What better way to start off the New Year than with a glass of bubbly? And for many people seeking to impress, the bubbles simply have to be French. OK, so they did come up with the original idea of champagne, but why are people still so obsessed with French champagne and the idea that it is automatically better than anything else? I’m not saying that we should all be drinking cheap carbonated fizz, but there is middle ground, people! But it seems that even in South Africa, our own premium sparkling wines seem to suffer from a PR problem a dose of that particularly South African malaise – “if-it’s-imported-it-must-be-better-ism”.
Because many of us (me included…) grew up on Cinzano Spumante and 5th Avenue Cold Duck (sticky sweet cheap bubblies), a lot of people of my generation and older still seem to think that this is as far as the South African sparkling wine repertoire goes. Wrong, wrong, wrong. We make some top class stuff that can compete with the best in the world (not to say I don’t like the occasional bottle of Cold Duck…!). The “foreign is better” delusion is even worse as fas as I’m concerned. I was at a restaurant in Johannesburg towards the end of last year and we wanted something sparkly fpr a tpast. On the menu, we had a huge choice of… two sparkling wines. Coming in at an affordable R65 was the bog standard JC Le Roux Le Domaine (sickly sweet and carbonated). And in the opposite corner we had… Moet & Chandon for a jaw-dropping R650. And in between? Tumbleweeds blowing in the breeze. Nada. Zip. Nothing.
Now this kind of wine list seriously annoys me. It seems to say “you can spend your money on South African crap. Or you can pay top dollar and get Real French Champagne, thereby showing off your urbane sophistication”. And the worst is that my companions were seriously thinking of ordering the Moet to share between a dozen people! For a start, Moet NV is a pretty basic French champagne and certainly not worth spending that sum on, if you ask me. Secondly, if you like sweet sparklers, you are going to pay a lot of money for your snobbism and not enjoy the wine one bit. (Besides, I would bet money on the fact that many champagne snobs who go around saying “oh, I ONLY drink the real thing!” would not be able to pick out the champagne in a blind tasting of top quality bubbly from around the world….)
But most importantly… where are the premium South African sparklers on that menu? They should be there providing the fine quality normally associated with the French stuff, without the “uh-oh-time-to-sell-a-kidney” prices.
The one thing that you do have to look for in a sparkling wine, if you are moving away from Champagne, is the way it’s been made. Cheap fizz can be made either like ordinary wine and then carbonated; or by tank fermentation, meaning that the wine is left to ferment and form bubbles naturally and then bottled. Premium sparkling wines, on the other hand, are bottled and then allowed to develop their bubbles in the bottle. After this process is complete (takes several months of painstakingly moving the bottles gradually from the horizontal storage position to a position where the cap is pointing almost vertically downwards. This makes the spent yeast from the fermentation process gather in the neck of the bottle, which is flash-frozen before the bottle is opened and the frozen cap of yeast debris removed. Each bottle then has to be topped up to its correct level of liquid and sealed. Think about all that the next time you are tempted to complain about the price of Champagne!
Strict regulations mean that only sparkling wines made in this way from grapes in the Champagne region of France may be called Champagne, but there is nothing stopping winemakers from around the world using the technique described above. And it’s an indication of this technique that you should look for when you want to explore premium sparkling wines from outside Champagne. These wines will variously be labelled as Methode Cap Classique (South Africa), Cremant (France, outside Champagne), Cava (Spain), Methode Champenoise or Methode Traditionelle and as far as I’m concerned, particularly in the New World, represent excellent value for money. The same grape varieties, method and subtleties of taste as French Champagne, at a more reasonable price.
For my money, I’ll go for any sparkling wine by Graham Beck. Graham Beck Vineyards was started (unsurprisingly!) by entrepreneur Graham Beck in 1983 when he purchased the Madeba farm outside Robertson, South Africa, the the ambition to establish a world-class winery in the region. Nearly 25 years later, the estate’s reputation has been cemented with a cabinet full of awards, both international and local, and winemaker Pieter Ferreira (who is reputedly obsessed with getting the mousse of his sparkling wines just right) is still steaming ahead making wonderful sparkling and still wines. The estate itself is well worth a visit as it represents a radical departure from the traditional Cape Dutch homestead, and being able to taste a range of their excellent sparkling wines is always a pleasure.
The estate produces a Brut (non-vintage, classic mix of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes); a Blanc de Blanc (vintage, 100% Chardonnay), a Brut Rose (non-vintage, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir), and a Demi Sec (non-vintage, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir). Pictured above is the special Brut Cuvee 2000, made specially for the millennium celebrations, bought at the estate in 1999 and saved till recently. It’s a full-bodied sparkler with a creamy mouthfeel that’s at least as much due to the very fine mousse as to the Chardonnay grapes, with yeasty, lemony notes and is very, very appealing. Although you are unlikely to get your mitts on the Cuvee 2000 any more, look out for more recent vintages that are, I’m sure, equally delicious.
Other premium South African bubbly to look out for includes Simonsig Kaapse Vonkel, Cabriere’s Pierre Jourdan, Pongracz and Twee Jonge Gezellen Krone Borealis. And even the much-maligned JC Le Roux also produces a premier range of MCC sparklers that are worth a taste.
Cheers!
A version of this post has also appeared on my blog CookSister!
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