Witnessing the CWG Showcase – Elsenburg Final Year Student

Tuesday, 30 August, 2016
Robert Wallace, Elsenburg Final Year Student
On Thursday, 18 August the prestigious and eagerly awaited Cape Winemakers Guild Showcase took place the Taj in Cape Town. Some of the most highly acclaimed winemakers within our country introduced their hand crafted wines, meticulously put together with much thought and passion exclusively for the Nedbank Cape Winemakers Guild Auction, which takes place later this year.

Each of the winemakers introduced and gave a tutored tasting of their own wine. The wines were diverse in style: Charles Hopkins explained the chemical statistics behind his wine; Kevin Grant spoke about how the soil type and origin plays a massive role on the bespoke terroir and Niels Verburg told the audience with crazy stories about his children and their antics which every year are the inspiration behind the wacky names he gives his CWG wines.

A prestigious event such as the CWG Showcase inevitably sparks industry debate. What is the future of the wine industry? In which direction will our wine makers be going forward?  Is there a South African style? Is the “hipster” trend of blending the weird, wonderful and unknown here to stay? Or will we be sticking to the big guns such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Pinotage and Chardonnay?

A large majority of the wines presented were vinified from your typical traditional varietals, which are generally known for having a serious status or “packing a hefty punch”. However, there were also some “new kids on the block” such as the Clairette Blanc by Andrea Mullineux. It seems like the Mullineux family can do nothing wrong at the moment! Then Sebastian Beaumont, the newest and one of the youngest winemakers to be admitted to the Guild, showed just how he is pushing the envelope. His innovative “Moerse Moer” Chenin Blanc with bold flavours and aromas extracted from the lees and solids within the wine, only received a bulk filtration before fermentation within the barrel.

Throughout the CWG Showcase there definitely seemed to be a common theme -all the winemakers were heard to be using the descriptors, “purity” and “integrity.” This comes as absolutely no surprise particularly when describing wines of the calibre showcased on the evening. Much importance was placed by all the winemakers on the purity of the fruit - with the best fruit sourced from specifically selected parcels of soil which more often than not presented challenging growing conditions. Stressed vines tend to bear a much smaller crop load and more concentrated berries which in turn reward with the winemaker with much sought after intense aromas and texture. It would seem that the wines from the 2015 vintage may well be one of best vintages experienced since our highly acclaimed 2009 vintage.

All in all, I think we can look to some exciting years ahead. With many new young winemakers as well as garagiste winemakers entering the industry and pushing the limits, the bigger and more experienced celebrity winemakers are being challenged to test their skills and achieve the unparalleled showpieces, the likes of which were displayed at this years CWG Showcase.

About me:

I am a 22 year old student and currently completing my final year B.Agric Cellar Technology at Elsenburg. I grew up in Cape Town and then moving out to our newly acquired farm in Elgin in 2004, which was once apples and now is all under vineyard has ignited a passion for viticulture and wine.

Dinner time conversation in our family generally revolves all around wine. With Paul Wallace my father being a vineyard consultant, Nicky my mother being a wine business manager and my brother Mark is a winemaker at Southern Right and Hamilton Russell.

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Robert Wallace,  Elsenburg Final Year Student
Robert Wallace, Elsenburg Final Year Student

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