cape wine 2022

Four hundred years of catching up to do

Black ownership of Cape wineries is happening, but the challenges are huge

By Graham Holter

Why aren’t there more black faces in the South African wine industry? It’s a question that has been put to Cape winemakers ever since the end of apartheid.

It’s asked with the best of motivations. But in one crucial aspect it misses the point. Black people have been involved since the very beginning. It’s just that their names did not appear above the door.

Making sense of South Africa’s postapartheid racial settlement is not something that can be achieved by parachuting a white European journalist into a Cape Town exhibition hall for a three-day trade event. But there is a striking contrast, that only the most incurious mind could ignore, between the colour of the skin of those pouring the wines, and that of the people clearing away the empty glasses.

That’s not to imply that the winemakers at the show want it to be this way. Or to suggest that there are no black people running the stands. But when I attended my first Cape Wine expo, back in 2002, British journalists who demanded to know why so few black wineries were in evidence were told they were perhaps expecting too much too soon. Two decades on, looking around the exhibition space, it would take a keen eye to spot signs of progress.

At last month’s Cape Wine show, Wines of South Africa organised a seminar titled Black Excellence, hosted by Africa market manager Matome Mbatha. It was a chance to hear about four genuine success stories involving black-owned wineries, and to understand the struggles involved in building such businesses from scratch.

“There have always been black people farming these vineyards,” says Wade Sander of Brunia Wines in Stanford, Western Cape. “This is not a new thing.”

Paul Siguqa is the founder of Klein Goederust in Franschhoek. “Our biggest inspiration is our parents, the farm labourers,” he says. “You would go to all the wine shows, all the awards shows, and the accolades would go to the farm owner and the winemaker, and never the person that works the land.

“My mother used to say that in South Africa, you have the farm owners: they talk about intergenerational wealth. On the other side, you have the farm workers. We talk about intergenerational labour. And at some stage that needed to change.”

Sander makes the same point. The challenge now, he argues, “is about transitioning from black participation to black ownership … being involved in the entire value chain”.

Sander himself has been a winemaker since leaving high school and now farms 17 hectares of his own land, which he converted to organic viticulture. Siguqa is the proud owner of “the first and only 100% black-owned farm in Franschhoek”, a statement he says he finds rather bittersweet.

“South Africa has been free for 28 years,” he says. “Why did it take such a long time for [black people] to be farmers?

“The answer to that is purely our history. The history of oppression, the history of apartheid, and the history of segregation. Segregation went a lot deeper than depriving people of economic opportunity. It went as far as preventing people from having interpersonal relationships; to me being able to farm with my neighbours in an environment where we support each other.

“Land is the biggest barrier to black people participating in the industry. It took me 15 years to save enough money to buy what was a totally rundown farm.

“In my beautiful valley of Franschhoek you pay up to a million rand per hectare, and we’re talking about farming land, so that’s really expensive.”

Wade Sander had a similar struggle to find a suitable plot that was within budget. “We basically went from coast to coast; Swartland, all the way through Stellenbosch. In most of the more established wine regions and wine routes, there was no chance that we could afford land.”

Ntsiki Biyela is originally from KwaZulu-Natal, a province noted for sugar cane and bananas but not grapes. She started Aslina Wines in 2016, having taken advantage of a scholarship to attend university in Stellenbosch. Her wine course was in Afrikaans, a language that she struggled with. But this only strengthened her resolve to complete her degree.

Biyela is a board member of Pinotage Youth Development Academy, which trains young South Africans for careers in the

Black people have been involved in the Cape wine industry since its inception

wine industry. In many cases they already live in the Cape winelands, but don’t necessarily feel like stakeholders in the wine industry before they sign up to the academy.

Biyela talks about the young people who she has helped to mentor: “They didn’t know anything about wine and, worse than that, were living among the industry people [with] that feeling that they don’t belong here”.

The academy is playing its part in correcting this. “We just celebrated our 10-year anniversary,” Biyela says, “and it was fantastic to see all these young people who are now working in different jobs and being successful in their own right. And actually making a difference.”

Rüdger van Wyk is an acclaimed producer of cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay at his Kara-Tara Wines estate in Stellenbosch. He got his first break with the Cape Winemakers Guild protégé programme, which immersed him in wine and gave him the chance to visit wine regions in France.

“When I got back I had the opportunity to be employed by Stark-Condé wines as assistant winemaker,” he says. “Jose Condé has actually played a massive role in my life as a mentor.” Condé has a stake in the business, and provides useful access to export distribution networks.

It’s daunting for young black winemakers like van Wyk to break into an industry that has already had nearly 400 years to establish itself. Paul Siguqa at Klein Goederust talks about the risks involved in starting from scratch and waiting for the investment in land, vines, equipment and people to start paying back. “I cannot afford to make any mistake, being a first-generation farmer,” he says. He was not too proud to ask a neighbouring winemaker for advice and mentorship, a request he says was received warmly.

Van Wyk picks up the point. “Seeing fourth, fifth, sixth-generation farmers, I already knew that I was behind, you know? I needed to start somewhere but I also wanted to make the best. I wanted to work with the best and learn from the best in South Africa.”

The seminar is brimming with positive energy. The speakers, and even some of the attendees making points from the floor, are greeted by warm applause. It’s easy to leave the room with the feeling that real change is underway. Official figures report that, as of 2002, South Africa has 82 black-owned wine brands (out of around 2,600 producers in the country as a whole) and 71 black economic empowerment farmers. There are 313 hectares of black-owned vineyards supported with technical assistance. There are bursaries and training schemes that seem to be making a difference, and the effects will doubtless become apparent in the coming years, maybe even as soon as the next Cape Wine.

But perhaps, just as we were told back in 2002, we should not expect too much too soon. Back in my hotel room, on a news channel, a regional politician is quietly but forcefully reminding his audience that his community still does not have the promised access to basic amenities. All the time this remains the case, he insists, the struggle for equality, which many assumed would have ended in the mid 1990s, must continue.

We’re rightly impatient for a fairer racial balance in the Cape wine industry, and perhaps the scales are beginning to tilt, just a little. But this is a complicated country. Many of its black citizens still yearn for proper access to drinking water. Wine must seem like the most distant of dreams.

Five talking points from Cape Wine 2022

1. South Africa needs fairer prices for its wines

At the previous Cape Wine, in 2018, Wines of South Africa reported that about a quarter of the country’s grape growers had left the industry in the past decade, mainly because their businesses were unprofitable. Covid restrictions have created acute difficulties for Cape wine producers in recent years, but there’s a structural problem that predates the pandemic.

South Africa entered the international market as a supplier of bargain-priced wine and since then its farmers have struggled to achieve fair, and in some cases even break-even, prices for their fruit, even as the reputation of Cape wines has soared.

Erik Laan of The Vineking in Surrey says: “The quality of their wines is simply getting increasingly better. And dry goods costs are rising significantly.

“The South African wine industry feels its wines are being sold too cheaply – something they have argued for some time. Prices will have to go up over the coming years.”

Nik Darlington of Graft Wine Co already sees movement. “Prices have certainly risen since my last visit in 2019, finally, and they needed to for the sake of winemakers and sustainability of grape growing alike,” he says.

2. Chenin Blanc just gets better and better

It’s possible to taste your way through several dozen Cape Chenins and not find any two that are alike. Not only is Chenin South Africa’s most planted white variety, but the country has more Chenin planted than the rest of the world put together. Long gone are the days when the wines invited comparisons with rivals from the Loire. In fact, some winemakers think there’s a good case for a more enthusiastic reclaiming of the old local name, Steen, to accentuate the individuality, and confidence, of the South African style. But how to define that style? Broadly, the flavour spectrum ranges from zesty to fruity to buttery but there are thousands of nuances in between. For white wine lovers, especially those on a budget, Cape Chenin always offers something that fits the bill.

3. Producers are having fun with their wines

There’s a tangible restless energy in South Africa’s wine scene. Producers could be excused for taking a bit of a breather and allowing export markets to catch up with the fruits of their recent labours. Instead, the Cape industry is brimming with new ideas and experimentation.

Hal Wilson of Cambridge Wine Merchants was delighted to encounter variations on “skin contact, whole bunch and carbonic maceration, amphora, concrete egg and qvevri ageing, more foudres and old wood, reductive and oxidative fermentation and ageing, and the use of SO2 during and after ageing”.

He adds: “That’s a big change from oenology-degree orthodoxy, and probably not embraced to the same extent anywhere else in the world. There are different outcomes, for sure, but not the divisions among winemakers and commentators that I am accustomed to seeing.”

4. More local expression

“A big theme of recent years has been growing interest in regional flavours,” says Nik Darlington of Graft, “whether at larger Wine of Origin level or drilling down to the smaller wards and, in rare instances, single vineyards.

“For example, I managed to spend quite a bit of time with winemakers from Breedekloof and Hemel-en-Aarde. They’re poles apart in almost every respect, the latter steadfastly terroirdriven and premium-focused from its inception, the former grounded in larger co-operatives and bulk wine – but, like many other regions, taking the bold but necessary steps down the road of premiumisation.”

Darlington adds: “The best winemakers have been banging the terroir drum for years, of course, but I can see this feeding through to all levels because it is something South Africa, with its rich geological and microclimatic diversity, can do so well.”

5. New superstar winemakers

Nobody thinks that South Africa’s winemaking royalty is about to be dethroned anytime soon. David & Nadia, Chris and Andrea Mullineux, Eben Sadie, Adi Badenhorst, Chris Alheit … these names, and many more, are clearly at the top of their game and continue to innovate and surprise. But new names are joining them. The unassuming Jean Smit of Damascene, hailed by Jamie Goode as South Africa’s most exciting winemaker, is crafting world-class wines from some of the Cape’s most exceptional sites. Syrah maestro Duncan Savage, Tim Atkin’s Cape winemaker of the year, is really hitting his stride. Sakkie Mouton, whose first vintage was in 2018, is developing a devoted fan base with his maritime-influenced varietals from barren vineyards overlooking the Atlantic. If jealousies and rivalries are creeping in, these certainly didn’t show at Cape Wine. Indeed, the togetherness and bonhomie among South Africa’s winemakers is one of the industry’s most enduring, and attractive, characteristics.

the spirit of artisans

What are the ingredients of the perfect Armagnac? Janneau cellarmaster Jean-Noël Dollet explains his methodology with a group of independents, and it’s every bit as complex as you might imagine

Founded in 1851, Janneau has been crafting fine Armagnac for the better part of two centuries now.

A reference point in the Armagnac production zone between Bordeaux and Toulouse in Gascon south west France, Janneau is renowned for its relentless focus on quality, with an artisanal approach that makes for some truly distinctive and beautifully poised Armagnac that are among the world’s finest spirits.

Today, the responsibility for maintaining Janneau’s high standards lies in the hands of the company’s talented cellarmaster, Jean-Noël Dollet.

With experience working at some of the leading names in whisky and Cognac, Dollet has a unique perspective on what it takes to make fine Armagnac – a perspective he shared with an audience of wine merchants in a fascinating online tasting of five highlights of the Janneau Armagnac range, held in association with The Wine Merchant in October.

It starts in the vineyard

Dollet began the tasting by outlining the complex range of variables that shape the flavour, texture and quality level of Armagnac.

First comes the terroir and climate. Dollet explained that the Armagnac growing area sits at the confluence of three climatic influences: Atlantic, Mediterranean and Continental. Generally speaking, that makes for a growing season of warm days and cool nights that is perfect for producing ripe but balanced and aromatic white grapes.

The region is further differentiated by its three sub-regions, each of which, Dollet said, also has its own micro-climate, which in turn makes for a slightly different style of base wine.

Sheltered by the Landes Forest in the west, the largest sub-region (with 3,480ha) is Bas-Armagnac. With its more pronounced Atlantic influence, and its soils a mix of sand, silt and clay, it tends to create slightly lighter eaux de vie, Dollet said. The clay-limestone of Armagnac Ténarèze (1,588ha) in the centre of the region produces more robust styles, and the limestone of eastern Haut-Armagnac (with just 68ha in production) leans to the fruity and delicate.

Then you have the grape varieties. Unusually in the context of world-class grape eaux de vie, Armagnac producers have four varieties to choose from and, again, each adds something different to the Janneau blending palette, characters which in turn are shaped by the vineyards where they are grown. Ugni Blanc is the relatively neutral mainstay, joined by Baco 22A, which brings richness and roundness, elegant Folle Blanche and fresh Colombard.

Behind the scenes at Janneau

As Dollet said, however, while the raw ingredients are crucial, Armagnac is not the same as wine. And it’s in the Janneau cellars where the magic really starts to happen. One of the defining features of the Janneau approach is its use of two distillation methods: continuous distillation and double-distillation.

As Dollet explained, continuous distillation, which is the most common in Armagnac, employs the area’s distinctive column still, the Armagnac alembic, creating a rich and powerful eau de vie with an alcohol content between 52% and 60%.

Double distillation, which made a return to the region after being banned for almost 70 years following an intervention from Janneau in 1972, is a more complex operation.

Using a Charentais pot still, it requires two successive distillations to create an

intensely fruity eau-de-vie of 72% abv.

The twin methods add yet another level of complexity to Janneau’s blends even before they begin their years- or decadeslong mellowing journey in 400-litre French oak casks. Dollet said he likes to source his barrels from small cooperages, both for the attention to detail they offer, and to allow him greater flexibility on how those casks are made, specifically the level of toasting.

Of course, it is the time in wood, and the quality of the wood, that shapes so much of the finished spirit’s character. But Dollet stressed that time out of wood is no less important. Uniquely in Armagnac, Janneau uses an aeration process to maintain the ideal level of oxygenation in which the barrels of the same lot are regularly emptied and mixed together before being divided and replaced in new casks.

For Dollet, the process is crucial in maintaining the freshness, balance and harmony that are among Janneau’s defining characteristics.

Quinta do Panascal, source of acclaimed single-quinta ports from Fonseca

Cellarmaster Jean-Noël Dollet

Janneau XO & Janneau XO 20 ans Blend

Janneau’s superb XO is a blend of single and double distillation, of Ugni Blanc and Baco and of Bas-Armagnac and Armagnac-Ténarèze. Dollet says that he usually ages the lighter Bas-Armagnac eaux de vie for less time than the more robust Ténarèze components, which need longer in the cellar. The youngest components have spent 10 years in barrel, while the oldest have been ageing for more than 30 years. It’s amber and slightly brown in colour, and has a nose of candied fruits, prune, caramel and peppermint, while the palate is intense with flavours of dulce de leche, sweet almond milk cake, more candied fruits and a peppery finish.

The XO 20 ans, meanwhile, uses only single distillation. The youngest aged component is 20 years old, while the oldest has been ageing more than 32 years. It has a deep amber colour and a nose of walnuts, hazelnuts, vanilla and ginger, while in the mouth it’s silky and filled with candied fruits, bitter orange and Sichuan pepper spice.

Janneau 1984 Vintage Armagnac & Janneau 1968 Vintage Armagnac

Dollet says what he likes about Janneau’s single-vintage Armagnacs is that they are all different, with each vintage being a blend of subregion, distillation methods and grape varieties, while retaining the same “family personality” found throughout the Janneau range. Janneau has vintage stocks going back to 1872, and Janneau releases are always at least 20 years old, but Dollet stressed that the key to quality is not just age. The ageing has to be managed, with the same aeration process that marks out the rest of the portfolio.

One important difference between the vintage Armagnacs and the XO and VSOP, Dollet added, is the abv: 43% and 40% respectively. According to Dollet, the powerful character of the vintage styles is more appealing to serious connoisseurs who prefer a higher abv, while the blends are targeted at a wider audience who tend to prefer lower alcohol levels.

The 1984, a blend of Ugni Blanc and Baco from Bas-Armagnac and Armagnac-Ténarèze, using both distillation methods, has an arresting sweetness with liquorice and acacia honey, exquisite balance and a long, liquorice-inflected finish.

The 1968, which is 100% Baco from Bas-Armagnac, has taken on a wonderful deep amber colour with green tints, and a nose inflected with vanilla and rancio notes and a rich, smooth palate filled with prunes, and great length.

merchant feedback

Tom Brady, The Oxford Wine Company

“A wonderful tasting and a fantastic insight into the Janneau range. The use of a classic alambic charentais to add weight, depth and complexity to the portfolio really helps set these Armagnacs apart from a lot of their competitors. A real feature is the orange zest and sultana notes which crop up time and again and offer a point of difference compared to the traditional fig and raisin notes I’m used to in this category.

“I was particularly impressed by the freshness of the XO 20 ans with its delicate orange blossom notes perfectly in line with the richness of ginger, baking spice and dark chocolate. The VSOP was rich, creamy and packed with candied orange zest. I often find Armagnacs of this age slightly sharp in texture but again this was characteristically smooth and mouth-coating despite the spirit’s youthfulness.”

Shane Slater, Sheldons Wine Cellars, Shipston-on-Stour

“Our hosts gave us an excellent introduction to Armagnac, the grape varieties grown, the characteristics of the three main growing areas and how each affects the quality and flavour of the eaux de vie. It was very informative and allowed me to position Armagnac against Cognac and other grape-spirit products. “The first taste of the VSOP set the tone – a lovely smooth liquid, flavours of orange peel, clove and other spices. A nice warm feeling on the back of the throat but no alcohol burn: a sign of a well-made spirit. “The XO was a step up in intensity and depth of flavour. The two single vintage expressions were fascinating to try. Both were distinctive in their own way, showing characteristics of their grape varieties and growing locations, and that age is not the only driver of quality.

“My favourite was the XO 20 Year Old, rich and smooth, with citrus fruits, caramel, chocolate and spice on the palate. A real treat. Thanks to Jean-Noël Dollet from Janneau for for demonstrating that wellmade Armagnac is an excellent and often more affordable alternative to Cognac.”

Sponsored by Fells Visit fells.co.uk or armagnac-janneau.com for more information

Qvevri is having a bit of a moment, probably about time too considering the technology has been around for all of 8,000 years. Although most prolific in contemporary, often independent wine shops, and on the lists of forward-thinking wine bars and restaurants, qvevri wines are dripping into more traditional discourse too. Even Majestic stocks them.

These large clay pots buried underground originate in Georgia and are being adopted all over the world for fermentation and élevage. They are not cheap, or easy to clean, or easy to transport. So why bother?

Qvevri appeals to the artisan. Mud is meticulously applied from the bottom up, each layer being allowed to set before the next is applied. There is no mould, and the best tools are one’s own hands. Terroir freaks can also get their hands dirty. Much like oak, the provenance of the raw material can have a significant impact on the final product: yes, there is a mud quality spectrum.

At three months per pot, the patience required matches that of winemaking, and every qvevri is romantically unique. They are the ultimate vessel for vignerons who consider themselves philosophers first and winemakers second. Such people are not in short supply.

You need only enter a wine shop or restaurant to see an increased presence of esoteric, indigenous grape varieties. These provide a fairly unquenchable checklist for thirsty wine nerds to taste their way through and offer a point of difference for consumers. Qvevri can fill a similar role; sparking conversation and opening the door for new vinous experiences. It also has science on side.

Counter Culture Qvevri wines aren’t just for hipsters. They truly reflect the winemaker’s art

vessel promotes microbiological streams that circulate lees and other sediment through and around the wine. This movement creates a textural oddity. Imagine the creaminess experienced from lees-stirring but without the yoghurty, bready aromas that usually go with it. For me this is the USP. Texture and mouthfeel combined with purity of fruit? Yes please.

Qvevri use does not automatically create a particular wine style. I have tasted white, red, even rosé wines produced in qvevri. The creamy-not-creamy sensation is most detectable in the cuvées lower in phenolics, namely whites and rosés. But the traditional and most famous use is for the production of amber wines – the original orange wine, or orange wine before it was cool. Hipster purists please form an orderly queue.

Compared to stainless steel and, one might argue, oak barrels, qvevri is a more accurate representation of the grit, dedication and sacrifice necessary to make truly great wine; at least that’s what I tell the hipsters who come into the shop. Combine orange wine’s inextricable pairing to the current natural wine frenzy and – poof – qvevri is set to make waves for quite some time.

Admittedly, there will be a large contingent of the wine drinking population who have not heard of, or do not care about, this comeback of ancient techniques. But with qvevri-aged wines now coming out of Rioja, Tuscany and even Bordeaux, even the most classical of the classic wine world ought to be paying attention.

Conor Strutt is general manager of Peckham Cellars in south London

The porosity of qvevri depends on how it has been treated and whether it is covered with concrete. In Georgia, there is a raging and ideological debate around the benefits and drawbacks of this. Concrete will affect the ingress of oxygen and therefore the final style of the wine. Think barrique vs botti.

One effect is guaranteed, though: convection currents. The shape of the

Reggio Emilia Qvevri at Telavi, Kakheti, Georgia

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Aleading influence in the Maule Valley’s renaissance as a fine wine producer, Las Veletas is a traditional Chilean estate making expressive, award-winning red wines from very old vines.

One of the most exciting developments in the recent history of Chilean wine is the revival of one of the country’s traditional winemaking heartlands: the Maule Valley.

As Rafael Tirado, winemaker and partner at rising-star Maule producer Las Veletas says, “The history of the Maule is that it always had the biggest plantations, but that had been forgotten. It was considered a place for bulk wine. But our passion at Las Veletas – our idea – was to recover the image of the Maule. And today it is now considered alongside Maipo or Colchagua or Casablanca as one of the best areas in Chile to make wine.”

Tirado, and his partner at Las Veletas, Raúl Dell’Oro, have played a key role in turning around the Maule’s reptuation. But they always knew the area was capable of something special. Tirado, one of Chile’s most respected winemakers, had come to the region in the early 1990s, “because I was really curious about different places and try to discover other options and other places that increase the diversity and complexity in Chile”.

His search initially took him to the eastern side, and the cooler sites in the Andes. Dell’Oro, meanwhile, had been working the land on the west, towards the Pacific, and the dry area of San Javier. Soon the two had teamed up to form Las Veletas and make the most of a climate that, with its cooling evening breezes coming in off the ocean moderating the sunny, dry Mediterranean climate, was perfect for cultivating balanced red wines.

Not the least of San Javier’s attractions for both partners was the stock of very old País and Carignan vines that thrive in the region’s granite and clay soils. “We are not sure exactly how old they are, but they are at least 80 years old and some maybe as much as 100 years old,” Tirado says.

“For me Las Veletas is all about searching and discovering and recovering forgotten places in Chile, and it was a fantastic to discover these old plantations.”

Tirado clearly loves working with both varieties. “The problem in Chile is that a lot of the time people have tried to make País like Cabernet Sauvignon, with a lot of pump-overs and extraction,” he says. “We understand that País is different. The tannins in the skins can be a little rustic, but I love the tannins in the stems: so now we have 30% to 50% whole-cluster. And I don’t do anything apart from put it in the tank and keep an eye on it. “I find a fresh, fresh wine, so drinkable, with nice grip of tannin in the mouth, full of flavours and aromas, nice fruit, and – something very different about País – earthy flavours: it really expresses the soil character.”

There’s a similar winemaking approach to the Carignan. “Carignan is great: the power, the colour, the high acidity, the soft tannin, but easy to drink,” Tirado says. “The old plantations are fantastic: it’s so easy to make a good wine. It’s funny because, with other varieties, you work and you complicate a lot to get the mouth feel and the tannin you want, but with Carignan, it’s all go. Just ferment and go.”

The approach is clearly working. Launched this year, the company’s latest project, Almaule, an unoaked singlevarietal País from a plot of 60-plus-yearold vines, earned 97 points from Decanter, the latest in a string of awards and endorsements from critics including James Suckling, Tim Atkin, Robert Parker and Patricio Tapia.

The plaudits have been evenly distributed across the Las Veletas portfolio which takes in eight red wines. Tirado is particularly impressed by the performance of Cabernet Franc in the San Javier terroir. “It grows beautifully; the colour, the tannin, the elegance and the acidity,” Tirado says. “The blend with Cabernet Sauvignon works really well. The wines are much fresher and more drinkable, with more acidity and more fruit, but softer in the mouth, than in the Maipo.”

The two Cabernets are among the new plantings overseen by Tirado and Dell’Oro to complement the old-vine Carignan and País. The estate also has Carmenere, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah, Petit Verdot, Mourvedre, Cabernet Franc and Viognier. The combination offers Tirado plenty of options for more experimentation as Las Valetas – and Maule – cements a reputation at the forefront of fine Chilean wine.

Making magic in Maule

Rafael Tirado and the team at Las Veletas are changing perceptions of a familiar region, making authentic, expressive wines from ancient vines

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Las Veletas is available in the UK for the first time, imported by Frederick’s Wine Co. Visit frederickswine.com