Old methods, new interpretations

Thursday, May 2nd, 2013

Not only are today’s young a smart bunch of winemakers, they’re also imbued with a strong spirit of innovation.

The latest idea, borrowed from the French, is a sparkling wine which undergoes a single fermentation and is known there as méthode ancestrale, méthode artisanale or méthode rurale. It’s hardly mainstream and generally not found in mainstream areas of France, except for theLoire, from where the small group of South African producers have drawn their inspiration.

The group trying their collective hand include Matthew Copeland of Vondeling and Willie and Tania de Waal of Scali both from the Voor Paardeberg, while on top of the ‘berg’ in the Swartland those honing their skills are Craig Hawkins of Lammershoek, Adi Badenhorst of the eponymous family winery and Chris and Andrea Mullineux of Mullineux wines. Their proximity is no coincidence; the hope is that this fizz could become a regional calling card.

It is, however, very early days for all: some are making their second vintage, others only their first. So enthusiasm is tempered with caution; “It’s more difficult than Méthode Cap Classique,” says Hawkins, while Copeland pulls no punches, describing it “as a pain in the butt”.

Taking no chances, experienced help has been called upon: Pascal Potaire from the Loire, who Hawkins describes as “the unofficial champion of this style”, taught him how to make a natural sparkling wine as opposed to “mini glass bombs”. Another Loire guru, Vincent Careme, has advised Adi Badenhorst and the de Waals.

Hawkins’ approach is to rack the fermenting juice several times prior to bottling to prevent too much lees sediment and residual sugar once the crown cap has been put on. This leads to too vigorous a fermentation in the bottle and the obvious explosions.

Willie and Tania de Waal follow a natural method of cold settling the juice before racking it to tank for a spontaneous ferment until sugar levels of around 30 to 40 g/l, then chilling the wine as cold as possible prior to bottling. This allows for a very slow ferment in the bottle with less likelihood of explosions.

The Mullineux’s winemaking is usually non-interventionist; not in this case, where the juice from the whole-bunch pressed grapes is settled, then cold stabilised and protein fined. After a natural fermentation,  the wine is bottled with around 35 g/l of residual sugar.

Copeland is even more cautious, bottling only when the sugar is around 25 g/l. As this is only his first attempt, the final analysis isn’t yet known, but he should take heart from Adi Badenhorst, who bottled with a similar sugar level. “We didn’t think it would ferment dry but it did, even when kept at 12 C; it’s really tasty,” claims the delighted winemaker, who guesses all 1 000 bottles will be drunk in house!

If each of the winemakers have a slightly different approach before getting the wine in the bottle (all though are following the French tradition of leaving it on the lees for between nine months and a year), they are also using several different varieties; anything from chardonnay (Copeland), chenin blanc and/or hárslevelü (Hawkins), viognier and/or chenin (De Waal), muscat de frontignan, chenin and verdelho (Badenhorst), and clairette blanche (Mullineux).

And yes, despite limited quantities, some will be sold commercially; the Mullineux’s for instance will go into their wine club pack.

Here’s another case of ‘semper aliquid novi ex Africa’.

– Angela Lloyd