Christian Eedes: April 2006
Author:
Christian Eedes
Published: 03 Aug 06
Bartholomew Broadbent reckons South Africa is well placed to crack the American market.Bartholomew Broadbent's company, Broadbent Selections, is the US importer for
18 ultra-premium wineries from around
the world, all of them family-owned.
Included in his portfolio is Stellenbosch property Warwick, which belongs to the Ratcliffe clan, as well as the Vilafonté vineyards in Paarl, which sees the Ratcliffes teamed up with husband-and-wife winemaking duo Phil Freese and Zelma Long out of California. Given that he also represents wineries from Argentina, Australia, Austria, Chile, France, Germany, Lebanon, New Zealand and Portugal, it is worth noting that Broadbent observes a perception in the US trade that South African wine is the "next big thing".
Why the appeal? According to Broadbent, there are plenty of positive connotations to drinking SA wine for Americans. For one thing, the country is seen as "politically correct" and "making good on its past mistakes". For another, the American public is starting to see South Africa as an attractive tourism destination - "the land of sun" and "the country everyone wants to visit".
Consumers are therefore favourably disposed to everything South African - and Broadbent is poker-faced when he says how grateful we should be for the attention that US chat-show host Oprah Winfrey has bought our country.
But what is it about South African wines specifically that finds favour? Broadbent starts by saying that the country has until recently suffered from a reputation for making "dirty old Pinotage". In an aside, he confesses that he is not adverse to this sort of wine. "I like a bit of Brett and volatile acidity. But I have weird taste…"
What South Africa has started to get right, however, is wines "suited to the international palate" and "New World in style".
So what precisely does he understand by this style? Broadbent replies that he is referring to wines that are made with "high alcohol, high extract and obvious fruit". He does however express some reservations about this style even if he acknowledges its commercial appeal. "The top end of the trade is increasingly opposed to such wines because they all end up tasting the same." He nevertheless suspects that this attitude will take a while to filter down to the consumer.
If anyone has promoted wines of greater weight and power, then it's US critic Robert Parker. Broadbent is immediately on his guard at the mention of Parker's name. He points to the well-publicised "difference of opinion" between Parker and his father Michael, Master of Wine and renowned wine writer. "I suspect that Parker doesn't review my wines as a result."
Is it fair that Parker is so demonised in some quarters? "If he's altering the way your favourite winemakers make their wine, then I think it's fair to try and prevent that."
Included in the Warwick range is a Pinotage, and Broadbent says that when he showed it to the top chefs and sommeliers of food-and-wine hotspot Las Vegas, it was "very much appreciated". The general feedback was that if there were more versions like this, it might be considered a "great variety". At the very least, it is unique and "has a story behind it".
Broadbent is also a fan of the Cape Blend concept - red blends that contain a portion of Pinotage. He believes strongly that a minimum percentage of the homegrown varietal should be legislated in order for a wine to qualify as such.
Doesn't this result in winemaking becoming unnecessarily rule-bound? "How the appellations of Europe are demarcated depends on rules but good rules," he retorts. "Define what a Cape Blend stands for and you create something solid rather than wishy-washy."
With many of the 296 million inhabitants of the US only just starting to embrace wine, it seems sensible to give Broadbent every possible tool to promote South African wine successfully.
Included in his portfolio is Stellenbosch property Warwick, which belongs to the Ratcliffe clan, as well as the Vilafonté vineyards in Paarl, which sees the Ratcliffes teamed up with husband-and-wife winemaking duo Phil Freese and Zelma Long out of California. Given that he also represents wineries from Argentina, Australia, Austria, Chile, France, Germany, Lebanon, New Zealand and Portugal, it is worth noting that Broadbent observes a perception in the US trade that South African wine is the "next big thing".
Why the appeal? According to Broadbent, there are plenty of positive connotations to drinking SA wine for Americans. For one thing, the country is seen as "politically correct" and "making good on its past mistakes". For another, the American public is starting to see South Africa as an attractive tourism destination - "the land of sun" and "the country everyone wants to visit".
Consumers are therefore favourably disposed to everything South African - and Broadbent is poker-faced when he says how grateful we should be for the attention that US chat-show host Oprah Winfrey has bought our country.
But what is it about South African wines specifically that finds favour? Broadbent starts by saying that the country has until recently suffered from a reputation for making "dirty old Pinotage". In an aside, he confesses that he is not adverse to this sort of wine. "I like a bit of Brett and volatile acidity. But I have weird taste…"
What South Africa has started to get right, however, is wines "suited to the international palate" and "New World in style".
So what precisely does he understand by this style? Broadbent replies that he is referring to wines that are made with "high alcohol, high extract and obvious fruit". He does however express some reservations about this style even if he acknowledges its commercial appeal. "The top end of the trade is increasingly opposed to such wines because they all end up tasting the same." He nevertheless suspects that this attitude will take a while to filter down to the consumer.
If anyone has promoted wines of greater weight and power, then it's US critic Robert Parker. Broadbent is immediately on his guard at the mention of Parker's name. He points to the well-publicised "difference of opinion" between Parker and his father Michael, Master of Wine and renowned wine writer. "I suspect that Parker doesn't review my wines as a result."
Is it fair that Parker is so demonised in some quarters? "If he's altering the way your favourite winemakers make their wine, then I think it's fair to try and prevent that."
Included in the Warwick range is a Pinotage, and Broadbent says that when he showed it to the top chefs and sommeliers of food-and-wine hotspot Las Vegas, it was "very much appreciated". The general feedback was that if there were more versions like this, it might be considered a "great variety". At the very least, it is unique and "has a story behind it".
Broadbent is also a fan of the Cape Blend concept - red blends that contain a portion of Pinotage. He believes strongly that a minimum percentage of the homegrown varietal should be legislated in order for a wine to qualify as such.
Doesn't this result in winemaking becoming unnecessarily rule-bound? "How the appellations of Europe are demarcated depends on rules but good rules," he retorts. "Define what a Cape Blend stands for and you create something solid rather than wishy-washy."
With many of the 296 million inhabitants of the US only just starting to embrace wine, it seems sensible to give Broadbent every possible tool to promote South African wine successfully.
