David Nieuwoudt , Cederberg
Cederberg Wines' David Nieuwoudt is the latest of five generations to farm the wild mountain land of the Cederberg.
Christian Eedes interviewed him as a candidate for last year's Diners Club Young Winemaker of the Year Award and discovered resolve runs in the family. Thirty-year-old David Nieuwoudt has been making wine under the Cederberg label in the Dwarsrivier valley of the Cederberg since 1997. In so doing, he became the fifth generation of his family to farm this land, his great-great-grandfather having originally settled here in 1893. Initially, the undertaking was to grow tobacco and raise cattle, then deciduous fruit. Vines were first planted in 1973, when Nieuwoudt's grandfather decided to dabble in winemaking as a hobby, and in 1977 the first wines certified Wine of Origin Cederberg were produced.
To this day, Cederberg is a certification that applies to the Nieuwoudt's wines alone, simply because their property is so remotely situated that no other farm falls in the same area. But, as Nieuwoudt explains, this unique setting has plenty of advantages for winemaking.
At 1 000m above sea level, the 42 hectares planted to vineyard are unquestionably the highest in the Cape. A cool, continental climate prevails with average annual temperature between 6° and 12° C, significantly lower than the nearby Olifants River region. This makes for optimal ripening, especially aiding colour development in the case of the farm's red grape varieties.
Discussing the farm's soil, Nieuwoudt remarks that this is a "disaster in a good sense" - the farm being a hotchpotch of different types, making it a challenge to match each grape variety to the most appropriate patch of earth.
An extensive 5 500ha in total size, the farm is entirely surrounded by a nature conservancy. Being so isolated, coupled with very cold winters, means the vines are virtually disease free: Nieuwoudt says he doesn't bother to spray for downy mildew at all. All these factors in combination result in very healthy fruit: "You can make bad wine from good grapes but not good wine from bad grapes."
This poses the question: just how good are the wines that young Nieuwoudt is making? Having won Veritas Double Gold in 2000 for his Unwooded Chenin Blanc 2000, he must have fancied his chances when he entered his Barrel Fermented Chenin Blanc 2001 towards winning the inaugural Diners Club Young Winemaker of the Year Award last year, the category being white unfortified wine of any variety or blend. It wasn't to be but earlier this year Nieuwoudt enjoyed exceptional success at the Fairbairn Capital South African Trophy Wine Show, with his reserve range V Generations Cabernet Sauvignon 2000 winning gold, and his standard range Cabernet Sauvignon 2000 and the red-blend Cederberger 2000 both picking up silver.
Nieuwoudt, however, doesn't appear to be particularly concerned with medals and awards either way. He is cheerful and easy-going by nature, and hugely enthusiastic about being a winemaker: "If you choose a job you like, you'll never work a single day in your life. You're not working, you're playing." He remembers his grandfather introducing him to wine as a child, when he was allowed a small tot of it to go with Sunday lunch. What does he do when he's not making wine? "Drink wine," he says mischievously. He relates that now dinner is accompanied by a different bottle of wine every night. Regarding his ambitions for himself, he comments, "It's not money that counts. Wine is a type of lifestyle"
Nieuwoudt's passion for wine is matched only by his passion for the Cederberg. He studied cellar technology at Elsenburg in 1995, worked a season with Abé Beukes at Stellenbosch estate Lievland in 1996, and then returned to the family farm. "I always knew I was going to come back," he says, a statement that once again emphasises the link between this particular family and its land.
Given the unspoilt beauty of his surrounds, Nieuwoudt might be forgiven were he inclined to maintain his seclusion and dissuade outsiders from visiting. On the contrary, Nieuwoudt is adamant that the 'Cederberg experience' should not be missed. He lists the area's many attractions: the mountains themselves, the rock art that appears in many of the surrounding caves, the flora and fauna. He gets most animated, however, when he talks of the area's potential for making quality wine, and his desire to make his wines central to anybody's notion of the Cederberg. "I want people to drink my wine and think of these mountain ranges, unique and untouched." Deeply connected with the Cederberg as he is, you feel his wines will speak of their place of origin more than most.
