South Africa Flashcards
Tell us about South Africa sparkling wine?
South Africa produces two main categories of sparkling wine. Inexpensive, carbonated sparkling wine, often sweet, is primarily consumed in the domestic market and exported to the sub-Saharan territories, especially Angola, Mozambique and Nigeria. The wines are of acceptable to good quality. Traditional method sparkling wine, known as Cap Classique, is a rapidly growing market, and is made principally from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, as well as Chenin Blanc and Pinotage. The wines have medium (+) acidity and medium alcohol with ripe apple and citrus fruit with varying levels of autolytic flavours. They are mid- to premium-priced and quality levels are good to very good.
Explain what is South African carbonated sparkling wine?
Carbonated wine, made with a range of varieties including Sauvignon Blanc, Muscat and Pinotage, continues to be an important product, mainly for domestic and African consumption. These are simple, fruity wines, often off-dry to sweet. As Cap Classique has grown in production (see Wine Law and Wine Business), it has increased its share of South African production from 30 to 40 per cent of the total sparkling wine production between 2014 and 2018.
Explain cap classique?
Méthode Cap Classique (MCC) or Cap Classique is both the name of a production method in South Africa (second fermentation in the bottle) and the trademark of an association of growers and producers producing these wines. The association was founded in 1992. Association members are responsible for the production of over 90 per cent of bottle- fermented sparkling wine in South Africa and include the top seven producers. Cap Classique standards are now enshrined in law, requiring:
- the wine to undergo second fermentation in the same bottle that goes to market (i.e. the traditional method)
- a minimum of three bars of pressure post-disgorgement
- a minimum of nine months on the lees during second fermentation in the bottle. However, Cap Classique Producers’ Association members already commit to a minimum period of 12 months and this will become the new minimum required time on lees for MCC in South African wine law in 2020.
Explain the growing environment and grape growing for South Africa sparkling wine?
A wide range of varieties can be used in Cap Classique; however, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Chenin Blanc and Pinotage make up at least 95 per cent of the grapes used in this category.
The fruit is grown or sourced from a wide range of regions, principally Robertson, Stellenbosch, Paarl, Darling and Tulbagh. Only Robertson and Bonnievale (in the Breede River Valley) have significant amounts of limestone soils, which some believe produces higher quality wine. These two regions are relatively narrow valleys that makes them slower to
warm up in the morning (due to shade from the mountains) and the temperatures drop in the afternoon because of cool breezes from the ocean at Cape Agulhas that run up the Breede River. These cooling influences are important in an otherwise warm climate. Robertson and Bonnievale are the regions with the biggest diurnal shift between day and night temperatures, helping to preserve acidity. Elsewhere, vines are grown on shale, clay and decomposed granite. Many producers choose to source fruit from a number of regions, in part to get more complexity in their wines but also because of the availability of fruit.
Growers aim to wait approximately 90 days after flowering before picking for MCC. This length of hang time is achieved by adapting viticultural practice. Growers leave more growth on the vines to create extra shading, which slows down ripening and retains acidity. Grapes are picked at a potential alcohol of 9.5–11% abv with a view to the final wine being around 12% abv.
Explain winemaking for carbonated sparkling wine from South Africa?
These wines are typically made by stopping fermentation early to retain residual sugar. They are then carbonated and released for early sale in order to preserve the fruit character. This low-cost process creates inexpensive wines.
Explain winemaking for cap classique?
The quality-minded growers pick by hand into small baskets and then whole-bunch press. (This is recommended, but not required, for Cap Classique.) Better producers will separate press fractions and use them as needed during blending. Acidification of musts is commonplace. Some ferment a portion of the fruit in old barrels for additional textural richness in premium wines. Whether or not to put the base wine through malolactic conversion is a choice of the producer and there is no general rule (e.g. Villiera does, Graham Beck avoid it). Reserve wines (around 10 per cent) are used by the premium houses to add depth of flavour and ensure consistency. As stated, minimum time currently on the lees in bottle is nine months, with many quality producers opting of longer periods. MCC Association members already commit to a minimum of 12 months, with some choosing 15–18 months for non-vintage and longer for vintage and prestige cuvée wines. The entire process for traditional method wines adds to costs and therefore the final price.
As elsewhere, rosé wines are made either blending white and red wines in order to control the amount of tannins and colour present prior to second fermentation in the bottle or by the maceration of a black grape variety prior to primary fermentation (the latter being less common).
Explain wine law and wine business with sparkling wine from South Africa?
The law regarding Cap Classique has been summarised above. However, the Cap Classique Producers’ Association is currently working on two projects:
- In March 2017 it submitted a proposal for the law to change, requiring all grapes destined for this category to be ‘certified’ (i.e. to go through the process of approval for a Wine of Origin) and for minimal lees ageing to be raised to 12 months for all producers from the 2020 vintage. In addition, it proposes that all producers of Cap Classique will have to be members of the Cap Classique Producers’ Association in a bid to raise the profile of the wine and to ensure that all producers work to the same standards.
- The Association is also working on a proposal for two categories of Cap Classique, although this proposal has not yet been finalised:
– Standard category – based on existing rules
– A higher quality category that would require wine to be made only from the classic Champagne varieties plus Chenin Blanc and Pinotage; the grapes to be whole bunch pressed; and wines to be kept on the lees for a minimum of 36 months.
As noted, Cap Classique is dominated by seven companies as well as being produced in small volumes by other producers. J. C. Le Roux, one of the seven, also makes carbonated sparkling wine.
Cap Classique is the fastest growing category in South Africa, with sales doubling every five years in recent decades. Some companies have also been successful in export markets, for example, Graham Beck exports 50 per cent of its production. The domestic market has also seen the arrival of better-quality carbonated wine, especially using Sauvignon Blanc. At the top end of the domestic market, the challenge is to make Cap Classique attractive to those consumers who currently drink top-quality Champagne and to attract the new middle classes who are moving from beer to wine.
In 2018, nearly 4.7 million litres of sparkling wine were exported. This was twice as much as a decade earlier, but much lower than a peak in 2012 because of the vagaries of exchange rates and market fluctuation. The top export markets are Angola (one-quarter of all sparkling wine exports by volume, the USA and the UK.3
The Cap Classique Producers’ Association is funded by a levy according to volume of production. It promotes the wine through public tastings, an annual tasting of base wines for producers and a technical conference every two years. In addition, the wines are promoted through the promotional body Wines of South Africa.
