Sunny with a chance of wine

Six winemakers, 18 wines and a little wine train to take guests from one cellar to the next. If you need a reason to spend a day in Calitzdorp, that is a fairly convincing start.

I joined guests for Terroir Klein Karoo Calitzdorp on Wednesday, 21 October, hosted by Klein Karoo Wine Route. It was a chance to taste the local wines with the people who make them, and hear what goes into a bottle before it reaches your table.

Sharing their wines and stories were Carlo Sciocatti of Calitzdorp Cellar, Graham Anley of TTT Cellars, Margaux Nel of Boplaas Wine Cellar, Kallie Calitz of Du’Swaroo Wine and Olive Farm, Mike Neebe of Axe Hill Wine Cellar and Christoff de Wet of De Krans Wine Cellar.

The first stop was Boplaas, where a welcome drink led into a tasting of six white wines from the participating producers.

Among them was a wine made using carbonic maceration. It sounds rather technical, but the idea is that fermentation begins inside intact grapes in a carbon dioxide-rich environment before they are crushed. Anley explained that the technique can produce a fruitier, more aromatic wine.

There was also a reminder not to take every wine label at face value. Calitz pointed out the older gentleman on Du’Swaroo’s Grumpy Chardonnay/Chenin Blanc bottle: upright, he looks suitably grumpy. Turn the empty bottle upside down, however, and he appears rather pleased with himself.

Behind the humour, the winemakers also spoke about the practical challenges of growing grapes.

Nel explained the value of having vineyards in different areas. If flooding or extreme heat damages one site, grapes elsewhere may still make it through. Spreading the vineyards helps spread the risk.

Calitzdorp’s climate is an important part of its wine story. Hot, dry summers and cold winters have helped make it a home for Portuguese grape varieties also associated with Portugal’s Douro Valley. Those conditions help explain why this small Klein Karoo town has become so well known for its Port-style wines.

Then it was back onto the wine train and off to De Krans for seven red wines from the partici- pating cellars, tasted outdoors at its bistro beneath the vines.

As a wine and coffee lover, I could relate when Sciocatti explained how the tannins in Calitzdorp Cellar’s Besemkop Merlot draw you back for another sip, much like a good cup of coffee. The wine’s subtle hints of mocha added to the appeal.

One particularly interesting comparison involved Shiraz from neighbouring vineyard blocks, made into wines by TTT Cellars and Du’Swaroo. With the grapes grown so close together, the tasting offered a chance to explore how differently two winemakers can approach the same variety.

Nel also presented a Souzão from The Fledge & Co., the venture she started with her husband in 2007. This Portuguese variety is well suited to Ca-litzdorp’s climate and is valued as a blending component, particularly for its deep colour. Nel explained that it has been used in Boplaas’s fortified wines and its Ring of Rocks blend. Here, guests had the opportunity to taste it on its own.

The final stop was Calitzdorp Cellar, where five Cape Port-style wines rounded off the tasting, followed by lunch with a view.
De Krans’s Cape Pink also made an appearance, with De Wet explaining how well it works in cocktails. The other winemakers agreed that De Krans’s P&T, short for port-style wine and tonic, was a smart move, given the popularity of mixing port-style wines with tonic.

Neebe explained how Axe Hill’s Cape White, a Chenin Blanc-based fortified wine, is made using fractional blending, combining older wine dating back to 2003 with younger vintages. Rather than starting afresh each year, the blend continues to evolve, building richness and depth over time.

And that brings us to a question that still comes up over a glass: can we call it Port?

The name is protected for wines from Portugal’s Douro region. Under South Africa’s wine trade arrangements with the European
Union, its use on local labels was phased out, with no newly bottled South African wines permitted to carry the name from 2012.

Local styles instead appear under names such as Cape Ruby, Cape Tawny and Cape Vintage.

The familiar word has certainly not disappeared from conversation. Changing a label is one thing; changing what people have called their favourite winter drink for years takes a little longer.

There is a silver lining, though. The Cape names give these wines an identity of their own, with room to be appreciated for where they come from.

And after a day in Calitzdorp, there is plenty to appreciate. Whether you favour a white wine or something ruby-coloured to linger over, it is well worth making the short trip from Oudtshoorn. Better still, take the time to ask about what is in your glass. The winemaker may have quite a story to tell. (MALISSA SPIES)

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