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The Proust Q&A: Matt Day
Aged just 29, Matt Day is the chief winemaker of Klein Constantia in South Africa’s Constantia Valley. The jewel in the estate’s crown is sweet wine Vin de Constance, which appears in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, Charles Dickens’ unfinished novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and Baudelaire’s poem Les Fleurs du Mal. It was also a favourite of Napoleon. Born in Johannesburg, Day joined Klein Constantia as assistant winemaker in 2008, becoming winemaker two years later. He lives in the Constantia Valley with his wife Catherine and their dog Mango.
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Reaching that time in one’s life where you forget about all your worries and are able to enjoy life to its fullest.
What is your greatest fear?
Disappointing the people around me.
Who do you most admire?
My Grandfather.
What is your greatest extravagance?
An ice-cold beer at the end of a long day – funny how many winemakers enjoy this!
What is your current state of mind?
Excited. There are so many amazing things going on at Klein Constantia at the moment, we have been given a golden opportunity to step up to the plate and take South African wine to the next level.
What is the quality you most like in a woman?
A good sense of humour and she has to love wine.
What words or phrases do you most overuse?
“No worries”, I think I picked it up while working in Australia.
Who or what is the greatest love of your life?
My wife Catherine and our little dog Mango.
When and where were you happiest?
I’m one of those people who is lucky enough to be happy all the time so this is a tough one. There is this time at first light during the summer where I try and get up to the top of the vineyards to watch the sunrise. It’s absolutely breathtaking and one of those times when nothing else seems to matter.
If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?
I don’t know if it is something that I would change, but I look really young to be winemaker at Klein Constantia, although maybe I am just young and everyone else is getting older!
Which talent would you most like to have?
I’d love to be able to speak lots of languages. At the moment I can only handle English – my Afrikaans is shocking.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Marrying my lovely wife, becoming winemaker at Klein Constantia and being entrusted with the honour of making the fabled Vin de Constance. I have joined a long list of legendary winemakers who have been involved in making this wine for the last 300 years.
Where would you most like to live?
Nowhere other than where I am right now. I love living on the farm in the vineyards at Klein Constantia.
What is your most treasured possession?
The antique shotgun given to me by my grandfather. I’s over 150 years old and still shoots like a dream. I hope that it is one of those things that will stay in the family forever.
What is your most marked characteristic?
My laid-back personality – there’s very little that stresses me out.
Who is your favourite writer?
Wilbur Smith.
Who is your hero of fiction?
Robin Hood, what a legend.
What is it that you most dislike?
Failure, and people who talk too much.
What is your greatest regret?
Hopefully nothing – everything in life happens for a reason. We are who we are because of decisions that we have made.
What is your motto?
No matter what, everything will always be ok.
Who would be your ideal dinner party guests and what three wines would you serve?
It would be quite an eclectic line-up. I’d have to invite Nelson Mandela, a true South African icon who would have some amazing stories to tell. The there would be Napoleon – he loved our wines and I’d love to show him how Vin de Constance tastes today. Finally, I’d throw Kurt Cobain into the mix as I I love his music. In terms of the wines, I’d start with the Vin de Constance 2012, my first vintage, which it is set to be a cracker.
I’d then move on to Château Margaux 2001 as it made me fall in love with wine. It was my first experience of a first growth and I still remember exactly how it tasted. I’d finish off the night with the Vin de Constance 1821, the oldest vintage of VDC I’ve tasted, which is still an unbelievable wine. It’s also the year that Napoleon died, so I’d love to be able to show him what he missed out on in that year.