Intrepid means brave, fearless and bold according to the dictionary and was also the name of a recent South African wine tasting in London. Whilst I am not sure what exactly was brave, fearless or bold about these tastings…I am sure that there is a new community of wine producers with a global perspective making South Africa very appealing when looking for additions on to a wine list.
The South African wine industry is almost as old as the country is in European terms. The Dutch East India Company landed on the Cape of Good Hope in 1652 with instructions to develop a fort and vegetable garden for ships en route. The first vines were planted very soon afterwards.
Later, French and the British settlers went there developing both the wine industry and wider trade. History and family production, and therefore wine stories that appeal to consumers, the Cape, as it is known, has in abundance.
The development of the national co-operative K.W.V in the early 20th century stifled development and innovation. Wine became a commodity product until the end of apartheid in the early 1990’s. Most wine at that time was produced in the same fashion – with dour examples that were underwhelming compared to the bright fresh examples coming from Australia, New Zealand and then Europe.
Flying winemakers visited in the 90’s and slowly the industry started to travel much more. Although the predominate production regions remained the same. Stellenbosch, Paarl, Wellington and latterly Franschoek being the shop fronts to the massive production areas of Vrendendaal, Lutzville, Robertson, Swartland to name but a few.
In the last 10 years new regions have sprung up especially along the south coast of the Cape – Cape Agulhas, Walker Bay, Swellendam and all the way along to Plettenberg Bay (a full 7 hours drive from Cape Town by the way).
Mostly south of the Easterly N2 these regions are becoming wine production regions populated like an Australian or Californian wine region would be. Appealing to the middle classes, with the ‘getaway from the city within an hour or 2’ these regions are populated with wineries that have fine dining restaurants and shops to purchase attached. They offer high quality, premium wines in beautiful surroundings and a dream – yes life really could be like this! (try it and you will find it is a lot more difficult than it looks!)
At the same time it seems that South African wine is showing signs of growth in the Premium Hotel and Restaurant sector. According to the recently published Liberty Wines Premium On-Trade Wine report 2016 South Africa is ‘one to watch’. Volume is growing at just over 5% whereas value is growing at 13%. Their opinion is that this growth is driven by Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc.
Although it is interesting to note that premium on-trade market is growing fastest outside of London. Growing in both volume (c. 6%) and value (>11%), this eclipses London’s growth at <7% & >7% for the respective measures. Who would have thought it that post-Brexit the fine dining sector growth would be led by the regions!
So put it all together and what is to consider for our wine list?
Having been tasting, buying (commercially) and observing the S.A. wine industry for over 20 years, then a rough classification emerges into three levels.
There are the traditional wines from the traditional regions Meerlust, Groot Constantia, Steenberg and a number of others. They often feature their founding year in their marketing and the wines reflect a certain amount of that tradition.
Then there are quite a number of estates and brands founded or re-established in the 90’s and 00’s which reflected the new environment post apartheid and they come in different forms from the large winemaking outfits of DGB and Spier to more medium sized MAN Vintners and Diemersdal. There are many others.
The third tier is new, with wineries opening up almost as we speak. These are largely, but not exclusively south of the N2, as described above, and from the few that I have visited and tasted are producing globally competitive premium wines, which are only just emerging on to the market, many not here at all yet. Some current examples might be Hermanuspietersfontain (HPF for short), Creation Wines, and Bramon Wines from Plettenberg Bay. Don’t expect to see them immediately, but perhaps worth keeping an eye out for, and remember that you heard it here first!
Presuming that you know the grape varieties that work for your outlet, that new proposed wines themselves taste good and can represent value on your list, then be guided by the style and approach of the brand or winery. Do you want a more contemporary look and feel or something more traditional?
Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc are particularly good value for money from South Africa, especially if you are looking for Marlborough Sauvignon alternatives. Klein Zalze (traditional) is quite established here, something new is Allee Bleue (modern) Chenin Blanc.
And don’t bypass the reds. Pinotage is much loved by the ‘Saffers’, but is seldom my favourite. Try some of the Bordeaux blends (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Franc, Petit Verdot mxies) and the Syrah performs well. Meerlust Rubicon is a now rated as a classic wine from the Cape, whilst Boekenhoutskloof Syrah is also excellent.
Consider your list and what it is trying to say about your place and who it is appealing to, then pick the wines. If you pick the wines first, then I guarantee that you will end up with far more wines than you need and one hell of a confused answer.
South Africa has much to give a wine list and more than just good wine, also a depth of story and history that other countries would kill for.
Alistair Morrell
Hospitality & Catering News, Wine Content Executive