Villiera, a truly sustainable wine from Stellenbosch

Ask any brand owner or winemaker, they will all say there needs to be a story behind the wine. So what’s the story for Villiera, a family run Stellenbosch winery headed by cousins Jeff Grier the winemaker, Simon Grier the viticulturist and Cathy Grier Brewer the export and sales director?

I was convinced that Cathy, whom I have met a few times in Hong Kong, would say it is the family heritage, but to my surprise she said environment and sustainability. South Africa has been pioneering wine production integrity since 1988, and in 2010 it introduced the Integrity and Sustainability Seal that guarantees a wine’s quality and sustainability credentials. Wines of South Africa (WOSA) expects says 85% of the country's wine brands had been accredited by 2011. So how is Villiera different from the others?

Cathy explained that Villiera has reduced its vineyard area over the years in order to return about half of the land to its original state. Moreover, Villiera runs one of the biggest solar projects in South Africa, Apart from during harvest, when additional power is required, Villiera is run solely on solar power for the rest of the year. They have replaced water-guzzling foreign gum trees, planted over 60,000 indigenous trees, conserved and recycled water, and adopted a ‘no waste’ policy. What’s more, Villiera collaborates with two neighbours, The Cape Garden Centre and Klawerlei Estate, and set aside some 220 ha of land (the vineyard area is 180ha) as a wildlife sanctuary, consisting of dams (lakes) and marshland, which is home to various South African mammals and a great diversity of birdlife.

Villiera has not used insecticides for over 12 years, yet the vineyard is not organic. Asked why, Cathy says Villiera is more concerned about the ecosystem and biodiversity as a whole. Organic production is good for human consumption but may not necessarily benefit the environment. This fits nicely with the broader concept of sustainability, which is about producing wine over the medium to long term in a responsible way that promotes biodiversity and minimises environmental damage while at the same time being economically viable for the producer. Villiera is looking into the feasibility of becoming a carbon neutral estate.

Sustainability also extends to social responsibility. Villiera has undertaken several upliftment projects for the farm’s workers and children and also helps market the produce of the M’Huidi winery, which is owned by a black family. Villiera was the first winery to gain the WIETA (Wine Industry Ethical Trade Association) accreditation for promoting fair labour practices.

Sustainability apart, Villiera is 100% committed to quality. It experiments with various practices including altering picking times, growing different clones and using new winemaking techniques to make the perfect wine. Villiera Bush Vine Sauvignon Blanc is one such example. Realising the unique characteristics of the block of bush vines that existed when the Grier family bought the estate in 1983, Jeff decided to bottle the wine separately rather than blending it with the other Sauvignon Blancs. The wine from these low yield, 30+ year old vines is elegant, with flinty and peppery characters, quite different from a typical tropical fruit flavoured New World Sauvignon Blanc. I particularly enjoyed the 2010 vintage, which tends more towards cool climate characters, and the 2008 vintage, which at four year of age is still pleasantly refreshing.

A few weeks ago we had an informative vertical tasting of the Old Bush Sauvignon Blanc and the flagship Monro red (a Merlot dominated Bordeaux blend) under Cathy's guidance. Unfortunately, the older vintages were from the library collection and not available for sale. Other award winning wines from Villiera include the Cap Classique Monro Brut and Traditional Brut NV, and the traditional barrel fermented Chenin Blanc. Available from Northeast.

Appreciating Riesling

Riesling is a difficult grape to understand and appreciate. It has many faces, from sparkling (Sekt from Germany), and dry to sweet made from botrytis noble rot grapes or grapes frozen at -8ºC, and with all kinds of sweetness in between. The common characteristics of all Rieslings are high acidity and relatively low alcohol.

In my discussions with Mosel winemakers, including Reinhard Löwenstein, the 13th generation of Weingut Heymann-Löwenstein, and biodynamic winemaker Clemens Busch, they all stressed the influence of slate on German Rieslings. Blue slate lies deeper underground and vines have to work hard to get the trace minerals, resulting in wine with more minerality—the typical elegant Mosel style. Red slate has a more rounded mouthfeel with gooseberry and red fruits, while grey slate gives more yellow and tropical fruits. At the Riesling Journey masterclass conducted by Carsten Klane from German Fine Wine in Hong Kong last month, we tasted several German Rieslings alongside Rieslings from Alsace and Australia, and the differences were obvious. German Riesling has a tighter and leaner structure, especially the Mosels which can be steely, while Alsatian Riesling is bolder. Australian Riesling is generous but lacks the subtlety of those from the Old World when compared side by side.

Apart from the sweet noble rot and ice wine Rieslings, where consumers know that the wines are, well, sweet, many people are confused and put off by the off dry/medium style Rieslings from Germany. I have to confess this is the reason I didn’t go near Riesling when I first explored wine. The trick, instead of focusing on the sweetness, is to think about the balance between sweetness, acidity, alcohol and fruit. A well-made medium dry Riesling is not cloying like syrup, but concentrated and fruity with a nicely balanced sweetness set against the acidity. It can go well with a variety of savoury dishes from steamed dumplings (蒸餃子) to Kung Pao chicken (宮保雞丁) and sweet and sour prawns (咕嚕蝦球).

A couple of useful tips on sweetness when you buy German Riesling: Kabinett, Spätlese and Auslese are categorised according to the sugar level at the time of harvest. They can all be either dry or medium. You need to interpret this with reference to the alcohol level. For example, a Kabinett with 11% alcohol will be dry while one with 8% alcohol will by semi-dry. Similarly, a dry Spätlese has about 12-13% alcohol and  a dry Auslese about 13-13.5%.

Here are a few useful German - English translations to help you read the labels:

• Trocken: Dry. Any wine with this word will have less than 9g/l residual sugar.
• Grosses Gewächs (GG)/Erste Gewächs: Equivalent to Grand Cru. Dry wine from Erste Lage (first growth vineyards) under the VDP classification. Alcohol level usually 12-13.5%.
• Halbtrocken: Off-dry, usually 9-18g/l residual sugar.
• Feinherb: Half-dry, an unregulated designation, usually sweeter than halbtocken, in the range of 12-40g/l residual sugar.
• VPA: the Association of German Quality Wine Estates.

Clemens-Busch is available from German Fine Wine, and Weingut Heymann-Löwenstein is available from Berry Bros & Rudd.

Holdvölgy, modern marketing thinking

Most wine lovers are probably unaware that Tokaji was the first wine region to be classified, way back in 1730, 26 years before port wine and 125 years before the Bordeaux 1855 classification. The vineyards were sorted into three classes based on the soil, sun exposure and potential to develop noble rot. Tokaji Aszú wine has long been enjoyed by royalty, writers and composers, but, like most Eastern European countries, Hungary fell victim to communism, and not until the Soviet Empire's collapse in the 1990s did its glory slowly begin to revive. In 2002, UNESCO recognised Tokaji as a World Heritage Site for its distinct vinicultural tradition.

Holdvölgy (Moon Valley in English) is situated in the heart of this legendary region in the Mád basin (equivalent to Grand Cru). Pascal Demko, the passionate owner, strives to produce high quality wine true to the Tokaji region from his 25 hectares, comprising 19 parcels on seven different sites. Being a lawyer with a rational mind, Pascal employs a team of professionals including the young and enthusiastic winemaker Stéphanie Berecz, who is responsible for making all the outstanding Holdvölogy wines across its two lines: the classic luxury Holdvölogy line, and the premium, fun Hold and Hollo line.

There is no doubting the quality of the wine. But what impresses me most is the marketing thinking behind the two lines: in tune with today’s consumers yet true to the origin and conscious of quality.

The Holdvölogy line ranges from dry Furmint to sweet Tokaji Aszú. Pascal has given each wine a ‘philosophical’ name that reflects its character. The English names certainly save non-Hungarian consumers the embarrassment of attempting the seemingly impossible-to-pronounce Hungarian grape names:

Meditation - Dry Tokaji Furmint: mineral touch and refreshing;
Expression - Dry Tokaji Hárslevelü: floral and vivid;
Signature - Sweet Tokaji Aszú style: Traditional Aszú wine with a contemporary twist;
Culture - Sweet Tokaji Aszú: Superior quality and traditional

The first vintage was 2006 for Culture and 2007 for the others. They were only released in 2011 and are now selling at Michelin star restaurants in London.

Coming from a background of marketing consumer goods when wine was still largely confined to the ‘connoisseur’ segment, I find the wine industry in general is, even today, still quite conservative when it comes to marketing. So I definitely give a thumbs up to Pascal’s second brand, Hold and Hollo. In my view, this should be a hit with young, fun loving consumers. Marketed under two labels: dry and sweet with sharp green and pink latex labels respectively, Hold and Hollo does not emphasise grape varieties or vintages, but focuses instead on innovation, creativity and originality. I can see the young 20+s sipping it in bars, and, if allowed, it could even be selling in the lifestyle sections of department stores like Lane Crawford, City Super and Selfridges.

Pascal has no representative in Hong Kong or Asia yet, but I am confident that a like-minded distributor would find representing Holdvölgy and Hold and Hollo rewarding.

The Douro Boys

Apart from port, the next best thing from the Douro (or indeed Portugal) from a wine perspective is probably the Douro Boys.

An alliance of five independent family estates: Quinta do Vallado, Quinta do Crasto, Quinta do Vale D. Maria, Quinta do Vale Meão and Niepoort, Douro Boys was created in 2003 to ‘put the Douro on the map’. Back then, Portuguese wine was little known outside Portugal, let alone in Asia. Douro table wine had a few disadvantages: it was the little cousin of port, both in terms of popularity and quality. The best grapes were often designated for producing port, and most estates made table wine almost as an afterthought. White wine was often oxidised and red austere.

The status of port in the Douro is beyond doubt. All members of the Douro Boys make ports, but they have also noted the growing trend of red wine consumption. They believe in two things: to make the best quality wine with what the land offers them—indigenous grapes and terroir—and to be out there promoting their wines.

Douro wine is a blend of indigenous grapes. The names are sometimes near impossible to pronounce and it is difficult to single out a distinctive aroma that can be associated with the wines. An easy way out would be to replant the vineyards with international grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah. Luckily, the Douro Boys have not.

The light-heartedness of the group’s name contrasts nicely with the considerable avoirdupois (weight) of its members: dynamism and determination. They are accessible but the wines are serious. Each quinta has its own style and together they offer a good breadth of selection. With their energy, enthusiasm and commitment, they trot the globe, reviving the Douro image and in fact raising the overall quality standard of Douro wine. The international press writes about them with passion; critics rate their wines with respect and wine lovers, well, just love their wines.

Try yourself to see which of the Douro Boys is your style. Distributor of:
Quinta do Vallado, Quinta do Vale Meão and Niepoort: Vino Veritas
Quinta do Crasto: Adega Royale
Quinta do Vale D. Maria: Global Wine Cellar