WOSA drives blended approach

Wines of South Africa put its weight behind the country’s blends last week at a seminar organised to coincide with the annual WOSA Mega Tasting.

Presenting their own views and exemplary wines on the panel chaired by Lynne Sherriff MW were Anthony Hamilton Russell of Hamilton Russell Vineyards; Kevin Arnold of Waterford Wine Estate; Chris Mullineux of Mullineux Family Wines and Matthew Copeland of Vondeling Wines.

Su Birch, global CEO of WOSA, opened with a presentation to set the morning’s subject matter within the context of DNA SA – the new brand blueprint for South Africa. With the cornerstones of this identity based on the country’s heritage and environmental focus, Birch expressed a desire for South Africa "to be recognised worldwide for producing premium quality, interesting wines."

Despite having made his name with single varietal Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Anthony Hamilton Russell began by outlining his own belief in the blended approach, which he has been pursuing on his Ashbourne property since establishing the vineyards there in 1996. In his view: “Blending frees you from the tyranny of varietalism.

“Every time we pick up a glass of varietal wine, we already have our own benchmarks. The beauty of a blend is that you approach it as an individual wine and get to know it one-to-one.”

Hamilton Russell linked the increasing interest in blends in South Africa to a sign of confidence among the nation’s winemakers, on the basis that “We’ve reached a stage now when we can break all the rules.”

Swartland-based Chris Mullineux highlighted the particular benefits blending can bring to producers in warmer regions. Explaining the rationale behind his Chenin-dominated blend of Clairette Blanche, Viognier and Grenache Blanc, he said: “The wines can lack a bit of freshness and because of that we’ve used varieties from the south of France to blend with a Loire wine.”

For Matthew Copeland, South Africa is particularly suited to the blending route on the basis that “Being New World we have a lot of liberties that some older countries don’t. We need to really stand out for our creativity.”

With plantings of everything from Tempranillo to Sangiovese and Barbera, Kevin Arnold has built a leading reputation in the Cape as an advocate of South African blends.

He laid out a clear vision of the important role these blends have to play in the future of South African winemaking, saying: “There is no doubt in my mind that the best expression of our terroir will be in blended white and red wines.”

Closing the seminar with a healthy dose of South African competitiveness, Arnold concluded: “Why should we copy anyone else? The best you can do then is to come second.”

Gabriel Savage, 21.10.09