Dave Hughes, a man of wine and spirit
It is easy to spot Dave Hughes in a crowd; he is the man most likely standing behind a podium, microphone in hand, talking to an intrigued audience, his authoritative voice both reassuring and commanding. Or, failing that, spot the gentleman with the thick white beard that evokes images of Father Christmas, dwarves and other folklore – not quite mythical but every bit legendary.
Photograph by Toby Murphy
Naturally, an interview with the man includes questions about this feature of his. “It used to be much longer, but Mrs Platter [wife of the founder of Platter’s Wine Guide] observed that I couldn’t possibly taste wine with such a long beard, so I cut it to its current length, and tied the cuttings up with a ribbon and presented it to her as a little gift,” he tells. “She wasn’t very amused.” He strokes his beard, and underneath it a smile moves.
Although full of witty tales, he comes across as being quite a disciplinarian. His words are deliberate, and a conversation with him is interspersed with pauses for reflection. Dave Hughes (full name David Louis) is foremost an academic, his office at his Devon Valley home in Stellenbosch indicative of his passions: books, spirits and, of course, wines. And dogs. About 14 mutts – a result of his wife Lorna’s affection for stray and abandoned animals – run amok, tail-waving and licking their way through their master’s interview.
Dave is just over 70 years of age. Decades of his life have been spent servicing the local (and international) wine industry, his role at the then Stellenbosch Farmers’ Winery and, later, as founder of the Cape Wine Academy, making him one of the foremost wine and spirit authorities in the country – and abroad.
As far as titles go, he’s got a few. Distiller, winemaker, wine auctioneer, international wine and spirits judge, writer on drink and allied subjects and consultant to the annual Nederburg Wine Auction, Veritas national wine competition, South African Airways wine selections and International Wine & Spirit Competition in Britain. Considering his recreational activities, you can also add globetrotter, Comrades veteran, historian and stamp-collector to that already long list.
His first title in the world of drinks was that of distiller apprentice, at African Distillers in Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia) where he was born. At that stage, Dave was serving in the Rhodesian army at Sandhurst, but the world of drinks beckoned strongly. The army quickly lost its appeal (“I’ve never fired a gun since,” Dave observes wryly) and what was the regiment’s loss was South Africa’s gain.
With then Distillery owner Henry Kirsch’s recommendation, Dave’s path led to Booth’s distillery in Bristol and Guinness in London, as well as the Blair Athol distillery in Scotland, where, it is noted in previous interviews, he developed a love for whisky, a passionturned- profession later in his life.
His résumé also includes vintages at Mumm Champagne house in France, as well as Pernod in Italy. At De Kuyper’s in Holland he broadened his palate to the world of liqueurs and brandy.
Then the consolidation of African Distillers with SA Breweries, owner of Stellenbosch Farmers’ Winery, happened, which determined Dave’s voyage to South Africa – Germiston to be precise, where his first local job was to oversee the building of a bottling plant.
In an interview with Wine magazine in 1999 he notes: “I can get things done. You just have to motivate people into doing more than they think they can. It’s rather like rallying a rugger side.”
It is this managerial aspect of Dave which resulted in him being promoted to winery manager in Stellenbosch in 1972, a move he remembers being accompanied by some stale politics in the company: “I was an Englishspeaking Rhodesian in an Afrikaans environment...” he explains.
It was Dave’s sportsmanship that got him accepted into the clan. A keen ‘rugger’ player, Dave remembers a game he played for the Van der Stel rugby team. “Of course the team talk was conducted in Afrikaans, but that was until I scored all the tries. Team manager Pietman Retief [then communications director at Distillers Corporation] said, ‘Tonight we are speaking English’.”
It is off the field where Dave scored the most tries, however. During his travels for Stellenbosch Farmers’ Winery, he noticed a lamentable lack of wine knowledge among consumers and ‘trade people’. “I remember travelling to the South Coast and having one hotel owner telling me he can’t sell his wines because it is old stock, when in fact they were well-aged!” Intervention was needed. He appealed to the late Ronnie Melck, then chief at Stellenbosch Farmers’ Winery, to assist in the establishment of a wine-education body aimed at uplifting the public’s knowledge on the subject. The result was the establishment of the Cape Wine Academy in 1979, and for his contribution Dave was made an honorary member of the Institute of Cape Wine Masters, one of three people to hold this title.
A true elder of the trade, Dave has a wealth of wisdom; he has authored more than 10 books on the subject of wine and spirits and has written numerous columns for international journals. In addition, his experience as a local and international taster at prestigious shows has made him into something of a celebrity judge. At big events, like the Nederburg Auction (with which he’s been involved since inception in 1973), his presence adds to the sense of gravitas.
Of course, his contributions to the wine and spirit world has attained him membership to some of the most prestigious guilds and societies around the world.
In 2001 Dave was the first non- British resident to be invited to join the Worshipful Company of Distillers, an ‘ancient outfit’ founded in 1638, with some equally ancient advantages. For example, should Master Hughes find himself in an inebriated state in the Old City of London, any taxi driver is obligated to deliver him to his residence free of charge, to collect the fee from the Worshipful Company’s office and claim a “bale of hay for his horse” (which in today’s terms might be a tank of fuel).
Ask him about his international tastings and he will share anecdotes of ‘tricking’ tasters to highlight their incompetence. While on the subject, Dave adds, “I used to be an objective taster, but an expert once mentioned that once you get to 70 you should stop being on a panel. I took that advice.”
There is a less serious side to this man, however. An astute observer will notice that infamous Marilyn Monroe Playboy centrefold displayed on the wall behind his computer, along with amusing slogans illustrating his enjoyment of his subject. One proclaims, “My job gives me just what I need, an excuse to drink.”
Dave grins when asked about the centrefold. “She was the first centrefold model for Playboy, you know,” which perhaps suggests that this picture holds more historical than aesthetic appeal for him; his interest in history being a well-documented fact.
This elder is known for his daily 60-second narrations he leaves on his office phone which are fashioned according to the day. On Monday 23 May, for example, he reflected on the capturing of Joan of Arc in 1430 and the death of outlaws Bonnie and Clyde on that date in 1934...
I ask him about a 60-second clip on his life, to which he strokes his beard in thought. He doesn’t care much about terms such as ‘legacy’ he says, but he would spare a thought for the tail-wagging strays of the world...
