Spoilt for choice with SA’s wines
Winemaker David van Niekerk was recently in East London to promote his High Constantia farm. He chatted to Nicolette Scrooby about the wine industry and the effects of the recent drought.
For David van Niekerk there is nothing better than enjoying wine and food with friends.
“Any wine that’s good wine is my favourite. You can have an expensive bottle of wine that’s your favourite which tastes horrible,” he said, referring to the fact that it might be corked. “Price is irrelevant.”
Van Niekerk said SA has a small percentage of wine drinkers – probably about 5%.
“South African wines are growing [in popularity]. They are doing well in the world and improving from a value point of view.
“In SA, wine is as cheap as chips compared to what you pay for wine [of the same quality] in Europe,” said Van Niekerk.
“Every country has its own accolades and surprises, but it’s the ability to find them and pick up the gems that makes the difference.
“That’s why I keep saying, don’t harbour your wines.” He urged consumers not to keep those special wines for the “perfect occasion” but to go ahead and enjoy them.
Van Niekerk said the country’s economic climate had affected the price of SA wines. “Every time the rand weakens, our purchasing power weakens – let’s see what happens in the next nine months leading up to the elections. The recent droughts have affected wine prices and will continue to push up prices in the coming years. “A lot of agricultural water was cut off from farmers. If you don’t have water you can’t grow anything. When dams dry up you have to reduce your crops as the full crop can’t carry the lack of water. It has a domino effect. Smaller crop yields mean you employ less people at the end when it comes to processing,” he said. Even though the drought had broken in the Western Cape, Van Niekerk warned that wine prices will continue to rise. “All the increased costs incurred during the drought years like buying barrels, bottles and yeast will push up the prices of wines.”
At High Constantia, vines were planted for dry land irrigation, he said. Essentially this means the vines are not irrigated and so they learn to search for their own underground water from young.
The vines are also not sprayed with insecticides – instead, ladybugs and wasps are released onto the vines to act as natural pest repellants. Van Niekerk said it was important to use natural methods in the vineyard as bugs became resistant to pesticides. When it came to selecting wines these days, Van Niekerk said it had become difficult for many people because of the huge selection available in stores.
“They buy based on authenticity and price. They will also choose a bright blue bottle because they can take it home and reuse it.”
Looking at current wine trends, Van Niekerk said Pinot Grigio, a white wine grape variety, was very “up-and-coming”.
“It’s affordable and an easy, light-drinking wine. In SA, however, the popular wine at the moment is Chenin Blanc.”
He added that we could see some interesting wines enter the market in the future as young, trendy winemakers come along with new ideas. “Technology is allowing us to advance. We are an innovative wine-making country, eager to grow and share our ideas.”
Van Niekerk said his favourite wine was a Bordeaux, which was a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon,Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot grapes. “It’s intense and tart with a huge fruit injection.
His favourite place to drink wine was “anywhere you get a group of people together who are equally affectionate about food and wine”. “But we get complacent and always order the Mexicano pizza with the Chenin Blanc. You have to have the ability to take advice from others, test it and say if it doesn’t work for you.
Van Niekerk said wine was like music. “You never really have a favourite. The situation and your mood dictates what you drink.”
“There’s also a conception that champagne is a privilege and there should always be an occasion to drink it. People ask what’s the occasion and I tell them life is. “Take out your best and share it with your friends now because I can tell you there are lots more good wines out there.”