De Trafford Wines
De Trafford Wines
Straw wine truly is a labour of love, requiring careful handling of freshly picked fruit, the patience of Job, fortuitous weather conditions and careful winemaking. David Trafford began making it as an experiment - and it's succeeded beyond expectations. Fiona McDonald reports.
Stellenbosch architect and winemaker David Trafford and his artist wife Rita have just returned from trekking in the Himalayas. Trafford describes it as an awesome experience - if somewhat surreal, walking with a full entourage of bearers! "There was something so frightfully Colonial about the whole experience - but it was really special."
The couple walked to a height of 4600m above sea level. Place that in perspective by considering that Somerset West's Sneeukop in the Hottentots Holland mountain range is 1590m above sea level, and that, not far away, the De Trafford winery is flanked by Haelkop (1384m) and the Helderberg (1137m).
There was a bottle of De Trafford wine in their backpack: "Drinking at altitude is not a good idea. It just doesn't work," he says. "But I took along a bottle of the straw wine and we saved it for our last evening."
While Trafford has created a following for his big, idiosyncratic red wines (Elevation 393 red blend, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz) and Chenin Blanc (co-winner of WINE magazine's Chenin Blanc Challenge in 2002) it's with the straw wine that he's been a local groundbreaker. "There was no classification for this kind of wine when we started making it. The Wine and Spirit Board basically had to create this category for us and it had to be approved by Parliament as the Wine Act only allowed for 'fresh grapes' to be used for making wine… The Wine and Spirit Board were very supportive." Not the kind of relationship some other producers have had with this body on presenting wines that are "out of the norm".
It started out of curiosity, as a "bit of an experiment". While Trafford was researching Shiraz, a grape that really excites his passion, he kept on finding references to Vin de Paille, the French term for the style now termed "straw wine" in South Africa. "But the wines were almost always a footnote to the rest of the wine production," he remembers. "I started reading up about them and discovered they were special, and quite rare. A Rhône producer like Chave, for example, would make a tiny amount and then present the bottles to good clients, friends of the family or his agents - and they were worth a lot of money. Everything I read contained this reverence and awe for these wines, and that intrigued me."
The experiment began in 1995 and was repeated in 1996, but it was only in 1997 that the wine was classified. Trafford is modest about his pioneering role: "I think the Board liked the idea that this was from naturally dried grapes. We weren't trying to manipulate a process or create anything unnaturally," he says, referring to certain other producers who "artificially" dry the grapes by applying heat, for instance.
Very often when a winemaker embarks on a flight of fancy, it's driven by his attempt to emulate a great wine he's tasted. This was not the case at De Trafford. "I actually didn't taste a Vin de Paille until after I'd won the Chenin Challenge and took up the prize of a trip to France. After visiting the Loire I went to the Jura and that was the first time I tried their wine."
Trafford explains that he didn't want to be influenced. "The idea was to use a historic and traditional process but to make it a true expression of what we could do at De Trafford.
"Finding information about the process was difficult. What little I could find mentioned the history, and that really appealed to me." Apparently the Romans made wine according to a similar method. "This concentrated, sweet wine would have been ideal for long campaigns. They could take it along in containers and then dilute it with water, without fear of the wine becoming rancid or going off en route. It was something special."
Chenin Blanc is Trafford's grape of choice. "I tried Chardonnay but it's rich to begin with and it became almost too rich and full. Sauvignon Blanc was a disaster! It's got a thin skin and it juices very easily, so it was just a mess… Our straw wine is intensely sweet and although the acidity is not very high, the wine isn't cloying or sticky - and that's a factor of the Chenin Blanc grape."
Setting the De Trafford Straw Wine apart is that it is not made from late-harvested grapes - they're picked at the same time as those destined for the winery's dry Chenin Blanc, when the measurement of sugar in the grape is at around 22° to 23° Balling. "All we do by drying it on the racks is lose moisture and concentrate the flavours. If we were to dry the fruit on the vine, we'd lose a certain amount of acidity as the grape shrivels. There'd also be a risk of botrytis developing, which we don't want." The grapes are harvested before 9am, to keep them cool. "We carefully place them on the drying racks which are under the trees. It's quite labour intensive…"
Also critical at this juncture is keeping an eye on the weather forecast: at least seven days of good weather are needed. "Because it's done outside we have to ensure that there'll be no rain." And rain in the Cape during February and March is not unheard of…
Why not take that element of uncertainty out of the equation and dry them inside - as they do when making Vin Santo in Italy? "We tried that and it didn't work. The grapes went mouldy... Overseas their autumns are cool and dry, whereas ours are still relatively warm - and we do get a little more rain up against the mountains.
"It can be done, provided there's enough ventilation, but then it takes much longer - up to three months - for the grapes to dry, and you're removing the natural element from the process too."
After about two weeks under the trees, the bunches are carefully turned over by hand. "Just like braaiing," Trafford quips. "They get a bit of late afternoon sun, which is quite gentle.
"After about three weeks they're ready for pressing," and that's an all-day job. "It's quite strange but making this is unlike other white wines where you try to be as gentle as possible. With these dried grapes you have to work them quite hard. And the more you press, the better it gets. You end up with this really soupy, sticky stuff…" It takes 1.2 tons of grapes to get enough sticky juice to fill one 225-litre barrel, whereas normally the juice yields are at least three times higher.
The "soup" is left for a few hours - Trafford admits he doesn't have the courage to leave it overnight, worried about what might happen - and it then starts fermenting, spontaneously, using natural yeasts while in barrel. All that's done is to add a bit of sulphur to protect against oxidation - the wine virtually makes itself, with fermentation stopping of its own accord. It could take 12 months, or 18… but it's usually around a year or so. Thereafter the wine is given another dose of sulphur and then bottled.
Trafford has yet to filter any of his straw wines, and says only 50% of the sweet juice goes into new wood.
The natural approach means his wine differs from year to year. The 2002 for example had an alcohol of 10.1% with a residual sugar of 286g per litre, while the 2004 had 16.3% alcohol and a sugar level of 111g/litre. "It's usually around 12 to 13% alcohol, with a sugar of between 120 and 150g a litre," says Trafford. Surprisingly, "that 2004, although it had a higher alcohol with less sugar, it was more restrained in style than previous wines."
What's Trafford's take on dessert wine? "What's not to like? There's such complexity and levels of interest. Yet they're simple to appreciate - even kids like sweet wines! You get dry white wines, then red and then sweeter wines," he says, commenting that whereas with red wines you factor in the skin flavours and tannins, with sweet wines you have sugar adding an extra dimension.
"People say you should enjoy these wines with dessert. I look at our straw wine as a dessert on its own. I'm more likely to wolf my pudding down and then have a glass of sweet wine. Add some cheese and biscuits and nuts… and it's even better!"
Sweet Wine Styles
Dried grape wines
There are two methods of drying grapes - either by twisting the stems and thus denying sap to the bunches of grapes, which causes them to raisin on the vine, or by harvesting them normally and drying them on mats or strung up in bunches beneath the rafters.
Vin Santo
Sweet Italian (Tuscan) wine made from air-dried
grapes, dried on straw mats under rafters in the most well-ventilated spot in the home or cellar. The wine is barrel-matured for a minimum of
three years.
Vin de Paille
Made by a handful of producers in France, notably Chave and Chapoutier in Hermitage, Rhône, and also in the Jura. The Rhône producers tend to use Marsanne grapes which are ripe, rather than late-harvested, while their Jura counterparts use Savagnin, Poulsard or Chardonnay. Jura producers also age their wines in cask for a few years.
