Colyn Truter argues that niche is nice, even if it pushes up the price | The Month June 2012

How many people really appreciate the implication of the term ‘Estate Wine’ on a bottle? To me those words come with the promise that an identifiable team intentionally managed a small number of vineyards with the desire to reflect the quality of their fruit, the influence of their terroir, their passion and certainly a measure of their skill in such a way that they’d be prepared to have their name on the bottle. I, for one, am prepared to suggest that it’s one of the most important indicators of the true value of a wine.

As a country we do far too little to promote the regional qualities and value derived from making wines using only their own grapes farmed in a designated area called an Estate. It’s about time we promoted estate wines, both locally and abroad, and it’s about time we used our estate wines to change the international perception of South African wine.

My argument is not about the large volume brands that sell in every supermarket, but rather the middle to top tier of what people perceive to be ‘top quality’ wines.

Wine of Origin Western Cape doesn’t mean anything to me nor does Wine of Origin California or Coastal
Region. On the other hand Napa Valley, Rutherford or Bordeaux certainly does? Why would anyone bother to sit at a table in the Robertson Small Hotel to drink a ‘local’ wine, only to discover that it is made from grapes brought in from all over the Western Cape?

Sadly many consumers don’t pay careful attention to the Wine of Origin part of the label, and this is where the industry is able to take them for a ride.

Let me stick my neck out: Boekenhoutskloof was rated the Platter Winery of the Year 2012 and as a result everyone is talking about the Franschhoek Valley making a surge in the industry again and about its quality fruit. But look at the labels and you’ll see that many of Boekenhoutskloof’s brands and wines are made from grapes or wine sourced from all over the Western Cape. It’s a testimony to the winery and its wine maker, not the region! And this is but one example; most of the big brand names are doing this.

We need to create an aura around Estate or Boutique producers again and the chal

lenges that they face each harvest. Buying in top quality grapes does not test a good wine maker or bring homage to his or her team.  To produce a great wine from only the grapes that your farm has given you at the end of a particular season – that is a true challenge and what truly elevates an Estate, or Single Vineyard, Wine.

There’s an economic spin-off too. Despite the increased costs of producing estate wines, and the inherent risks should a particular wine or vintage fail, the added value is greater than the cost of adding it. Estate wines often develop a following, or better yet, an aura and it’s here that exclusivity

really pays. Couch that within an understanding that a particular nation or region makes good wine to start with and it’s no wonder then that many are prepared to pay exorbitant amounts for wines from particular producers that the average wine consumer may never have heard of.

That brings me back to my point:  When you buy an expensive French Wine you don’t expect to have Burgundy and Bordeaux in the same bottle; you want to drink Petrus or Chateaux Margaux, not Chateaux South France! So the next time you reach out for a bottle of wine, ask yourself, “Where does this come from?”