Mixed Case – A Unique Guide to the Cape Winelands (Struik) 2005
For most of us, wine is more about the place, the people and the occasion than any stiff technical analysis. Wine has personality. In this spirit, Mixed Case offers a look into the Cape Winelands as a collection of the different characters you’ll meet as you get to know its diversity: the formal types, the whacky ones and the quiet achievers.
It’s a guide book and a travelling companion and more: filled with opinion and a good few digressions – a somewhat off-beat look at the places and people that make these winelands one of the world’s most interesting and dynamic regions.
Descriptions of the wine characters are matched with useful general knowledge about wine and suggested itineraries that take you through the winelands by combining wine with other interests.
The book divides the producers of the Cape wine lands into “characters” to give a personal look into their approaches. Here they are:
1. The Grande Dames
These are the established wineries with age-old reputations, usually accompanied by the obligatory gabled Cape Dutch Heerenhuis. They are grand, stately and tranquil, their wines will sell by dint of the name and they offer much more than just wine to the visitor.
2. The Big Hitters
Large wineries with large reputations gleaned from award-winning and very popular wines, often at premium prices. They have the right “look” in terms of iconic environs, but they have developed big followings through creating the top SA wines.
3. The Mod Squad
Not so much the new kids on the block, but the guys who are willing to change the way it’s always been done. They have progressive ways with wine, dynamic approaches. They will be the first to have The Latest Toy, or Theory.
4. The Corporate Crew
These guys love wine, but they project an air of business in their approach, with large spreads, often supplemented by a golf course and restaurants. They take tour groups in their stride, with a “holistic” attitude (and gift shop).
5. The Wild Ones
These are the outliers, the crazy ones who make wine in far-flung places or by eccentric methods. They stray far from the horde and prefer it that way, their wines have a character that is born from the maverick.
6. The Stylistics
If they set trends, it’s because of their sophistication, their flair. If they don’t they don’t really care, because the way they do things is right anyway. They are cool and confident, the wines are often Taken Very Seriously – this is art.
7. The Essentialists
These are the guys who do it for the love of it, they would and could not do anything else. They go down to the essence of things and would far rather do it all by hand than have a machine, or a helper, step in. They aren’t after glamour, just the right wine.
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