Graham Beck Wines

Off to a sizzling start

Our team is knee deep and up to their elbows in harvest 2009. This is not only the most frenetic time of the year, but also the most thrilling, and, at times, hair-raising! Conditions augured well during the run-up and the fruit looks fantastic.

As is Graham Beck Wines tradition, the annual start of harvest is celebrated at out Robertson and Franschhoek cellars with much fanfare, jollity and excitement.

Our farm teams deliver the first loads of the day to our cellar teams. Donned in colourful and imaginative outfits, they wave banners, sing and dance while ceremoniously ringing in this pivotal time of year. A joyful and energetic affair, these harvest processions are a definite highlight on our calendar.

What’s in store for 2009?

Harvest 2009 started in Robertson on Monday 19th January and on Tuesday 20th January in Franschhoek with Chardonnay destined for base wines for our award winning Cap Classique bubblies.

Despite a very tough and difficult spring and early summer we are delighted to have a healthy crop of grapes – the initial fruit looks great and we’re happy with the juice quality. Comparing the start date to the last two years of harvests, this harvest started 10 days later than usual. This bodes well for the so called hanging-time and our grapes are super healthy.

Initial crop levels from the blocks harvested thus far appear slightly up against last year, which was considered a light crop. The vineyards have great canopies this year and good ripeness should be achieved. The flavour profiles of varieties such as Sauvignon Blanc have explosive concentration and awesome aromatics.

We are happy to report that Franschhoek is now well geared to harvest and handle whole bunches. Not only is it important for quality, it also alleviates pressure from the Robertson side of production. Graham Beck Wines now have two ‘press-houses’ to work with whole bunches. At Robertson we added a new grape-press which has made an incredible difference in maintaining daily volumes. Our ‘crushing team’ (cellar team) now has more time for the real attention to detail required on the freshly squeezed juice. The juice quality of the first Chardonnay and Pinot Noir is fabulous and exhibits good analysis,” comments Pieter Ferreira, Graham Beck Wines cellarmaster.

The Sauvignon Blancs are looking stunning in their youthful stage and I expect an outstanding year for white wines and bubblies across the board. The reds are a little lighter in crop than previous years and that, together with the early signs of mild water stress, should bode well for their concentration this vintage. They look to be ripening well and more evenly than expected given the spring we had. For the rest we can only take it one day at a time, remembering it’s a marathon not a sprint,” remarks Marco Ventrella, Graham Beck Wines viticulturist.

It promises to be an intense harvest, but we’re up for the challenge!” agrees Irene Waller, Robertson winemaker. Poor Irene was stranded in Dakar after her plane broke down on the way back from an International Women Oak and Wine Event in Scottsdale, Arizona, so she missed bringing in the first grapes! “Fortunately I hit the ground running and we haven’t looked back since,” she says. Erika Obermeyer, Franschhoek winemaker, says this year the whites are looking beautiful, “better than she’s seen in years”!

Barack loves our Brut

In 1994 Graham Beck Brut NV was selected as the celebratory drink at the inauguration of South Africa’s first democratically elected president, Nelson Mandela.

More recently, after declaring his intention to run for president in February 2008, Barack Obama took his wife, Michelle, to one of their favourite restaurants in Chicago. The sommelier recommended two glasses of Graham Beck Brut NV to toast this auspicious occasion.

The Obamas were so impressed with this bubbly that they ordered six bottles for the 4th November. The corks were then ceremoniously popped to celebrate the election of the 44th American president before Barack Obama addressed the world at Grant Park. On 20 January 2009 Obama was officially inaugurated as America’s first African American president.

I am honoured that the Obamas selected our non-vintage Brut to toast their historic win,” says Graham Beck’s cellarmaster, Pieter Ferreira who, coincidently, was in Chicago at the time as part of his three-week market tour of the United States.

From Madiba magic to Obama mania – Graham Beck Brut has rung in the changes and celebrated history in the making!

Critical acclaim

In an article entitled ‘Yesterday's Wine’ on wine.co.za well known wine writer and judge, Neil Pendock, turned back the clock for a retrospective look at the SA wine industry which turned 350 this year. “A cynical friend of mine in the Cape wine trade once advised me to mix any good white wine with soda water, as that would be the equal to the finest Cape sparkling wine – and far cheaper. Graham Beck Brut was the bubbly Barack Obama chose to celebrate his presidential election in November. 'nuff said,” announces Pendock. We couldn’t agree more!

Happy birthday SA Wine

February 2009 marked the 350th anniversary of the South African wine industry. To celebrate this auspicious occasion Graham Beck Wines served oysters and Magnums of Graham Beck Brut to their cellar door clients. The Graham Beck Wines team got into the spirit of the festivities by releasing 350 balloons into the sky. Cheers!

Bowled over by Bowed Head

We are thrilled to announce the launch of our maiden vintage Ultra Premium Chenin Blanc, Bowed Head 2008. This is the very first Chenin Blanc in the Graham Beck Wines portfolio. With a whopping 4½ stars rating from the panel at the annual WINE magazine SurePure 2009 Chenin Blanc Challenge, this wine is destined for success.

The fruit for this wine was harvested from low yielding, 40 – 50 year old bush vines on rolling hills located in the coastal region of the south-western Cape. The hills are exposed to south-easterly winds, rain and lots of sunshine.

The grapes were left to ripen fully to ensure the development of the rich, ripe flavours and complexity so characteristic of this style of Chenin Blanc. The wine was barrel fermented and matured for eight months in French oak barrels.

On the nose expect whiffs of upfront tropical fruit, ripe melon, pineapple, peaches and honeysuckle. The full and creamy palate with its layers of ripe tropical fruit and spices is complemented by a long clean and crisp aftertaste.

Good now with the potential for cellaring for up to three years. Savour this wine al fresco style with grilled chicken or fish, rich pasta dishes and spicy food.

The name ‘Bowed Head’ is derived from the appearance one’s body takes on when working with these venerable old bush vines. One is pretty much on your knees, head bowed over when tending to the vines – pruning, suckering, tipping, topping or picking.

The name assumes a double meaning in the context of the wine and these very special old vines (planted in 1965). It signifies the humility and respect one should have for the terroir and vines; while humility is also required to produce a great wine from Chenin Blanc. It’s a nod to the gods of wine if you will – that we undertake this task humbly, respectfully and in a spirit of grateful reverence.

Go green…or go home

During the past year we at the Graham Beck Wines Robertson farm managed to recycle and re-use 36 million litres of effluent water. This constitutes 92% of all effluent and sewerage water produced on the farm.

The recycling of our solid waste also remains an important challenge. The aim for 2009 is to increase the recycling ratio by 23% and thus reduce our solid waste to approximately 40 tons per year.

This all forms part of the process of building a good practice in sustainable management on the farm. Recycle, re-use and reduce are cornerstones of our philosophy and form part of the numerous projects geared to mainstreaming biodiversity on the Robertson Farm.

Our long term goal is to ensure that by 2010 the unique biodiversity on the Robertson farm is conserved in a way that benefits the people and is embraced as a valuable element of wine production, in line and integrated with company policy and practised by all members off staff

Biodiversity in the natural systems on the farm is safe and secure. While a great deal has been achieved in terms of our sustainable farming operations, we plan on placing more emphasis on improving the management of our whole waste stream this year,” maintains the man behind our conservation drive, Mossie Basson.

Investing in our future

We are delighted to be part of a South African wine industry ‘first’. The Graham & Rhona Beck Skills Centre opened its doors last year amidst great excitement from the Robertson community. The Centre is now fully operational and is already attracting interest from far and wide. More than 50 different courses will attract thousands of learners during the course of 2009.

The centre (situated at Madeba, on the Graham Beck Robertson estate) offers a wide variety of skills training opportunities to the predominantly rural Robertson community with the focus on educating and empowering people from previously disadvantaged backgrounds.

Until next time,

Warmest wine regards

The Graham Beck Wines team