Frans Smit, Stellenbosch
Last year, the inaugural Diners Club Young Winemaker of the Year Award was held. To be eligible, entrants had to be under the age of 30. Frans Smit of Spier was a few months too old, but this didn't stop him entering two wines! Christian Eedes interviewed him at the Winecorp cellar in Stellenbosch. When the first ever Diners Club Young Winemaker of the Year Award was launched last year, the competition's crucial requirement was that entrants should be under 30 in 2001. Spier's Frans Smit was born on 3 August 1970, and thus found himself on the wrong side of the qualifying age, if only just. Spier, however, belongs to the Winecorp stable of brands, and Smit himself had recently become Winecorp's group winemaker. He was going to have some wines in the competition, whatever it took.
The category for the inaugural competition was white unfortified wine of any variety or blend. Displaying some wily thinking, Smit nominated two of his younger colleagues for entry: Eleanor Hoogendjik, his assistant winemaker at Spier and 27 at the time, was in the running with the Spier Private Collection Sauvignon Blanc 2001; Chris Versveld, winemaker responsible for the Winecorp-owned Savanha brand and then 26, would be up for honours with the Savanha Sauvignon Blanc 2001.
No luck at the Diners Club competition but the Spier Private Collection Sauvignon went on to earn a Michelangelo Gold Award, while the Savanha picked up Veritas Gold (in a year when only three wines in this category managed Gold or better).
Smit is fanatical about Sauvignon Blanc. Why? Indifferent to wine for much of his life, it was this variety that ultimately persuaded him to embrace a career as a winemaker. For Smit, it has an array of flavours like no other grape, yet to retain these flavours is difficult, presenting a particular winemaking challenge. Terroir, quality of plant material, vineyard practices and cellar technique are all variables that influence the final product more so than is the case with other varieties. "You can grow Chardonnay just about anywhere and make a halfway decent wine, but there are very few areas that are completely suited to making top Sauvignon", he comments.
As Winecorp's top gun, Smit cuts an impressive figure. This is someone who was an instructing officer at the Luhatla army battle school for three years before signing up at Elsenburg. He graduated top of his class in 1995, fellow alumni including Avontuur's Lizelle Gerber, Steenberg's John Loubser and Pierre Wahl of Rijk's Private Cellar. He played for Maties First XV rugby team in 1995 and 1996, and though he has a prop's thickset build, he is articulate on both winemaking and more general business issues. He claims reading as one of his main interests.
Once having decided upon winemaking as a career, he vowed that "was going to be as good as he could possibly be" and has travelled widely in wine-producing regions. He has visited "every wine area in France, Northern Italy, Germany and Australia". And convinced that the US has big potential as an export market, he has a trip planned to California.
Smit has also just overseen the completion of the R25 million Winecorp cellar in Stellenbosch. The new facility has a 2 800 ton capacity, and 4 500 barrels. Winecorp either owns or has access to 600 hectares of vineyard around the Cape, and crushes approximately 4 000 tons of grapes per year.
Taking into account the four brand families of Longridge, Savanha, Spier and Capelands that are in the company's portfolio, there is a total of 43 individual products that must be created year-in and year-out. Smit, you soon realise, carries a lot of responsibility.
Despite having to meet his employer's rather large expectations, Smit remains remarkably easy-going. Though well-versed in corporate strategy, his passion remains the vineyards.
He is extremely excited about a new Sauvignon Blanc vineyard planted on a hill between Melkbos and Blouberg up the West Coast. It's a mere 600 metres inshore, making it the closet block of Sauvignon Blanc to the sea in the country. Sea breezes mean very cool growing conditions, to ensure optimal ripening. Deep, red soils mean that the vines will be able to put down roots to secure plenty of water during the warm part of the season. Being in a low rainfall area, the danger of fungal disease is minimised. Strong onshore winds mean small leaves and berries, again crucial for best flavour development. As far as Smit's concerned, it's as close as possible to the perfect micro-climate for Sauvignon Blanc. "We've only just started exploring the potential of all our different terroirs. We'll give New Zealand a run for their money. Soon."
