By Joseph Temple

No non-European country has a greater winemaking past than the Republic of South Africa.  For hundreds of years after the first Dutch settlers arrived, the country has experienced both highs and lows, emerging as one of the biggest wine producers in the world.  So have a look below at ten interesting facts that have led to this modern era for South African wines.

1. In 2015, with approximately 3,500 grape growers and 323,000 vineyard acres, South Africa was ranked the eighth world’s largest wine producer.

2. The first vines were planted in the 1650s by Dutch colonists on the Western Cape. Looking to establish an outpost for ships sailing to towards the East Indies, they quickly discovered that native grapes were inferior and asked for French vines to be sent by the Dutch East India Company.

3. In 1685, using French Muscat, Simon van der Stel planted vines of what became known as Constantia – the most popular fortified wine of the late eighteenth century, consumed by Russian czars, British monarchs, Frederick the Great, and Napoleon Bonaparte.

4. Following the devastation caused by both phylloxera and the Anglo-Boer War, a series of wine cooperatives that wielded enormous power for over a century were established throughout South Africa.

5. Despite over 300 years of winemaking, few in Europe and North America had tasted South African wine due to trade restrictions resulting from the country’s apartheid government. This all changed in the 1990s as democratic reform caused the sanctions to be lifted.

By Western_Cape_rural_education_districts [CC BY-SA 3.0 or GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons

6. The finest wines in South Africa are produced in the Coastal Region, located within the Western Cape, one of the Republic’s five major wine zones.

7. The five popular grape varietals are Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, & Syrah.

8. For years, Brandy was such an important part of the South African economy that the vast majority of grapes were white. Currently, white grapes represent 55% of all grapes grown in 2011.

9. Most South African vineyards run parallel to the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, benefiting greatly from cooling deep waters and maritime breezes.

10. Today, the South African wine industry is experiencing numerous problems that include labor abuses, inefficiencies, diseased vine stocks and outdated equipment.

Sources:

Clarke, Oz. The History of Wine in 100 Bottles: From Bacchus to Bordeaux and Beyond. London: Pavilion Books, 2015.
James, Tim. Wines of the New South Africa: Tradition and Revolution. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2013.
MacNeil, Karen. The Wine Bible. New York: Workman Publishing, 2015.
McCarthy, Ed & Ewing-Mulligan, Mary. Exploring Wine For Dummies. West Sussex: Wiley, 2011.
Parker, Robert M. Parker’s Wine Bargains: The World’s Best Wine Values Under $25. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2009.

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Question: Wondering why a Port wine served at the end of a meal usually comes in a smaller wine glass.

Answer: So do I. A couple of reasons often given are that the amount poured is usually less than for other wines and the higher alcohol would show more prominently if in a large glass. I don’t buy it. A smaller glass makes it more difficult to study both the colour tones and the bouquet of the Port. Therefore I usually pour it into my empty larger red wine glass from a previous course. Also helps to have the Port cooler rather than at room temperature served with cheeses (blue can work well) and roasted nuts (prefer walnuts & pistachios). Enjoy Port in a larger glass!

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By Original photo by chrisada [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

As noted in last week’s Blog your scribe recently enjoyed with dinner at Stockholm’s superb Oaxen Krog restaurant a bottle of 1998 Clos de la Coulee de Serrant. It is a noted wine from the Savannieres region in the Loire made by the Joly family from Chenin Blanc grapes. I again was impressed about how well this nearly 20 year old white wine from a challenging vintage showed. On requested decanting it showed a deep rich yellow somewhat worrisome colour for a dry wine but it was outstanding. The complex developed bouquet showed wonderful peach, pear, apple and passion fruit honey notes with palate texture and balanced refreshing brilliant acidity. Surprisingly fresh. It matched so well with the varied early food courses of the meal. On many occasions I have enjoyed different vintages of this producer knowing best the high acid 1981 vintage that was collected on sale and stored to present perfection now. In the early days on the advice of Nicolas Joly I opened and decanted it even 24 hours ahead to let it soften and develop with airing but now it shows so well right after pulling the cork. Amazing longevity for a white wine at 35 years of age and a good reason to order an aged wine from Chenin Blanc grapes whenever you see it on a wine list.

Chenin Blanc is such a versatile grape (somewhat similar to Riesling) in styles from dry, off-dry, sweet, and sparkling. Road 13 Vineyards on the Golden Mile sub-region of the Okanagan Valley has vines planted in 1968 that has been producing an excellent dry Chenin with only one row of it experimented for Sparkling. However, it became so successful with that underlying acidity that now all the aged grapes will be used exclusively for their top Sparkling. Look for it. South Africa has textbook Chenin (Steen) sometimes mixed with other grape varieties but more quality examples are being seen in the export market. Check them out as well plus some wines from Argentina & USA. Loire has a diversity of regions including Vouvray, Quarts de Chaume, Pineau de la Loire, and Bonnezeau in a variety of styles. Acidity is key.

Are you trying some exciting Chenin Blanc with bottle age?

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By Joseph Temple

It looks like one man’s Madeira is now America’s liquid treasure!

While going through a six-month renovation project, Liberty Hall, a National Historic Landmark located on the campus of Kean University garnered headlines this week as it became the site of a great archaeological discovery. Originally built in the 1770s for Thomas Livingston, one of the founding fathers and New Jersey’s first governor, many important Americans have stayed there, including George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and John Adams. But in addition to all its famous residents and guests, Liberty Hall can now add to its rich history by having the distinction of housing the oldest collection of Madeira in the United States.

After dismantling a wall inside the wine cellar constructed during the Prohibition era, architects uncovered 50 bottles and 42 demijohns of rare fortified wine that is almost as old as the country itself. With some Madeira bottles dating back to 1796, Bill Schroh, a director at the Liberty Hall Museum, told ABC News that “we never could have imagined finding what we did.” According to their research, the bottles were imported by Robert Lenox, a major player in the New York city wine trade and the estimated value of each bottle could be in the neighborhood of $20,000. Tracing back the origins of their purchase, it is believed that they were imported in order to celebrate the inauguration of John Adams, America’s second president.

Considering that Madeira is no longer a fashionable drink in America, at first glance, it might seem like a strange choice. But during the revolutionary era, having a glass of this fortified Portuguese wine embodied the spirit of the Gadsden flag and its iconic message: DONT TREAD ON ME. Since the archipelago of Madeira was technically in Africa, its wines weren’t subject to harsh taxation like other European imports nor were they required to sail on British ships, making Madeira a symbol of what taxation with representation might look like. Historian John Hailman writes, “By the late eighteenth century it was considered patriotic to drink Madeira and thereby avoid taxes to the Crown, and Madeira thus became the veritable mother’s milk of the American Revolution.”

An added bonus was that unlike Bordeaux or Burgundy, Madeira was virtually indestructible. In fact, seamen quickly discovered that the intense heat and humidity on board the ships transporting it to the thirteen colonies actually made the wine improve—a fact that made it wildly popular in the South. So during the Revolutionary War and following America’s independence, Madeira was consumed by many future presidents, including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

Of course, John Adams was no exception. Back in 1768, when John Hancock tried to smuggle a cargo of Madeira into the Boston Harbor and was intercepted and charged by the British, he was represented by none other than the future commander-in-chief. Growing fond of this particular drink, which he enjoyed quite regularly, he once said that “a few glasses of Madeira made anyone feel capable of being president.”

And by ordering Madeira to celebrate his election victory, the people at Liberty Hall couldn’t have purchased a more symbolic wine—the wine of the revolution!

Sources:

Dubourcq, Hilaire. Benjamin Franklin Book of Recipes. London: Fly Fizzi Publishing, 2004.
Hailman, John R. Thomas Jefferson on Wine. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2009.

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Question: I often hear about wine being aged in an oak cask or barrique. Is there a difference in these terms?

Answer: Yes there is a difference. Barrique should only be used to describe a unique barrel shape of a specific size of 225 litres (59 gallons) long used in Bordeaux and now other wine producing regions. Other shapes and sizes have different names from hogshead (300 litres in USA) to Burgundy piece (230 litres) to the larger sizes used traditionally in Piedmont for nebbiolo grapes and becoming increasingly more popular everywhere. These can all be called casks but shouldn’t be called barriques.

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