South Africa Scoops World Wine Awards

South African wines have trounced all international competition in both the red and white single varietal categories at the 2009 Decanter World Wine Awards, held in London under the auspices of Decanter magazine.

While the results are released to the trade earlier in the year, the rest of the world has to wait for the traditional September award issue to find out which are the wines to seek out.

Kaapzicht Steytler Pinotage 2006 was named the world’s top red single varietal over £10 (R122), while Beaumont Wines Hope Marguerite 2008 took the trophy for the best single white varietal over £10.

South African wines scooped 11 regional trophies and 23 gold medals. Local wines also came home with 130 silver medals, 246 bronze medals, and 131 commended certificates.
Home-grown

A Brief History of Pinotage

South Africa’s own home-grown Pinotage grape variety has come into its own in recent years. The grape was created in 1925 by the chemist Abraham Izak Perold, also first professor of Viticulture and later Dean of Agriculture at Stellenbosch University in the Western Cape. Perold bred a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault, both varieties of Vitis vinifera, the common grape vine.

Cinsault is known as Hermitage in South Africa, hence the blending of the names of the two parents to form Pinotage.

The first Pinotage wine was made in 1941 by CT de Waal, a lecturer at the Elsenburg Agricultural College in the Stellenbosch district.

However, it was only in 1959 that a Pinotage from winemaker Pieter Krige “PK” Morkel of Bellevue estate won the first of many awards for the variety. Morkel’s wine took the coveted General Smuts trophy for the best young wine at that year’s Cape Young Wine Show (now known as the South African Young Wine Show).

Bellevue estate, still run by the Morkel family, continues to produce award-winning wines, among them the famous Pinotage.

Farmers subsequently stampeded to plant Pinotage vines, but even so the variety never quite took off until 1991 when Kanonkop’s Pinotage earned winemaker Beyers Truter the Winemaker of the Year award at the International Wine and Spirit competition in the UK. Truter was the first South African to achieve this.

Making history

Fittingly, Kaapzicht’s award for the Steytler Pinotage 2006 award comes 50 years after that first Cape Wine Show coup.

Kaapzicht estate lies between Stellenbosch and Kuils River and since 1946 has been in the capable hands of the Steytler family.

Kaapzicht’s reds are no strangers to international recognition. In 2004, at the International Wine and Spirits Competition in London, the estate’s Steytler Vision 2001 became the first Cape Blend (a 40% Pinotage blend) to win the title of overall world’s best red blend.

Grapes from those same vines have now been used to produce the 2009 Decanter winner. Kaapzicht Steytler Pinotage 2006 lay for two years in new French oak barrels before going to the bottle.

"Pinotage is a very versatile red wine variety,” commented cellarmaster Danie Steytler, “and the Kaapzicht Steytler Pinotage from those vineyards is a shining example of the serious, well-oaked, full-bodied style to be enjoyed with food, especially venison, red meat and traditional South African dishes and cheeses."

Decanter judges agreed, commending it for its “voluptuous, heady nose with very precise black fruits, plums, mocha and tar. Full-bodied and opulent in the mouth, ripe and supple fine-grained tannins with plenty of spice to enliven the finish”.

Made from the oldest vines

The winning white single varietal Beaumont Wines Hope Marguerite 2008 is a Chenin Blanc made, as the vineyard claims, only from fruit harvested from the oldest vines.

The winery is located in Bot River in the Western Cape’s Overberg region. For the past few years Beaumont has concentrated solely on producing Chenin Blanc, having discontinued its Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

The results speak for themselves. Named after the matriarch of the Beaumont clan, Hope Marguerite Beaumont, the winning wine, was glowingly described by Decanter judges as having a “stylish spicy floral character, supple orchard fruits, white almond and grass. Soft and broad on the palate, lifted citrus fruits with some glycerol and honey at the end”.

“Our Chenin really illustrates the diversity of the grape as well as its strong roots in the Beaumont soils,” commented winemaker Sebastian Beaumont.

Hope Marguerite is matured in 400l French oak barrels using only natural yeasts.

“We allow the grape to express itself in very hands-off wine-making – this has been the essence of the Hope Marguerite,” Beaumont added.

About Decanter and the World Wine Awards

Decanter magazine, the UK’s leading wine magazine, is sold in 92 countries and for the past six years has presented the prestigious World Wine Awards. A record 10 285 entries from 2 240 producers poured into the Decanter offices for the 2009 event, more than for any other wine event.

Wines compete according to region and in eight price brackets, ranging from less than £4.99 (R61) to over £40 (R487). Once the initial rating has been given, the gold medal-winning wines are re-tasted for confirmation, and then go forward to the regional taste-off.

The regional winners then compete for an array of international trophies, which are judged in two sections for each wine style, under £10 and over £10.

The judging panel is chaired by veteran British wine consultant and journalist Steven Spurrier, who is assisted by a number of regional chairs. This year the South African section was chaired by the respected John May, a senior wine master in the UK.

South African regional trophy winners:

Beaumont Wines Hope Marguerite 2008 - South African White Single Varietal over £10 Trophy

Bouchard Finlayson Galpin Peak, Pinot Noir 2008 - South African Pinot Noir over £10 Trophy

Cederberg Private Cellar Five Generations Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 - South African Red Bordeaux Varietal over £10 Trophy

Cederberg Private Cellar Cederberg Sauvignon Blanc 2008 - South African Sauvignon Blanc under £10 Trophy

Kaapzicht Estate Steytler Pinotage 2006 - South African Red Single Varietal over £10 Trophy

Paul Cluver Weisser Riesling Noble Late Harvest 2008 - South African Sweet over £10 Trophy

Perdeberg Rex Equus Shiraz 2007 - South African Red Rhone Varietal over £10 Trophy

Pongracz Desiderius 2001 - South African Sparkling over £10 Trophy

Rustenberg Chardonnay 2007 - South African Chardonnay over £10 Trophy

Schalk Burger & Sons Welbedacht Hat Trick 2006 - South African Red Blend over £10 Trophy

Swartland Winery Indalo Shiraz Nature's Way 2006 - South African Red Rhone Varietal under £10 Trophy

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This information is courtesy of MediaClubSouthAFrica.com and appeared as written above in a September 21 2009 article by Janine Erasmus. To see the original article, click here

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World's First Twitter-Enabled Tasting Booth- South African winery Noble Hill innovates!

The "World's First Twitter-Enabled Tasting Booth" was the headliner news from Noble Hill Wine Estate, a boutique vineyard and winery tucked between Kanonkop and Paarl Mountain in South Africa.

The winery proudly annouced that it was "ceding control of its brand to the public".


Alerted to this innovation by South African Wine News (http://www.wine.co.za/news/ ), we were interested in what can be done with the basic 140 characters in a Tweet, and this was it: Noble Hill Wine Estate launches the world's first Twitter-enabled tasting booth, ceding control of brand to the public.

The press release made some important points:

"If the 140 character blurb above seems like a foreign language, it's because it is written for the micro-blogging service Twitter which has gained a worldwide following including the likes of Oprah, Richard Branson, and Barack Obama to name a few. Twitter is used by celebrities and the proletariat alike to post short bursts about daily life, links and comments.


However Twitter took on a new role connecting the wine-loving public with a boutique South African producer at the WineX Festival in Cape Town, held from September 9 to 11.


The idea is simple: instead of using its booth to indoctrinate the public with pre-formed ideas about its wines, Noble Hill Wine Estate is ceding control of it's marketing message to wine-savvy festival-goers. Talkative sales reps will be replaced by a Twitter-enabled tasting booth that will let tasters post their comments, thoughts, and reactions directly to Twitter or via their smart phones. Tweets@noblehill or containing #winex keywords will be displayed real-time in large-format for all to see.


"Most luxury brands exercise draconian control over their message in order to sell their products. We're turning this idea on its head because, let's face it, wine drinkers are an educated and opinionated crowd and can already turn to forums like Spit or Swallow and other blogs to broadcast their experiences," said Director K. Austin Tillery. "Instead of ignoring this elephant in the room, we are embracing public opinion and letting it shape the direction and tone of our brand. We're not editing what people have to say; we're giving visitors a platform to share."


Prizes were awarded for the best Tweet of the Day each evening.


Useful Links:Noble Hill's Twitter stream - www.twitter.com/noblehill
The official Noble Hill web site - http://www.noblehill.com/
Rate and review South African wine farms - http://www.spitorswallow.co.za/
WineX Rand Merchant Bank Wine Festival official site - http://www.winex.co.za/


Noble Hill is a single-vineyard estate produces premium red and white wines sold in select restaurants and bottle stores in South Africa and abroad. Noble Hill has garnered international acclaim, including being recognized for producing the Best Merlot in the Paarl District by South African Terroir and winning Michelangelo International Gold and Silver Medals for its Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon.


All information courtesy of press release from Noble Hill.

Cape Dreams Brand Promotion leads with Water Conservation Notes

The Cape Dreams brand (to be launched in October by Heritage Link Brands) will be promoting the Rooiberg Winery Area's water conservation practices as part of the launch. What a smart thing for this group to do -- to attract US consumers to whom not only good wines, but sustainable practices, are important.

"Produced by: Rooiberg Winery Area, South Africa
Conserved: 6343 ha
Wine District: Robertson
Biodiversity highlights: Area conserved – 6343ha.

The natural area represents some 57.3% of the total land belonging to Rooiberg. An endangered, indigenous fish called the Breede River Redfin was discovered on one of the members farms, and a number of rare succulents and other plant species have been identified on some of the others.

First co-operative cellar to become a member of BWI in South Africa!
Rooiberg Winery near Robertson has made history by becoming the first co-operative winery in South Africa to achieve membership status with the Biodiversity and Wine Initiative (BWI).

They have achieved this by conserving valuable natural habitats on their member’s farms within an important succulent karoo region, and by embracing the principles of sustainable production.

Eight out of the 18 farms belonging to Rooiberg were selected as having the most conservation-worthy land and a letter of commitment was signed by each of the respective property owners and Rooiberg’s CEO, agreeing to not develop new vineyards on the pristine areas identified.

The 8 farms collectively contain some 6343 hectares of unploughed, natural land which represents 57.3% of the total area belonging to co-op (11 069ha). These are areas that have pristine lowland vegetation, wetlands, rivers or mountain regions.

The Breede River valley between Worcester and Ashton provides a remarkable meeting place for 3 major vegetation types namely Succulent Karoo, Renosterveld and Fynbos. This explains why the number of plant species found here is exceptionally higher than in other areas and cannot be matched anywhere in the world for a comparable arid region of the same size.

Preliminary surveys were made of flora, fauna and bird species on Rooiberg’s farms. One exciting finding was an endangered, indigenous fish called the Breede River Redfin (previously called Burchells Redfin), which is found only in a few, untouched Western Cape Rivers and is a superb indicator of river health. This special fish was discovered in the deeper pools of the upper Noree River in the Vinkrivier area."

This note was submitted by Selena Cuffe
Selena Cuffe is the President and CEO of Heritage Link Brands, LLC. She presides over the company's strategic and operational direction. With over 10 years of general management experience, she has served in key roles for United Airlines, Procter & Gamble, and the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE), overseeing initiatives for over 20 countries.

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Other Factors in South African Wine: Big Love?

Wine is not an island unto itself. Political events, weather, economy, safety (health, food, national) – all kinds of exogenous variables feed into consumer choices and perceptions. So news about Zuma of South Africa, the president with oh-so-many wives, certainly affects how we think in puritan America about South African wines.

Having spent several weeks recently in the CapeTown and Stellenbosch/Paarl area, I enjoyed more wines than I can remember. Even though I lifted a lot of glasses, somehow I missed out on the Zulu “Big Love” thing. Maybe next visit. But my overall impression of South AFrican wines is that they have New World tones with an Old World overlay.

In many ways, that sums up the market dynamics for South African wines too.

The recent Wine Business Monthly.com series of articles was intensely interesting to me. The article didn’t reach deeply into the mechanism of BEE – Black Economic Empowerment – the government mandate to staff more positions up and down the hierarchy of a winery and the wine industry itself – with black and colored workers, and also with women of color as a unique target group for more Economic Empowerment job formation.

I’m an old-fashioned liberal who did social work in my 20’s in the ghettos of Newark, NJ. I’m a firm believer in the need to break the cycle of poverty through economic programs. In my estimation, reparation is a good way to go, and that’s what BEE is, at core.

The South African wine industry is learning how to accommodate this mandated change in their workforce and management composition. This is happening on top of the usual agribusiness and marketing challenges that a wine industry faces.

But South Africans of all colors are a hardworking and determined people, and the wines will prevail. The Laduma program, wine tourism, wiser use of WOSA and USAPA marketing dollars will all add up.

And someday we hope to see South African wines in their own section of the shop or menu … instead of grouped into the “other imports” category. THAT’s the real challenge – getting out of “other”. I’m just not sure how many wives that will take to accomplish...

(Photo attribution: left, Pieter Bauermeister-afp-gettyimages; right AP/Jerome Delay)

Why is California Neglected by Wines of South Africa?

It's a long story, but it has to do with spending several weeks in and around Stellenbosch, talking to food scientists and others involved in the wine industry at Stellenbosch Universitat, going to tasting rooms in and around Stellenbosch, Paarl, Hermanus ... and finally ending in an office at WOSA (Wines of South Africa) to chat about promoting these wonderful wines in the USA.

It's been over a year of frustration now, scouring the racks at Jug Shop, BevMo, Wine Merchant, K&L, Safeway,SaveMart, Whole Foods, World Market etc etc and wondering... where the heck are they? Why is it that we have such anemic selections of South African wines here in California?

I even went so far as to organize a tasting of South African wines at a garden party on Russian Hill in South Africa.... just to see what 80 neighbors could find. The results were pretty darn sad.

Now, if you are any kind of well-rounded wine drinker, you know that these "new world wines made in an old world way" are superb. It might take a while to develop a palate for "Steen" (their word for Chenin Blanc), but there are some darn good Steens available in South Africa.

So how about it? How about putting some promotional oomph into the West Coast? Maybe the recent initiatives by the newly-formed group USAPA will finally get the fires lit here. In a way, it's sad that a second group is emerging to do the job in marketing ZA wines more aggressively to the USA, but, well, finally.... ! !