handtomouth

My first foray into Cape Wine 2006, the big South African wine indaba that is held every two years, was to attend a session of the conference whose theme was diversity. This is in fact the theme of the whole event: “diversity is in our nature” – the idea being that Cape wine is a unique proposition by virtue of its extremely varied sites, growing conditions and micro-climates.

The argument goes that we are not easy to pin down to one or another style or category of wine, because multiple styles exist side by side. This is reputedly illustrated in our fynbos ecology, the most diverse plant kingdom on the planet, with more plant species diversity on Table Mountain than the whole of the UK. The argument, by extension, is that other wine producers do not have the diversity we have, that all cabernets from the Napa Valley in California have a common fingerprint.

No slogan likes to be interrogated too closely, and it certainly makes “human truth” that the Cape is a more diverse place than Gauteng, for example. From a human perspective, all locals can vouch for the Cape’s diverse climate and the extreme variability of the weather – the typical Capetonian always has a pull-over on standby – and it’s true that the weather “on this side of the mountain” is often totally different to the other. And we have numerous sides of numerous mountains.

Detractors of the concept “diversity is in our nature” say it’s a cop-out, allowing for all manner of wine to sneak through, the good with the bad. The excuse is built-in, they say, to hide the ordinary in “diversity”. And it is true that we do need first to make sure that the quality of any offering is top class – but within it’s aspirations.

A wine’s aspirations are generally indicated by its price point. In the UK market, they talk about wines sub £4 being the entry level quaffers, this translates as roughly under R35 wines (if one subtracts transport and other costs). In this price category, as in any, there are wines that over-deliver and there are wines that steal shelf-space.

But do these wines indicate regional diversity? I would find it hard to suggest that they do. Firstly, they are often assembled from various places and vineyards, and secondly they are often modest in their personality. Surely the most we can hope for is that they show varietal character, that they are indeed what the label promises?

So we turn to the more expensive wines to show our diversity, wines that come from particular estates, vineyards and singular areas. To have to find proof of this diversity by spending more isn’t that surprising – wine is both a mass-produced commodity and a limited niche product (with a higher price). Mass-produced commodity wines tend to be diverse by dint of design and marketing, the niche products end up being diverse because of their very nature, each example is bound by very particular influences that are intrinsically different to all others.

At the same time, it is up to the producer not to overshadow these idiosyncrasies by over-handling the wine, a fashionable example being treating the wine with too much new wood. Diversity is easily lost in a woody coffin.

As to the million dollar question: are our wines diverse? We do have a myriad of sites, so yes, they are diverse – but I couldn’t guarantee more so than another producing country. Ironically, it is perhaps the lack of very powerful big brands in the Cape that also argue diversity, for we are a splintered producer, living true to another motto: “strength in diversity”.