Well, well, well. It seems that our wine-making friends in South
Africa have gotten themselves into a bit of a Donnybrook. And this
one has nothing to do with apartheid, Sun City or diamonds.
Well, well, well. It seems that our wine-making friends in South Africa have gotten themselves into a bit of a Donnybrook. And this one has nothing to do with apartheid, Sun City or diamonds.
In a scandal that puts me in mind of the Great Milli Vanilli Lip-Synching Brouhaha of 1990, South African producer KWV was busted for adding a “flavourant” (this word is evidently South Africanese for “flavoring,” and in a spirit of international respect, I will continue to use their spelling throughout today’s column) to an award-winning Sauvignon Blanc, an act that is illegal.
The first hint of trouble came to light about a year ago, when wine writer Michael Fridjhon tipped off his readers that some wine makers might not be on the up-and-up, flavour-wise (pesky wine writers, anyway). Fridjhon’s allegations sparked an extensive (and expensive) series of scientific tests. About 25 percent of South Africa’s wine cellars were tested for added flavouring agents and were found to be flavourant-free. But someone spilled the beans: KWV’s 2004 Reserve and Laborie Sauvignon Blancs had been tampered with by two award-winning winemakers, Ian Nieuwoudt and Gideon Theron. One of these dastardly fellows added artificial flavours normally used to enhance fruit drinks, while the other concocted an extract of green peppers to add to the wine.
Which begs the question: why would anyone want to flavour wine with green peppers? I’ve heard people use all kinds of words to describe the myriad and tantalizing flavours present in wine, but I’ve yet to hear “green pepper.” For that matter, I’ve never heard “Romaine,” “celery,” “cherry tomato,” “alfalfa sprout” or any other salad veggie either.
Later, either Nieuwoudt or Theron also admitted to having flavoured a 2003 Sauvignon and the company moved to withdraw it from the market, but as it turned out, most of it had been sold and, presumably, consumed.
Those two hapless winemakers were fired, KWV was fined, and more than 60,000 liters of wine worth 1,000,000 South African rand ($174,632.83 U.S.) were poured down the loo.
So why is this a big deal? Because South Africa was poised to become a major player on the world wine stage, that’s why. The country’s temperate, Mediterranean-esque climate is ideal for growing a wide range of wine varietals. Warm summers contrasted with evenings cooled by foggy Atlantic Ocean breezes make for a nice, long growing season. All of the most well-known grape varietals are grown here: Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Pinot Noir and the aforementioned, apparently (at least to Nieuwoudt and Theron) less-flavourful Sauvignon Blanc. Other, lesser-known types are also grown, mostly French and German derivatives.
South Africa currently has 110,200 hectares (272,304 acres) of land planted with wine-grape vines. Nearly 350,000 people are directly or indirectly employed by the country’s wine industry. With 2003 production of 956 million liters of wine and wine products such as brandy and something called “grape spirit,” South Africa is the world’s ninth largest producer. A study published in 2000 indicated that the wine business generated 14.6 billion rand ($2,549,327,746.61 U.S.) in direct revenue and an additional 3.5 billion rand ($611,140,213.23 U.S.) in wine-tourism-related money. And these guys are only number nine.
Now that is quite a bit of money, and a very clear insight into why the wine producers of South Africa are quite miffed about this whole mess.
So there is a lot of hand-wringing going on in the African southland. Some are saying that it will take years before the pall placed on the South African wine industry by the KWV scandal can be overcome.
On a personal note, I have tasted several wines from this region, and the ones I had were really quite good, although I can’t recall any green pepper notes in there.
Let’s hope that South Africa can overcome the actions of a few bad eggs and take its place among the finest composers of the wine world, and not among the Milli Vanillis.
Thanks
Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to respond to this column, and I welcome more of you to do so. It’s good to know that people are paying attention to what you do, even if you step on a few toes now and then. A special tip of the Wine Chat hat to the guy who sent me a photo of himself with his dead moose. I live with that memory every day.
As we go into the New Year, I look forward to exploring more of the wine and wineries of our area, and to getting to know the wonderful people who devote their lives to the back-breaking job of making wine for the rest of us to enjoy.
This paper, and Wine Chat with it, is taking a couple of Saturdays off for the holidays. So I’ll see you all back here on Jan. 8. Happy Holidays to all.
