÇÖs philosophy, I think, began when Duimpie introduced himself to the Frenchman earlier on by asking Dominique to translate ΓÇ£Small ThumbΓÇ¥ (Duimpie) into French. The reply was something sounding like ΓÇ£petit poesΓÇ¥, which obviously ruffled a few Bayly feathers, despite those who may have differed with Dominique by deploying ΓÇ£grandΓÇ¥ instead.

In any event, Monsieur Hebrard was adament that he was not bringing a French flair to Constantia Glen, but rather here to assist the winery to make South African wines to the best of the siteΓÇÖs ability.

This making is in the obviously very capable hands of Karl Lambour, a fellow swine who offered to host last FridayΓÇÖs tasting to coincide with the visit of Dominique.

We kicked off with a tasting of three vintages of The Constantia Saddle, Constantia GlenΓÇÖs three-variety Bordeaux blend. First up was the 2007, which is currently on the market, followed by the unlabelled 2008 and 2009.

So why are we not talking about just another red blend here?

First of all, South AfricaΓÇÖs oldest winemaking region has been really impressive in its red wine offerings over the past six, seven years. Groot Constantia Shiraz and Pinotage, EagleΓÇÖs Nest Shiraz, Buitenverwachting Cabernet Franc and Klein Constantia Marlbrook consistently rock-up in my annual top 20 list. I love the pure, bright and more-ish fleshy flavours of Constantia red wines. No heat, fynbos or mint, and wood is used judiciously in most cases ΓÇô a fact proven even in the young wines.

Constantia Glen has made no bones about its lofty ambitions, which is good. I dig the ΓÇ£if youΓÇÖve got it, flaunt itΓÇ¥ philosophy. ThereΓÇÖs obviously a bit of tom behind the venture, everyone working there has clean crispy shirts, pricey haircuts and friendly white smiles, and Lambour is a winemaker of the convincingly opinionated variety.

Karl Lambour

Throw in a Bordeaux consultant whose family happened to own Cheval Blanc, and the expectations are lofty.

Well, it comes together in the wines. We are in talking-the-talk and walking-the-walk territory.

Constantia Glen’s 2007 The Constantia Saddle is a truly unctuous wine, and drinking it is like kissing one of Dominique’s (female) cellar-hands after she has returned from a trip to an exotic destination. A decadent glow of winey fruit has surprising whiffs of spice and perfume, Bordeaux-style beauty one tends to have forgotten about in a current Shiraz-Tanat-Carignan-Mourvèdre obsessed industry.

The make-up is Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. New wood for nine months. Then blended. Back into the barrel for two-and-something months.

Getting back to the vineyard, Karl explains how vines are opened up, leaving a few paltry leaves per vine to ensure shade-free ripeness, thus booting green, minty flavours back to where they came from.

I loved this wine, but the 2008 was even better. Here there was a bit of a perky peppery grip which made the finish longer, although it may even out with bottle-aging.

The other three wines were three vintages of the premium Constantia Glen Red Blend, with all five Bordeaux varieties now deployed. The 2007 is currently on the market – 32 % Merlot, 27 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 18 % Malbec, 11.5 % Cabernet Franc and 11.5 % Petit Verdot. And with the hefty addition of Malbec and Petit Verdot, one need not ask how this wine differs to the Saddle.

While ΓÇ£bigΓÇ¥ and ΓÇ£fullΓÇ¥ are tags hastily deployed to pile New World wines into one bag, there is still a very Old World respect for power.

Power having a religiously positive connotation, and in my French meanderings it is employed when great wines are described.

With its first red vintage only being the recent 2007, it is obviously not yet possoble to ascertain whether Constantia GlenΓÇÖs Red Blend is going to show its current power in the long run. But at this stage, the red blend is showing signs of greatness.

The red fruit heart from the Merlot and Cabernet Franc spurts unadulterated clean, fresh flavours. Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Malbec brood like a hulking rugby front row, adding a beautiful strength.

It is a terrific wine, a harmony of grace and power ΓÇô like a Steinway piano being pushed around by a bunch of female ice-hockey players.

The 2008 still showed a hint of rugged tannins, but everything else was there. But the 2009 is going to be the big one, with a greater accent on Petit Verdot and a brooding darkness in the colour.

History continues to be made in an historical wine region.