Alternative Varieties Report 2019

By , 9 April 2019

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winemag.co.za is pleased to present the second annual Alternative Varieties Report focusing on single-variety wines which fall outside the mainstream.

44 white wine entries and 43 red wine entries were received and these were tasted blind (labels out of sight) by the three-person panel, scoring done according to the 100-point quality scale.

Wines to rate 90 or higher on the 100-point quality scale were as follows:

WHITE
95
Babylonstoren Wine Club Semillon 2017

92
Bosman Family Vineyards Fides Grenache Blanc 2017
Cavalli Verdelho 2016
Eagles’ Nest Viognier 2018
Org De Rac Verdelho 2018
Rickety Bridge Paulina’s Reserve Semillon 2017
Vrede en Lust Barrique 2017

91
Groote Post Riesling 2017
Highlands Road Semillon 2017
Highlands Road Semillon 2018
La Couronne Viognier 2016
La Couronne Viognier 2017
Lanzerac Keldermeester Versameling Bergpad Pinot Blanc 2017
Mariëtte Pinot Blanc 2018 (Le Belle Rebelle)
Stellenbosch Vineyards Limited Release Verdelho 2018

90
Abingdon Signature Viognier NV
Daschbosch Avon Clairette Blanche 2018
Dornier Semillon 2018
Haut Espoir Semillon 2017
Lieben Roussanne 2018
Malanot Asiel Semillon 2018
Nederburg The Winemasters Riesling 2017
Nitida Semillon 2018
Usana Pinot Gris 2017

RED
94
Raats Family Cabernet Franc 2016

93
Morgenster Cabernet Franc 2016

92
Lammershoek The Mysteries Die Ou Man Tinta Barocca 2015
Raats Dolomite Cabernet Franc 2017
Warwick Cabernet Franc 2015 (magnum)

91
Bosman Family Vineyards Twyfeling Cinsault 2017
Olifantsberg Grenache Noir 2017
Raats Dolomite Cabernet Franc 2016

90
Abingdon Signature Nebbiolo 2018
Boplaas Touriga Nacional 2017
Creation Grenache 2017
La Couronne Le Petite Malbec 2016
Lammershoek The Mysteries Die Onderstok Carignan 2017
Raats Family Cabernet Franc 2015
Stand Alone Gamay Noir 2018
Vrede en Lust Artisan Range Cabernet Franc 2016

To read the report in full, download the following: Alternative Varieties Report 2019

To view an album of images from yesterday’s announcement function, click here.

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    Denis Godlonton | 1 September 2020

    Very very interesting and a steep learning curve for me despite having drunk wine for many years.

    Donald Ackerman | 10 April 2019

    This report – the Alternative Varieties Report – which declares that the top 10 varieties (Chenin Blanc, Colombar, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinotage, Chardonnay, Merlot, Ruby Cabernet, Cinsault in that order) amounted to 86% of total plantings, in South Africa as well as the article by Christian – SA VS REST OF WORLD CHARDONNAY TASTING – where Christian states: “Those gathered agreed that discerning one region from another was almost impossible with such factors as picking date and winemaking technique influencing outcome as much if not more than place of origin”, reflects which I have come to bemoan – the sameness or similarity of wine(s). What type of “identity” are we seeking?

    A team of researchers from the University of Adelaide – WHICH WINE GRAPE VARIETIES ARE GROWN WHERE? A GLOBAL EMPIRICAL PICTURE – has compiled a catalogue of the world’s wine grape regions and varieties.

    The 10 most popular grape varieties (in order) are as follows: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Airen, Tempranillo, Chardonnay, Syrah, Garnacha, Sauvignon Blanc, Trebbiano, and Pinot Noir.

    As a matter of fact, these grape varieties occupy a whopping 41 percent of the market. All 10 varieties come from only three countries, with nine of them coming from only two! Six out of 10 of these grapes come from France.

    Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot dominate the list, occupying 12 percent of the market alone. These two red varietals, along with Sauvignon Blanc, come from the renowned region of Bordeaux. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir both come from Burgundy. Number six, Syrah, comes from the Rhone Valley.

    Particularly striking is the high and increasing dominance of wine grapes of French origin in the New World’s vineyards: that share averaged 67% in 2010, up from 53% in 2000.

    Kevin Begos, author of TASTING THE PAST – The Science of Flavor & the Search for the Origins of Wine – bemoans the fact that in a world full of thousands of wine grape varieties, each suited to its particular clime, we have limited ourselves to just a handful. Begos laments how we’ve “rammed the famous (i.e., French) varieties” into so many unsuitable habitats. That’s a marketing scam, he says, because we’re still caught in that trap of believing that there are only a few good grape varieties in the whole world.

    Moreover – according to me – the same winemaking techniques are employed, as a necessary result? Same studies, same varieties, same clones, same yeasts, same marketing, making “safe wines” – thus so-called trusty or recognisable wines, the extensive use of purported typicity regarding a certain variety – just don’t make a wine that does not conform to this notion of typicity – you’ll be slaughtered, no art, no individuality, just a sea of grey sameness? Just another beverage? Just the sameness as another Coke?

    We, I mean oenophiles like me, so typically portray wine and the making thereof as another artform, but, is there still art left?

    We just need more Chris Alheits – “Regionality must be one of the most important discussions for the coming years. The whole ‘everybody makes everything’ model has seriously limited global appeal. We need way better regional identity” – he at least professes the virtuosity of regionality; really explores and innovates; don’t we? Or are we really left with just another Coke? What type of “identity” are we seeking?

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