Pieter Ferreira on Life, Achievements and Bubbly
Graham Beck's Winning Winemaker
Half past nine on Sunday morning, and Pieter Ferreira, winemaker at the Graham Beck cellar in Robertson, looks just a touch dishevelled and bleary-eyed. Understandable, really. He has just flown in from Johannesburg to join me for breakfast at the Cape Grace, the luxury hotel that occupies its own wharf at Cape Town's renowned Victoria & Alfred Waterfront.
He admits to one too many whiskies the night before, and readily agrees to my suggestion that we should broach a bottle of the Graham Beck Blanc de Blancs 1998 - just the thing to restore well-being.
Our meeting has been arranged to discuss the outcome of the Diners Club Winemaker of the Year 2004, which this time around saw wines in the Cap Classique category come under scrutiny. Ferreira knows that he is one of five finalists; I know that he is the ultimate winner, his Blanc de Blancs 1999 having been judged best in the competition.
Since WINE magazine began its own competition focusing on bubbly in 2002, namely the Cap Classique Challenge, Graham Beck has always been one of the better performers ... but has yet to win. In self-mocking fashion, Ferreira starts to sing the words to a tune by 1970s glam rock outfit Mott the Hoople: "You keep a-knocking, but you can't come in..."
Ferreira has been preoccupied with the production of Cap Classique throughout his winemaking career. As a 24-year-old, recently graduated with a diploma in agriculture from Pretoria Technikon, he helped Achim von Arnim set up Clos Cabrière in Franschhoek, one of the first cellars to specialise in Cap Classique in 1984.
In 1990, he moved to Robertson where mining magnate Graham Beck was building a facility concentrating on the production of Cap Classique. He was intimately involved in the cellar design and his maiden 1991 vintage was released locally at the end of 1993.
Though Ferreira admits that winning the 2004 Diners Club Winemaker of the Year Award would be "gratifying", he's too unassuming to covet it excessively. "If I did win, I certainly don't think it would indicate that Graham Beck bubbly had finally arrived, but at least we'd be recognised as a serious producer." Ultimately, he says, the accolade would be "a reward for perseverance".
Graham Beck Robertson has a total annual production of 150 000 twelve-bottle cases of which just over 40 000 cases are Cap Classique. There are currently three different versions of bubbly available: the Brut NV, the Brut Rosé NV and the Blanc de Blancs.
The Brut NV, a blend of half Chardonnay and half Pinot Noir, is made in the largest volumes - some 400 000 bottles a year - and it sells for R65 off the farm.
The Brut Rosé NV, comprising two-thirds Pinot Noir and one-third Chardonnay, is a recent addition to the portfolio, having been launched last year. Ferreira originally made 2 000 cases but it has been well received by the market and quantities are set to rise accordingly.
Though labelled as non-vintage to date, the wine has always been from one particular year. The intention is to include a vintage on the label when the 2002 goes to market. "My approach to this style will always result in a variance of colour from vintage to vintage and I want to acknowledge that. The more you can share with the customer, the better," says Ferreira. It currently sells for R90 a bottle.
Ferreira lets on that he bottled a limited release, super-premium bubbly in 2003 to be known as Prestige Cuvée but while this rests on the lees, the pinnacle of the range remains the Blanc de Blancs, made from 100% Chardonnay. Quantities do not exceed 30 000 bottles a year and it currently sells for R90 ex cellar.
The Blanc de Blancs, which is labelled with vintage, appears every year, contrary to the practice in Champagne where a vintage is declared only in years of exceptional
quality. Ferreira explains that he does not wish to imitate Champagne slavishly but rather seeks to express how the different climatic conditions impact on the end wine from harvest to harvest.
The maiden vintage of Blanc de Blancs was 1991, with Ferreira's intention being to keep each successive vintage on the lees for four years before disgorgement. When Graham Beck visited his Robertson cellar in 1993, he was unimpressed by the vast quantities that were being stored, not ready for sale, and insisted that the Blanc de Blancs was not commercially viable.
So none was made in either 1994 or 1995, but Beck had cause to taste the 1991 during that time, and was so impressed that he bade Ferreira re-institute this style, and it has subsequently been made every year from 1996.
Ferreira says he has a bubbly for every time of day. "Blanc de Blancs for sunrise, Rosé for sunset, and Brut if you are confused."
Though he doesn't yet know that the Blanc de Blancs 1999 has won him the Diners Club award, he has particularly high regard for this vintage. He suggests that while the 1998 has "vivacious" flavours, the 1999 shows more freshness and finesse. This is because of the weather conditions during the respective vintages, he explains. "The summer of 1999 was much cooler than 1998, something that suits Chardonnay".
With Robertson farms having taken WINE magazine's Cap Classique Challenge over the past two years (Weltevrede's Philip Jonker Brut 1999 in 2003 and Bon Courage for the Jacques Bruère Brut Reserve 2000 in 2004) and Ferreira winning the Diners Club Winemaker of the Year, this district is rapidly taking ownership of the category.
Ferreira feels that producers from other regions who attempt to denigrate Robertson as less than ideal for viticulture are driven by a snob mentality. He concedes that Robertson can be hot but insists the heat peaks are no more severe than in any other region. He feels compelled to "embrace sunshine", the onus being on him to adapt to local conditions rather than letting conditions dictate the style of wine he makes.
One of the key insights he has gained during his tenure at the Graham Beck cellar is to pick slightly riper to ensure optimum flavour. While conventional wisdom holds that picking for a sparkling wine should take place at a Balling (sugar concentration in grapes) between 17° and 18°, Ferreira now only starts picking at around 19° or 20°. "I want to avoid those green, sherbet-like flavours," he says.
What sets Robertson apart from other areas is that it tends to get much less late spring and early summer rain. This means conditions in the vineyard are constant much sooner, a boon when working with early-ripening Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, the two main varieties used in bubbly production.
What of wood treatment? Francois Chirumberro, a winemaker at Champagne house Veuve Clicquot and a judge at this year's competition, suggested that local producers should take care with oak in sparkling wines lest they become obvious and clumsy.
Nevertheless, the Blanc de Blancs 1999 did indeed have wood treatment with 50% of the base wine fermented for 10 weeks in traditional Champenoise barrels. Ferreira agrees that too much oak can make sparkling wine "flabby and aggressive", however he feels that the use of some oak is crucial when making a Blanc de Blancs style of wine. "It lends creaminess and texture. It helps get a better expression of Chardonnay." But he points out that the bubble in sparkling wine accentuates flavour three or four times, so the application of wood must be astutely judged.
The winning Blancs de Blancs 1999 was disgorged in October 2003 after spending 48 months on the lees. Ferreira believes this is the minimum period that the wine should have yeast contact, done to add complexity. He relates that any one vintage gets disgorged in various batches, the wine's character undergoing subtle variations depending on how long it spends on the lees. In the case of the 1998, the last bottles were disgorged after a full six years on the lees.
According to Ferreira, cork maturation is another vital determinant of a sparkling wine's character. Time under cork softens the bubble. Open a bottle soon after it has been disgorged and you stand to experience the "Eno effect", says Ferreira, his point being that the bubble is almost too lively for best enjoyment. He recommends that his Blanc de Blancs should be kept for at least one year in bottle for drinking, and should be good for at least five years from bottling.
Asked about what food best accompanies the Blanc de Blancs 1999, Ferreira recommends oysters, "always and obviously". In addition, he recommends prawn and fresh pea risotto, as cooked by his wife Ann.
Be it the Cap Classique Challenge or the Diners Club Winemaker of the Year Award, Ferreira is always inclined to enter a plethora of wines. He enters all three styles of wine (Brut, Rosé and Blanc de Blancs) including versions with different disgorgement dates, and when it comes to the Blanc de Blancs, different vintages. In addition, he is inclined to submit wines in magnum in addition to standard bottles, as he feels wines in the bigger bottle age less quickly.
Does this indicate a lucky dip approach to competitions? Not at all, says Ferreira. An advantage of being a relatively large-scale producer is that he can meet the specific stock requirements stipulated by the respective competitions for any of his entries. More importantly, however, he says he wants to understand "what works and what doesn't work".
He is wary of entering just any competition, believing the better-run events offer an important gauge of quality.
"Bubbly has been my life for 21 vintages. It's very close to my heart. I'll keep entering because I want to know what's happening in the industry."
When he learns that he is Winemaker of the Year in the category of Cap Classique, it is more than likely that celebrations will result in another hangover, but an entirely justified one in this instance.
The Winner
Graham Beck Brut Blanc de Blancs 1999 - Pieter Ferreira, Graham Beck
- Variety: Chardonnay (100%)
- Origin of grapes: Robertson
- Wood treatment: 50% of base wine fermented in traditional
Champenoise barrels and matured for 10 weeks
- Period spent on lees: 48 months
- Date of disgorgement: October 2003
- Residual sugar: 8,44g/l pH: 3,2
- Total acidity: 6,0g/l
- Alcohol: 11,01%
The Runners Up
Jacques Bruère Brut Reserve 2000 - Jacques Bruwer,
Bon Courage Krone Borealis Brut 1997 - Nicky Krone,
Twee Jonge Gezellen Longridge Brut 2001 - Eleanor Hoogendijk
Weltevrede Philip Jonker Brut 2000 - Philip Jonker
