SOUTH AFRICA’S CHENIN BLANC RENAISSANCE
Country’s wine industry has made major strides, and Quebec has embraced results
What do 17th-century Dutch trading ships, Protestants fleeing persecution in France and sharkinfested waters have to do with wine? All three played a role in making South Africa the oldest wine-producing country outside of Europe.
Africa is not the first continent most people think of when it comes to wine production, but it has a rich and very long history of grape-growing. The first plantings date back to the mid-1600s, when the Cape of Good Hope was settled by the Dutch to act as a supply station for their boats as they travelled back and forth along the spice route between India and Europe.
Winemaking know-how followed soon after when Huguenots (French Protestants) settled in the region after Louis XIV ended legal recognition for their religion in 1685.
What made them decide the southern tip of the African continent would be propitious for wine grapes? The Cape of Good Hope is where the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet. The water is remarkably cold and full of life. Sharks love it because it is full of seals and fish. Grapes love it because these cold ocean currents create onshore winds that act as a massive air conditioner, cooling off coastal vineyards and bringing moisture.
When the first settlers arrived, they brought a number of classic European grape varieties. One of those grapes was called steen. Over time, it came to dominate South Africa, but it was mostly used for distillation for another Dutch invention: brandy. It wasn’t until 1963 that steen was actually identified as chenin blanc.
In 1990, chenin blanc represented 32 per cent of all grapes planted in South Africa. But familiarity can breed contempt, and by 2009 chenin blanc accounted for only 18 per cent.
I have just returned from my second tour of South Africa. My first trip was in 2011, and what made the biggest impression was that there was almost a reluctance by many winemakers to embrace a grape that was so much a part of the country’s heritage.
Nearly every grape-growing region in the country is full of old chenin blanc vines. Old vines are treasures, as they often produce the best-quality wines. But as one winemaker told me during that visit, “If you grew up hating peas, then it’s hard to like them when you get older.” In many ways, South Africans’ relationship with chenin blanc is comparable to the love/hate relationship many Chileans have with their signature grape, carménère.
It’s understandable why winemakers would gravitate to betterknown grape varieties. Since much of the country’s chenin blanc was grown to be distilled, or to make bulk, inexpensive wine, it was easy to overlook its potential. And because of apartheid, South Africa missed the wave of modernization and move toward quality wine that much of the wine world undertook during the 1980s and 1990s.
But in 2017, the story is very different. The Chenin Blanc Association was formed to help promote the grape — which in my books is one of the world’s greatest white grapes — and has begun making serious progress in recent years. The Old Vine Project is starting up; its goal is to help protect many of the country’s oldest vines, which are mostly chenin blanc.
At a tasting held by the Chenin Blanc Association, Adam Mason, winemaker at Mulderbosch and Yardstick Wines, said: “Chenin blanc is part of our DNA.”
The next step is to start dialing in different styles. Chenin is an incredibly versatile grape. In its other home, France’s Loire Valley, it is used to make everything from dry, refreshing wines to sparkling wines to luscious dessert wines. The same thing is happening in South Africa, though they show less aromatic intensity than the Loire versions of the grape.
The basic wines tend to be quite lean and refreshing. Not a ton of fruit, but direct and straightforward — almost like a less aromatic sauvignon blanc. With asparagus season around the corner, it’s what you need. There is also a move toward making textural wines, with lower acidities but rich mouthfeels. In certain soils, there is a salty mineral component. Lobster season is coming as well, and this style of chenin is perfect for the job.
But the chenin renaissance is just starting. I tasted with younger winemakers who are taking a new look at how to produce their wines. A group of them who call themselves the Zoo Biscuits are scouring the country looking for old vines and making wines with little or no intervention, following the path laid out by winemakers Eben Sadie and Adi Badenhorst. In Swartland, Johan Meyer’s Force Majeure is made with a blend of ripe chenin and 10 per cent orange wine. It was one of my favourites.
If you haven’t tried South African wine, it’s time to do so. Back in 2011, it had just started to hit the shelves in Quebec, and there was very little chenin blanc. The situation is very different now. Quebec has embraced South Africa’s wines like no other province in Canada. In 2016, Quebec accounted for more than onethird of sales of South African wines in the country. What’s really interesting is that white wine is leading the charge, with almost a 20 per cent gain over the previous year.
And which grape is leading the revolution? Of the 158 wines listed at the SAQ, 32 are chenin blanc. You can hear Bill Zacharkiw pair wine with rock on CHOM-FM (97.7) every Friday at 7:45 a.m. facebook.com/ billzacharkiwwine twitter.com/BillZacharkiw