South Africa Diary: Back to the Cape
Six years later, a return visit to South Africa's vineyards and wineries
Posted: Jan 16, 2013 12:30pm ET
Update: To follow James Molesworth's entire South Africa trip, including his tasting notes from each winery, see the day-by-day listing at the bottom of this page.
I'm loading
up on espresso in the Swiss Air lounge, waiting for my flight to Johannesburg
and then on to Cape Town. It's my first trip to South Africa since 2007, and it's safe to say things
have changed since then.
The
country's vineyard base has grown 20 percent since 1994, when the end of
apartheid brought new opportunity to a wine industry that has a long history of
production but had been cut off from the world during the country's politically difficult times. South Africa's wine exports have continued to
grow, setting a record with 417 million liters of wine sent abroad in 2012,
according to Wines of South Africa, the non-profit organization responsible for promoting the country's wines. Much of that is bulk
wine, but there's also growth in the premium bottled wine category. Despite the
number of growers dropping since my last visit, from 4,000 to 3,500, the number
of operating wineries has crept up, from 560 to 582, according to South Africa Wine Industry Information & Systems, a wine
industry–funded body which tracks statistics.
Total
exports to the U.S. continue to hover around 1 million cases—small vis-à-vis other countries or even individual labels such as Australia's Yellow Tail—but
there's plenty of good wine to choose from if you're willing to dig around in
the marketplace.
Syrah,
Cabernet Sauvignon and Chenin Blanc continue to lead the way in general for
South African wines, along with Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. These blue-chip
varietals should be familiar to American wine lovers, making exploration of
South African wine relatively easy. Regulations on production, including origin
and grape blends, are strict as well, so when you see something listed
on the label, you know what you're getting. The most difficult thing about
South African wine might be trying to say Boekenhoutskloof three times fast. No
worries though if you can't. The wine is good.
If you're new to South African wine, you can get
caught up on with our ABCs of the Cape.
And you can reference my tasting report from last year
to get caught up on the best South African wines currently in the U.S. market
I'll be
traveling around the Cape for the next two weeks, visiting wineries throughout
Stellenbosch, the Cape's wine center, as well as Paarl, the frontier-like
Swartland, lush verdant sector of Constantia and out to Walker Bay and beyond.
They drive on the left side of the road on the Cape, so I've hired a driver.
That way I can focus on the vineyards and the people behind the wines rather
than fiddling with a GPS. For the next few weeks I'll be out in the vineyards kicking the dirt and getting to know what goes into the wines,
technically and spiritually, via the producers who put the hard work in. So
follow along here on the blog for notes on the producers I visit with, along with
my Twitter and Instagram feeds for additional snippets, pictures
and occasionally witty one-liners. As always, if you have questions, post them
here or to my forthcoming blogs and I will try to get back to everyone in due time.
I'm excited
for this trip. In the words of Rakim, "It's been a long time." Not only can't I wait to see how things
have changed, but I'm looking forward to my first kudu steak in a few years. As
they say on the Cape, it should be lekker good.
James Molesworth's South Africa Diary
Get tasting notes and more from each winery James Molesworth visits in South Africa by following his WineSpectator.com members-only blog.
Day 1: Thelema
Wine Spectator senior editor James Molesworth made his first stop in South Africa at Thelema to tour the vineyards and taste with winemaker Rudi Schultz. In a video, Schultz explains how the cover crop works in the vineyards.
Day 1: Bartinney
Following his visit to Thelema, Molesworth crossed the road to Rose Jordaan's Bartinney winery on Banhoek Mountain, where winemaker Ronell Wiid continues improving the wines at this up-and-coming Stellenbosch winery.
Day 1: Reyneke
Johan Reyneke gives Molesworth and up close and personal look at his estate's biodynamic techniques, including the old barrels full of e-mail-eating earthworms.
Day 2: Glenelly
Molesworth begins his second day on the Cape with a visit to May-Eliane de
Lencquesaing's Glenelly, where the young operation is improving by the
vintage under the winemaking skills of Bordeaux-trained Luke
O'Cuinneagain.
Day 2: De Morgenzon
De Morgenzon winemaker Carl van der Merwe thinks the South African wine industry is too concerned with following trends and says the Cape will only succeed by leading the way with the distinct wines it makes best, Chenin Blanc and Syrah in particular.
Day 2: Raats Family Wines
Vintner Bruwer Raats is experimenting with viticultural techniques seen nowhere else on the Cape.
Day 3: Kanonkop
South Africa's signature red grape variety, Pinotage, makes a tough wine to love, but winemaker Abrie Beeslaar at Kanonkop is surprising critics with his pure, focused expressions of Pinotage.
Day 3: Rust en Vrede
Molesworth visits one of the Cape's top red wine estates, Rust en Vrede (now home to one of South Africa's best restaurants as well), and tastes a lineup of exciting Cabernets and Syrahs with winemaker Coenie Snyman and owner Jean Engelbrecht.
Day 3: Ernie Els Wines
Golfer Ernie Els' Stellenbosch estate continues to expand, with experienced Cape winemaker Louis Strydom overseeing the day-to-day operation.
Day 4: De Trafford
At the top of one of the Cape's most jarring roads lie some of its most compelling wines.
Day 4: Ken Forrester
An afternoon tasting Cape Chenin Blancs and Rhône-style reds with the charming, bow-tied Ken Forrester.
Day 5: Boekenhoutskloof
At Boekenhoutskloof in Franschoek, the most compelling wine comes from mutated 111-year-old Sémillon vines, which produce both red and white grapes.
Day 5: Anthonij Rupert
Johann Rupert's renamed L'Ormarins estate is making world-class wine.
Day 6: Mullineux
In the Swartland, a new brand of winemakers is shaking things up, including Chris and Andrea Mullineux.
Day 6: A.A. Badenhorst Family
Adi Badenhorst is a fun-loving, mutton chop–sideburned, pony-tailed cowboy with a hipster vibe, barrel chest and a constant, infectious laugh. If anyone embodies the free-wheeling spirit of the Swartland, it's Badenhorst.
Day 6: Sadie Family
Eben Sadie marches to his own beat, and his new lineup of single-vineyard wines are each unique on the Cape.
You can follow James Molesworth on Twitter, at twitter.com/jmolesworth1, and Instagram, at instagram.com/jmolesworth1.
I'm interested to know how chenin blanc is doing. Although popular when made available in Ontario, typically in the $15 range, I have not found these to demonstrate much varietal typicity (too much oak in some instances?), particularly when contrasted with their Loire counterparts.
Oh, and while you're there, see if you can hit up a Carnivore restaurant, maybe come up with pairing ideas for the assortment of game meats!