Morgenster, the ‘French’ morning star

The Morgenster vertical tasting apparently clashed with another tasting in Hong Kong (but then most tastings do!). Luckily I was not invited to the other one so was very happy and definitely did not regret being able to concentrate on this French-at-heart South African wine.

Located only about 4km from the Atlantic Ocean in Somerset West just south of Stellenbosch, the vineyard benefits from the cool sea breeze resulting in a growing season 2º-3ºC lower than inland. Hence the wines are a touch lower in final alcohol and higher in acidity. Being closer to the ocean also implies more vintage variation, and it does show in the wines we tasted.

The owner, Italian Giulio Bertrand, fell in love with South Africa and especially the setting of Morgenster—meaning ‘morning star’ in Dutch—with its Cape Dutch manor house dating back to 1786. He decided to retire there and make the best Bordeaux outside Bordeaux and the best olive oil outside Italy. Being from the textile industry which has nothing to do with winemaking and olive oil production, he engaged professional help to realise his dream. Pierre Lurton from Cheval Blanc is the man responsible for his wine.

There are two things that differentiate Morgenster from other South African wineries in the same league. First. Giulio and Pierre have the vision to retain a portion of each year’s production to age in cellar, so there are always at least ten backdated vintages available for sale and customers can appreciate the older wines in perfect condition—not every winery has the luxury to do this because of cash flow.

Secondly, while Pierre goes to Morgenster every April for the vintage, it is Henry Kotze, the winemaker, who takes the wine to Cheval Blanc every October to make the blend. I don’t think too many wineries in the world, let alone South Africa, adopt such a practice. So it can be argued that Morgenster wine is truly a French-at-heart South African wine.

There are two labels available, both Bordeaux blends: Lourens River Valley and the flagship Morgenster which is only made in the best years. We tasted four of each: 2009, 2005, 2003 and 2001. Both 2005s have more weight and sweet ripe fruit characters because it was a hotter year. We were split between the 2003s and the 2001s, both cooler years, which are more ready to drink now. For the Laurens River Valley my preference was the 2001 as the wine revealed different aromas and bouquet every time I took a sip. The 2009, from another cooler year, is definitely still too young but it has the backbone to develop like the 2001. As for the Morgenster, my favourite was the 2003 with finesse yet a firm structure.

Anyway, the point here is not to reach a consensus on which wine or vintage is the best. They are all of high quality and each has its own style so we just have to follow our individual preference. James Yates proudly said that he is a Merlot fan and so loves the Morgenster 2005 which has 86% Merlot in the blend! So don’t blindly take the wine critics’ word; try them for yourself.

Morgenster and Laurens River Valley are available from Victoria Wines.

The graceful lady behind Grace Koshu

Gosh, she must be one of the most elegant lady winemakers I have met! Ayana Misawa, from the fifth generation at Grace Wine in Yamanashi Prefecture, about 100km from Tokyo and north of Mt Fuji, was in town recently to present her wine.

Trained in Japan, Bordeaux and Stellenbosch, and having worked in Argentina, Chile, Australia and France, young Ayana (I reckon she is only in her early 30s) is now the chief winemaker at Grace Wine. However, being one of the very few female winemakers in male dominated Japan, it is not easy. Ayana is determined, certainly confident yet sensitive. I was discussing with someone about the feminine side of wine lately and Ayana is definitely a representative, and probably an inspiration to a lot of like-minded Asian women.

Her spirit is reflected in the wines. They are refined and delicate, yet have character. The Cuveé Misawa Rouge, a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon and 35% Merlot sadly not available in Hong Kong (yet), is the combination of New World fruitiness and Old World restraint minus the high tannin, definitely worth the ￥6,000 per bottle (about HK$500-600 if available here).

Koshu (甲州), an indigenous grape in Japan, is as delicate as the lady herself. Ayana’s father was the pioneer in replacing the pergola trained Koshu with vertical shoot positioning (VSP), resulting in lower yield and much more concentrated fruit. I was surprised to learn that summer temperatures can be as high as 35ºC in Yamanashi, yet Koshu only has about 11-12% alcohol thanks to its naturally low sugar level. Ayana further improves it by fermenting it in stainless steel tanks or old barrels and without lees ageing to make a refreshing vibrant wine. My first impression of Koshu was that it was vaguely reminiscent of Mosel Riesling but Ayana is more right to compare it with Hunter Valley Semillon.

Koshu, with its delicate palate, certainly pairs well with Japanese sashimi. Ayana reckons it would also be a perfect match with Cantonese cuisine. I can see myself enjoying it with poached prawns, steamed bean curd and light stir-fried dishes. We tried two Koshus: Grace Gris de Koshu and Grace Koshu. The latter, with a slightly fuller body, is clearly my favourite.

Grace also has a very well-made barrel fermented Chardonnay and a fruity Kayagatake Rouge (a blend of Muscat Bailey-A, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot). And if you have a sweet tooth, don’t forget its surprisingly fresh Kerner Late Harvest!

By the way, Ayana confirmed that in Japan they do indeed have an individual umbrella over each bunch of grapes to shelter it from rain, and which is closed when the sun comes out. Jees, this can only happen in Japan!

And thanks Gonpachi for the lovely lunch.

Grace Wine is available from Northeast.

Glass bottle recycling mentality in Hong Kong

Hong Kong has more than its fair share of waste even for our 7 million population. In 2012, the world’s cities generated some 1.3 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW), equivalent to 1.2kg per city dweller per day. And Hong Kong? We produce 1.36kg of MSW per person per day on the domestic side. Shouldn’t we all be ashamed, especially when our neighbours are much less wasteful –Taipei at 1.00kg/person/day and Tokyo at 0.77kg/person/day?

Focusing on glass, Hong Kong, at 3%, has the lowest glass recycling rate among developed countries, compared to 90% in Germany, 70% in South Korea and 44% in the UK. The rest of the glass goes into Hong Kong's three landfills, which are predicted to be filled to capacity by 2015, 2017 and 2019.

We wine lovers generate significant amount of glass: dinners for 6-8 people with 10-15 bottles opened are not uncommon, not to to mention the truck loads of empty bottles collected at the end of wine events (Wine & Dine, Hong Kong Wine Fair, and the coming Vinexpo). Isn’t it our duty, therefore, to help solve the problem?

The Hong Kong Wine Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce recently held a seminar on the Government's proposal for ‘A producer responsibility scheme on glass beverage bottles’ with Dr Alain Lam, Principal Environmental Protection Officer of the Environmental Protection Department, as speaker explaining the scheme, which is a part of the much bolder ‘Hong Kong Blueprint for Sustainable Uses of Resources 2013-2022’.

Under the ‘polluter pays’ principle, a recycling fee of about HK$1/litre of beverage content is proposed. Furthermore, the Government suggests that this fee be collected at the supplier level, ie. importers, as this would be much easier to monitor and more effective than trying to do it at the retail or consumer level.

While most in the audience supported the recycling initiative, some were concerned about the who and when to pay, and the associated operational costs. From what I understand, these concerns have been largely addressed. Dr Lam stressed that the fee is only collected on first sale, and re-export sales are exempted. To illustrate, an importer who brings in ten 20ft containers (about 120,000 bottles) of wine, re-exports eight containers to China within two months, and only eventually sells 2 pallets (about 2,400 bottles) in Hong Kong over the next six months, he only needs to pay HK$2,400 after 6 months, not HK$120,000 as some think.

As to when to pay this recycling fee, the Government suggested a reasonable period of say 30 days after submitting the record. Some thought this too short as they might not have received payment from their customers yet. But if the submission is only made say every quarter, this means importers only need to pay the January recycling fee in April, and I’m sure most importers should have received payment by then. And since the recycling fee is a levy charged by the Government and will be passed along the supply chain anyway, importers can always ask customers to pay it on delivery while normal payment terms apply to the cost of the wine. This is only a matter of changing habits and I’m sure it is doable.

To monitor payment the Government would require importers to register. Some smaller traders voiced concern about the registration fee and subsequent administrative work. Again, Dr Lam emphasised that registration is free. And every company, no matter how small, already needs to keep sales records. So I really don’t think the extra workload requires the employment of an army—a slight modification to existing spreadsheets and maybe one more entry line on the invoice may do the trick.

There were others who worried about consumer education, wondering in particular whether the collected glass would really be recycled or would in fact eventually end up in the landfills anyway. On this I do think the Government is eager to make it right. They have a major problem in Hong Kong running out of landfill space, so the last thing they want is for waste to sneak back there. With the introduction of the MSW charging scheme, the expansion of glass collection points, and the broadening of possibilities for using recycled glass (eco-pavers, partition blocks, pre-cast concrete products and terrazzo tiles according to research carried out by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University), I think, and I do hope, this will not be a major issue.

One optimistic suggestion from the floor was that perhaps the wine industry should be exempted because most of us like to collect empty bottles for display. Well.... only if we drink rare and trophy wines every day!

The simple truth is that we Hong Kongers waste too much. Look at all the nearly new television sets consigned to the dump just because an even bigger model came out. And why do bakeries have to put each individual bread bun in a plastic bag and then put the whole lot in another plastic bag? The plaintive arguments of those who say it’s all too hard in Hong Kong are feeble. Cutting out waste at source and recycling vastly greater amounts of all kinds of stuff (glass included) can be done if Governments and citizens put their minds to it. Many, many countries around the world have proved it, and Hong Kong’s efforts look embarrassing and shameful in comparison.

You could say it is bad timing for the Government to introduce this programme now because, sadly, most of us don’t trust them much these days, so whatever they say, even the good ideas with good intentions, we tend to object. Well, let’s give them some credit on this one. There will never be a ‘good’ time to start wasting less and recycling more. You just have to start. Improve things by 5% a year and things will look very different in a decade’s time. We are lucky to live in a city with one of the lowest tax burdens in the world. We can afford to pay a bit to push waste management and recycling up to more respectable levels. I think we should stop moaning, stop being selfish, give the Government a chance and do our bit to improve our living environment.

For those who genuinely want to reduce waste, check out HK Recycles. They collect your recyclables every week for a small fee.

Source:
Department of Civil and Structuring Department, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Environmental Protection Department, Hong Kong
Green Glass Green
Hong Kong Recycles
The Economist

It’s a Revolution!

Swartland Independent? Most would assume it must be a bunch of arty people, radicals, rebels against big corporations. It turns out to be so much more.

Swartland Independent is a bunch of wine producers from the Swartland in South Africa, just over one hour’s drive north of Cape Town, but not just any old bunch. It is a group of like-minded winegrowers who believe in the true expression of the region’s terroir and in wines having their own identities.

The Swartland, like Stellenbosch, is a wine district in South Africa. Any wine made with grapes grown there can be labelled ‘Wine of Origin Swartland’. But to use the ‘Swartland Independent’ logo, producers must adhere to a set of viticultural guidelines with priority given to the conservation of old vines. The wine must be produced with minimal manipulation, with no use of commercial yeasts or enzymes, no added tannin or acid, and must not be chemically fined. Moreover, Swartland Independent believes that heavy oaking ‘masks’ the essence of grapes, so no more than 25% of a wine may be aged in new wood, and the wood must be of European origin. There are also guidelines on grape varieties. For whites, 90% must be Chenin Blanc, Marsanne, Roussane, Viognier, and specified others, while for reds, 90% must be Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache, Cinsault, and more. Commercially popular varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc are not permitted. The producers believe planting grapes on unsuitable terroir only results in wine with inherent limitations.

The result? Rhone blend wines from this Mediterranean climate in the Southern hemisphere. The wine is all about natural balance, freshness and purity.

The Swartland has some of the oldest bush vines in South Africa but viticulture was long in the back seat as this is traditionally a grain-producing area. Wines were robust and mostly fortified until a new generation of winemakers who believe in making wine that is a true expression of its origin went there to hunt for parcels of old vines.

Eben Sadie, one of the leaders of the movement, firmly believes in the diverse soils that the Swartland offers: decomposed granite in the Paardeberg Mountain, clay soils with iron similar to those in the Barossa, slate and schist, calcareous soils, sandstones from Table Mountain and alluvial soils like those found in Graves. It is a canvas upon which grapes can express their true sense of place. Eben praises bush vines with their 360º orientation towards the sun that helps avoid the excessive sun or shading of bunches that can occur on trained vines. And he expends the same effort in the winery. For years, he experimented with fermentation in amphorae underground, a Georgian winemaking tradition, with varying degrees of disaster until he finally mastered the skill. He is now extending the winery to accommodate a few amphorae. I am looking forward to trying those wines in a few years.

Swartland Independent has just over 20 members, all family businesses. Some of them, like Adi Badenhorst, ex-winemaker at Rustenberg, gave up their jobs in prestige wineries, while others, like Donovan Rall, still work for established producers but also make some wines of their own. Mullineux is an international team led by Chris Mullineux from South Africa and his wife Andrea from San Francisco. All of them, hands on in both vineyard and winery, gather in the Swartland to live their dreams of making passionate wine. Naturally, none of them has a big production. David Sadie (no relation to Eben) has just one barrel of 400 bottles for his Grenache Noir.

To attract the attention of wine lovers and to revive the image of the region, Swartland Independent organises an annual weekend event called The Swartland Revolution, comprised of tutored tastings, an auction and a braai (South African barbecue) evening that ends with a street-party open tasting. Tickets for last November's event sold out in 52 hours.

I am excited by the development of the Swartland and the enthusiasm of these producers. In the wine world, there are mass produced standardised wines that are clean and consistent but lack soul, and there are the premium wines with matching price tags that can only be a treat once in a while for many. To me, wines like those made by the Swartland Independent producers are wines for the true wine lover. We appreciate the fact that grapes are products of nature, and we embrace the different styles, even the not-so-mainstream funky ones. Above all, we respect winemakers who have the commitment, the passion and conviction to make wine that truly reflects the place.

Luckily, there is no shortage of like-minded producers in South Africa, and in fact in all wine producing countries. We should be bold enough to step out of our comfort zone and try wines from different regions and producers, including smaller and lesser known ones like these. Only then can we truly enjoy this wonderful drink that mother nature makes possible.

The Sadie Family wines is available from Berry Bros & Rudd.
Mullineux is available from Berry Bros & Rudd and Vincisive Wines.