FINE WINE LIKE WOMEN
PEARL Olivier, sommelier at Cape Town’s five-star Taj Hotel, describes chenin blanc’s versatility to her foreign guests by using South African women as a metaphor.
“A chenin Methode Cap Classique is like a young girl in her late teens, early twenties,” she avers, “sparkly, and full of life and energy.
“An unwooded chenin is like a woman just a few years older; fresh, crisp and dry… she’s growing into life.
“Then there’s the young mother – a wooded chenin blanc – who’s rounded and content, with the ability to weather a couple of storms.
“You have the grandmother who’ll set you straight. That’s a brandy that displays strong spirit and character.
“Finally, you get the greatgrandmother, the dessert wine. Sweet and noble.”
Although most of the wine drunk in South Africa is enjoyed in Gauteng, the beverage remains intimidating to large sections of the public.
Miguel Chan, Johannesburgbased group sommelier of the Tsogo Sun hospitality, gaming and entertainment group, believes that at least 45 of Tsogo’s 105 properties “are significant from a wine perspective.
“Wine is a fascinating topic of discussion and more and more South Africans are embracing the drink… across all styles and pricepoints.
“It’s really exciting seeing people from about the age of 35 who are becoming serious about wine – something they weren’t doing five to ten years ago.”
“However, sommeliers too often get embroiled in issues of terroir, soil and climate. That is not what most wine drinkers want to hear: they want a good, well-priced glass of sparkling, red, white or rosé and to have fun with friends and colleagues.
“As a proudly South African company, Tsogo’s duty and role is to support the local industry by showcasing the best of the best at fair prices.” Wine, he says, is a journey of discovery and the value of an organisation such as the Black Cellar Club (Blacc) lies in making wine less intimidating to nontraditional target markets.
The Mauritianborn sommelier believes the expansion of Blacc, formed in Cape Town last year, will promote the consumption of wine “among a relatively untapped but increasingly affluent section of society as their beverage of choice”.
Although many winemakers focus on exports, says Blacc co-founder Aubrey Ngcungama, the truth is that Gauteng is the largest single market for Western Cape wines and largely the reason why the industry has seen better sales over the past decade.
The growth of this market has also underpinned the continuing increase in production.
“At the same time, we have seen the rise of black sommeliers throughout South Africa – some, like Tinashe Nyamudoka at the world-rated Test Kitchen, to an extremely high level – though their achievements are not properly recognised.
“Blacc is an initiative to redress this and also to encourage the black wine-drinking community to appreciate and support local rather than foreign labels.”