Winemaker geared to ‘blend’ with the course

WHEN Boland winemaker John November is not tinkering with the alchemy of wine at Zonnebloem Wine Estate, he’s on the road practising for the Cape Town Cycle Tour.

In a week’s time, the avid cyclist will embark on his sixth cycle tour when he competes in the 39th annual Cape Town Cycle Tour.

November said he finished the shortened 47km race last year in 1 hour 46 minutes, six seconds.

“I love cycling. It is a form of relaxation but requires discipline. It’s destressing but also a way to keep on challenging myself to improve my performance. While I’m riding in preparation for the race, I get to think about myself, my relationships, my work but I also focus on my cycling technique.”

November, who hails from Pniel in the Boland, said he devotes Saturday and Sunday mornings to preparation.

“I do a lot of mountain biking with friends so that is a fun way of adding to my training. I use the beautiful Boland location to cycle out to Paarl, Franschhoek or over the Helshoogte to get a great workout.”

November’s other love is wine making. “South Africa’s climate is ideal for white wines because so often we want something crisp and refreshing but then again, when it’s cold and we eat more filling dishes, red wines can be a good match.

“My favourite variety is semillon. It has a very long history in South Africa and was one of the earliest planted grapes at the Cape. At one time it was prolific but now it has become more of a niche white varietal. It ages extremely well. Then there’s sauvignon blanc, one of the country’s favourite whites.”

November, who has been making wine since 2007, started working at the Adam Tas cellar in Stellenbosch in November. “Blending wines would have to be the most interesting part of my job. Not just between one grape variety and another, but also tank samples of the same variety that are vinified from different parcels of land in Stellenbosch. You have to respect the expression of origin each vineyard block gives you, but at the same time creates a wine where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

“Blending is where you get to express nuance and layer of flavour.”

The Cape Town Cycle Tour calendar starts with the Mountain Bike Challenge at Le Bonheur Wine Estate, Stellenbosch today and tomorrow.

mika.williams@inl.co.za

SIX OF THE BEST: Zonnebloem wine-maker John November is set to compete in his sixth Cape Town Cycle Tour on Sunday, March 6.

CHEERS: John November.