PUNK PRAG MATIST

MEET SOUTH AFRICAN BORN WINE MAKER REMI GUISE, WHOSE MARGARET RIVER LABEL TRIPE. ISCARIOT HAS BEEN TURNING HEADS WITH ITS DISTINCTIVE STYLE. BY CASEY WARRENER.

Remi Guise had an early education in wine, but not in the usual ways – no winemaking heritage, no farming family, no inherited vines. Growing up in “semi-suburban Cape Town” in South Africa, Remi lived near a small wine region named Durbanville, as well as the more recognisable Stellenbosch. “My parents spent a lot of time in the wine land around Stellenbosch – they’d visit wine estates just about every second weekend. It was a hobby of theirs that got them out of the house, so that was my introduction to wine. “I also spent a lot of time in the kitchen with my mother – food was a big part of my life and so was cooking, and in the aftermath of eating and enjoying it, there was no shortage of sips of wine at the family table from a young age. That culture of meat and wine, and then beer, God and rugby, is all very South African.”

It wasn’t until Remi needed to choose a university course that a career in wine entered his mind. “I applied for dentistry, accountancy, and because I was applying to Stellenbosch University, which of course had a strong wine program, I put that down too. It sounded like a lot of fun, it involved alcohol, which I was extremely interested in at the age of 18, and it just tied into some good memories for me.” Remi was accepted into all three courses and had to decide. Dentistry, accountancy or winemaking? To add to that unusual mix, Remi had another hobby he’d hoped he could turn into something more.

“I was pretty into punk rock and death metal, so I picked up a guitar when I was about 13 and spent a lot of time playing in my room. I liked the idea of doing that for a living, but my parents gave me a dose of realism – I lived in South Africa, after all, which is hardly a hotbed of international musical superstardom.” In the end, Remi decided that if he couldn’t be a rock star, then he didn’t want to sit behind a desk all day either, so he chose the next best thing: wine.

These days, as senior winemaker for Naturaliste Vintners, which makes wine for a number of key labels in Western Australia, and with the tripe.Iscariot label he launched in 2013, Remi doesn’t have much time for guitar. “I still play, but it’s now mostly for the entertainment – and sometimes terror – of my small children,” he says.

The wine thing might’ve started on a bit of a whim, but Remi now lives and breathes his work, and that’s apparent in the way he speaks about what he does. It’s clear he feels lucky – to work in wine, to make it in the Margaret River region of WA, and to do it with some pretty talented people too.

The move to Margs

Remi ended up in Australia for several reasons, but mostly to do with love. “I met my girlfriend, who is now my wife, when I was a teenager in South Africa, but her family immigrated to Australia at the end of high school. We were mental and did the longdistance thing all through university. When I finished studying I worked in South Africa for a while, but at that stage – and it's different now – there wasn’t a lot of optimism as far as employment in the wine industry goes, or even in general.

“I’ve always had a fascination with cabernet and chardonnay, and when I eventually moved over to WA, Margaret River was close, so I thought I should work a vintage there.” The story beyond that is familiar – Remi arrived and couldn’t bring himself to leave.

“With those grape varieties, here you are working with some of the best fruit in the world, never mind Australia. That kind of opportunity doesn’t come around every day. I’d also found a great winery to work at. I loved the ethos, the people and particularly my employer, Bruce Dukes, who I still work for and who is an immensely valuable mentor and inspirational person. So I had no good reason to leave. Plus, it’s a really nice place to live.”

A person of influence

Remi credits Bruce as his main role model. “I’m not ashamed to say I’d love to be half the winemaker Bruce is today at some point in my career,” Remi says. “He’s exceptionally scientific, but that’s so perfectly balanced with an artistic, intuitive understanding of wine and wine styles. That idea that ‘wine is made in the vineyard’ is something people always say, but to work with someone who practices it, and to see it in action, has been awesome. He’s the most passionate winemaker I know.”

Remi also believes his boss has been instrumental in helping him get tripe.Iscariot off the ground. “Most people wouldn’t let you fluff around and do your own thing while you’re supposed to be making their wine!” Remi says. As well as that, he's thankful to Bruce for sharing his business insights. “He helped me navigate a side of the industry I really had no idea about.”

Wine by any other name

The phrase ‘tripe.Iscariot’ has raised an eyebrow or two – including those signature brows of James Halliday, who was so bemused he reached out to Remi to find out the story for himself. So, tripe wine? Thankfully, the interpretation isn’t literal. “I spent a long time trying to find a term that summed up my personality and winemaking philosophy,” he says. “I didn’t go in trying to make tripe-themed wine; that would be weird. But tripe and that idea of nose-to-tail eating speak to what I see as a textural whole in the wine. I love texture, and there are so many sources of it in grapes that are often discarded, or else over-purified or underutilised. “I want to make wines that are interesting and conversationally stimulating,” he says. “That was my strongest imperative when I started: make wines I want to drink, for the reasons that I want to drink them. I never expected to have a big brand – I know the people who will enjoy my wines are potentially either winemakers, wine geeks or those who are willing to explore wines that are unusual but still of notably high quality.”

A spectrum of styles

“I started tripe.Iscariot primarily out of boredom with what was out there, as well as the inclination to make things my way,” Remi says. For someone who simply set out to fulfil a creative urge, the range has been remarkably well received. Remi’s chenin blanc has been getting a lot of attention of late, and his rosé has been making waves since the start. “It’s dry, aromatic, textured and structured – and also able to be aged.” Ageability and rosé aren’t two words you often find together. Putting this pink wine in a green bottle might also seem strange. “The bottle is so the wine doesn’t get oxidised,” Remi explains. “I had a dinner in Perth not long ago where my 2013 Rosé sat alongside my 2017 – same vineyard, same methodology and yet distinctly different wines, and for such beautiful reasons.” While the rosé is about producing an unexpectedly ageworthy style, the chenin blanc is about regionality. “I make two chenin blancs in the same way, but from two different vineyards and subregions of Margaret River: Wilyabrup and Karridale. Wilyabrup is the home of big, powerful cabernet, while Karridale is becoming recognised for its modern styles of chardonnay. They’re only about 40 minutes and 40 to 50 kilometres apart, but they’re opposites. Making chenin blanc from two separate patches of earth, from the same year, and bottling them purely as expressions of each site was important to me, as it turned chenin into this conversation about versatility. I think that grape has the potential to do amazing things almost anywhere you plant it.”

Remi sources his fruit from carefully vetted growers, which allows him the flexibility to pursue experiments such as his chenin blanc project. “I’m happy to have growers who are willing to deal with my small quantities and do all the quirky things I like doing. I love syrah from Wallcliffe, chardonnay from Karridale, and chenin from both Wilyabrup and Karridale. This way, I can get the fruit I want from the places I like.”

Another newer project that’s benefitting from that freedom to pick and choose is a white blend, inspired in part by Remi’s

South African roots. “Field blends are pretty common in South Africa, and the great thing about them is that they generally tell a story. Essentially, what they highlight is the strife and madness of people planting things like palomino and grenache blanc 100 years ago while everyone else in the world was planting, say, chardonnay, and then sticking with that and ending up with these lovely old vines. I wanted to do the same thing here and made a blend of chenin blanc, semillon, chardonnay and muscat

“I KNOW THE PEOPLE WHO WILL ENJOY MY WINES ARE POTENTIALLY EITHER WINE MAKERS, WINE GEEKS OR THOSE WHO ARE WILLING TO EXPLORE WINES THAT ARE UNUSUAL BUT STILL OF NOT ABLY HIGH QUALITY.”

of Alexandria. Every parcel of fruit in that wine is from old vines and has a unique story. They were picked separately, each made differently and blended into this truly distinctive wine. That’s the joy of not having your hands cuffed as they do in France and most of Europe – to be able to experiment and make wines like this one.” Remi has about eight wines in his range, and he’s not looking to expand. “I think if I made any more I’d have less time to focus on the ones I’ve got. The next step for me is not increasing the complexity of my business model, but rather increasing the complexity and quality of my wines.”

The South African connection

The reception for Remi’s chenin blancs has been surprising, and he can’t keep up with demand. But when asked if his inspiration for them was rooted in his heritage, the answer is ‘not exactly’. “For anyone who ever immigrates anywhere, you get homesick. That’s normal. So I was homesick for a time. With my second range of wines called Absolution, which the chenins are in, it was labelled that way because I no longer felt like a South African winemaker in Australia. I’d become so connected to the wines that this region and country makes, I decided I was an Australian winemaker who happens to have South African roots.”

Those wines signalled a turning point for Remi. “I took what I believed was the best part of my heritage, and did it the Australian way, which is a way I’m comfortable with and believe in philosophically.

“To me, what makes Australian wine special is its clarity of fruit, intensity of flavour, vibrancy and youth. Those are not words

I’d use with a lot of South African wines, but I would almost exclusively with Australian and especially Margaret River styles. They are the kinds of wines I want to make, and hopefully I do.”