Organic practices at Laibach wine farm
A bug's life
So important are ladybirds to Laibach's organic practices that they are honoured on a wine label, with The Ladybird Red 2007 being named Best Red in the inaugural Nedbank Green Wine Awards. Jeanri-Tine van Zyl reports.
We are not from Stellenbosch," is the first thing that Francois van Zyl, winemaker at Laibach Vineyards, tells me. "Plattelanders," he nods approvingly. "I am from Robertson, and Michael [Malherbe, farm manager and viticulturist] is from Ceres."
People of the earth, keeping a low profile and doing what comes naturally: growing wine like in the old days.
The first blocks for organic farming were planted in 2000: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot, the building blocks for what would become The Ladybird Red - a wine certifi ed by the SGS (Société Générale de Surveillance) as complying with international EU organic standards.
German family-owned Laibach was one of the very first farms to venture down the organic route and had the first certified organic block in Stellenbosch, but Van Zyl remembers that their pioneering eff orts received little encouragement: "People said it is impossible to farm organically in Stellenbosch. I said to them that it is only impossible if you want to spend six weeks a year away from the vineyard at your beach house in Hermanus."
Instead of taking a holiday, he and Malherbe dedicated time to establishing blocks of vines that would produce grapes from which wines could be made that would "compete with the best Bordeaux blends in this country".
They're certainly excelling on the organic front, at least, with The Ladybird Red 2007 rated as the top organic red wine in the Nedbank Green Wine Awards.
But Malherbe and Van Zyl feel that the quest is to not be categorised according to the organic classification on their label. Ideally there should be no difference between organic and non-organic wines. If anything, in fact, the organic wines should tip the scale when weighed according to expressiveness.
If awards do not accurately reflect the achievement of the label, then nature provides a more reliable measure: ladybirds. A natural enemy to mealybug (the carrier of leafroll virus), the ladybird is perhaps the viticulturist's best friend - and the more of them, the better.
If the vineyard is Malherbe's office, it is crawling with his employees. At the edges of the vines, the spotted creatures nest in shrubs of fennel planted specifically for this purpose. Initially the bugs had to be "flown in" from the Free State, but their numbers have increased dramatically, making any further shipment unnecessary - a clear indication of a "happy" vineyard.
Nearly a decade since it was established, its vines stand amongst a thick undergrowth of natural vegetation, an important feature in a system where life provides the natural checks and balances needed for healthy grapes.
The undergrowth supplies ample food for snails, keeping them from seeking out alternative grazing on the vines, explains Malherbe, while the wild pea aids fertilisation.
The Latin name of the genus is Lathyrus, derived from the Greek word thouros - literally meaning stimulant. Why would you want to use anything else if nature provides you with an environmentally sensitive approach?
Since 2000 no pesticides have been sprayed on the farm. "Insect killers," says Malherbe, emphasising the dreaded "k" word. "Why use them when you can bring life back to the vineyard?" And not just insect life: perch polls have been erected between the vines to attract falcons to prey on vineyard rodents.
Sensitivity to the environment does not stop in the vineyard, and Laibach aims to roll out organic farming methods across the whole farm to become 100% organic and completely environmentally sustainable. Currently only The Ladybird Red is certified organic, The Ladybird White being under conversion with aims to have it organically certified by 2010.
Other environmentally friendly practices on the farm include a "wormery" where earthworms are bred, recycling bins, a bio-reactor and upcoming reed-filtration stations to filter "grey" water.
Cellar practices, in terms of certification, should also comply with certain organic production standards, based on the minimum standards of the European Union (EU). Although The Ladybird does contain added sulphur, it is kept to a minimum - below 10mg/l. Because the grapes are grown on dryland vines, the berries are small and condensed, resulting in a tannic structure that aids maturation without the help of too much added sulphur. And the Ladybird is very much made to age.
Van Zyl refuses to follow recipes in the cellar, and he stays out of the cellar laboratory as much is possible: "If I wanted to be a pharmacist..." Each wine is treated as if it were a maiden vintage and absolutely unique. One rule of thumb, however, is that yeast inoculation is kept to a minimum with wild yeast receiving preference.
Merlot is the heart of The Ladybird, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc in support together with small percentages of Petit Verdot and Malbec. To combat vegetative character, green berries and stalks are removed at the sorting table by hand.
"It is a slow process, like everything at Laibach," laughs Van Zyl. A percentage of the wine is fermented in open tanks, allowing for punch downs and "olfactory selection", as Van Zyl puts it. "I can tell from the smell of the wine how I want to structure it."
Maceration follows, for up to 34 days in closed tanks (a method Van Zyl says aids a "typical French style"), and then comes maturation for 12 to 14 months in barrel, 30% new. French oak of course: "No American barrels," he insists. "We are not making Mickey Mouse wines." Indeed. The French elegance reverberates in the wine. "A sexy, full wine," muses Van Zyl.
"With bitter chocolate from the Merlot, no clumsiness..."
A wine of the earth, like the people who made it.
