Up-and-coming wine ward Elim

Wild at heart

Making wine in wind-swept Elim requires conviction, reveals Strandveld winemaker Conrad Vlok to Jeanri-Tine van Zyl.

It should have been effortless. The different examples of Sauvignon Blanc that have emerged from the area bordering on the southernmost tip of Africa have impressed in recent vintages, and so a trip was planned. But, after many forays up and down the back roads, I am taken aback by just how bleak and desolate it is here - unlike the people who are warm and hospitable...

 

The coastal stretch between Agulhas and Gansbaai is known to be particularly rugged. Many explorer vessels have sunk in this area, giving it the name "the graveyard of ships". Farmers in the Elim ward who have undertaken to grow vines for wine production echo something of the bravado of seamen on caravels out to discover unchartered terrain.

So it is, with the wineries slowly making their mark with news of renovated tasting rooms and awards (Strandveld Vineyards having tickled the interest in particular when its Sauvignon Blanc 2008 was selected as one of the 2008 Tops at Spar Sauvignon Blanc Top 10), I set out on my own little voyage into relatively unchartered territory.

RECALCULATING
I take the scenic route (via Gansbaai) and land on a stretch of gravel road that my GPS system fails to register. The red dust road seems never-ending and irritation soon makes way for trepidation, since all I see for miles on end are more dust roads, would-be yellow canola fields, sleeping wheat lands, sheep and donkeys, lots of donkeys. But where are the vineyards? Surely they don't get their grapes from somewhere else?

"We decided to first plant behind the hills, out of human sight in case the [wine] venture failed," laughs Francis Pratt, chairman of the Elim Winegrowers' association, and cellarmaster and winemaker at The Berrio. "As for the grapes, they are 100% Elim."

Pratt is just one of the handful of winemaking pioneers along the solitary (tarred) road that leads from Bredasdorp to the old Moravian town of Elim. Others include Dirk Human from Black Oystercatcher, Johan de Kock from Zoetendal and Conrad Vlok from Strandveld Vineyards. Although not officially included in the Elim demarcation, Quoin Rock lies on the absolute border of the ward, where Doug Murdoch keeps guard over the baboon-pestered vines. Although only part of Quoin Rock's production is Elim-based (the other farm being in Stellenbosch), many eateries in the valley proudly include this producer on their "local wineries" list, with other local labels often omitted.

One local B&B and restaurant owner insists that local wineries are simply not performing, and relates a story where a group of Germans, on tasting a certain winery's produce, rushed to the bar and begged the barman for beer instead. However, I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss the wines...

OH BABY, BABY, IT'S A WILD WARD
Wind directions and soil conditions are the real reasons behind the "hidden vines". And it just so happens that the perfect conditions are found on hillocks and valleys not close to the road.

Conrad Vlok, winemaker at Strandveld Vineyards, has brazenly set out to tame the elements. Having taken over the unenviable task from Willem Loots (previously from Kleine Zalze), Vlok produced the first 100% Elim Sauvignon Blanc on the farm in 2005. And yes, he concedes, it hasn't been easy. The prevailing onshore winds are the biggest factor. These provide favourable conditions for white varieties such as Sauvignon and Semillon, keeping temperatures moderate and thus helping to preserve flavour - the average temperature measured at the weather station on the farm, for example, hovered at at 20.5 ºC for February 2008.

It is no surprise then, that the prevailing air movements enjoy prominent mention on some of the wine labels. On The Berrio's, the inscription reads that each day they "thank God for the wind..." Standing on a hill at Uintjieskuil, where "the most southern vineyard in Africa" grows, Vlok shows me the opposite, destructive side of the wind. Pointing to a rather withered Chardonnay block, he laughs dryly: "If it is not blown to pieces by the southeaster on this side, the southwester rips it on the other side."

But already the vines are adjusting to withstand the elements more eff ectively. The internodes between knots have become shorter, and "the fingers" with which the vines grab onto the trellises have become thicker and tougher. Also, fruit concentration is high with yields being low at around six tons per hectare only - hardship ultimately contributing to quality. Vlok says that when he sorts the fruit, grapes that would normally be downgraded on appearance often make it into his wine. On tasting that wine later, the philosophical winemaker imagines it thanking him for seeing it through the conditions and for making it into a decent, quality wine. So it is that the fruit from the vines on Uintjieskuil will go into the First Sighting bottles, the not-so official entry label of the farm.

ONE WINERY, TWO LABELS: STRANDVELD VINEYARDS AND FIRST SIGHTING
The question on labelling introduces a slight point of conflict. The farm itself falls under the company Agulhas Wines, owned by a group of Johannesburg businessmen as well as Adam Albertyn, a local farmer and proprietor of Uintjieskuil. First Sighting is one registered trademark, with the first wine from the farm having been bottled under this label.

However, more recently wines have also been bottled under the name Strandveld, echoing the name of the farm and the district, and although Vlok is cautious about calling this their premium range, it seems to be emerging as such. The fruit for the Strandveld Sauvignon Blanc enjoys longer ripening periods and will only be harvested at a relatively high 23º Balling (a measure of sugar in the liquid and an indication of ripeness). These vines stand on a hillock northeast from the farm in a block called, for obvious reasons, Pofadder Bush and will be harvested to produce 7 500l of wine.

This is our next stop, and we take a drive along with energetic, grey-haired terrier Peper to the vineyards. Occasionally tasting the fruit to gauge the ripeness level, Vlok explains how the different soils influence the flavour profiles of the wines. "Here yellow ferricrete contributes to the minerality that you find in the Strandveld Sauvignon Blanc," he notes. This is no empty boast: the Strandveld Sauvignon - like most of the Sauvignons in the Elim ward - has a distinct flintiness that reminds me of the examples made in New Zealand. Yet, the winemakers insist that they are uniquely Elim in flavour and that once you have tasted these Sauvignons you will never mistake them for a Sauvignon from any other area. And it is not just the white varieties (notably the Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon) that display such terroir-specific character. The reds, specifically the Shiraz, show a distinct white pepper flavour.

More and more producers are keen to explore the area's potential: David Nieuwoudt from Cederberg has bought land on Dirk Human's farm at Black Oystercatcher, Dave Hidden from Hidden Valley has a block of 18 hectares on grounds at Zoetendal and La Motte in Franschhoek regularly sources some of its grapes from Strandveld.

Although having made wine previously at Delheim and Baarsma before joining the Agulhas Wines venture, Conrad says that relocating and simply sourcing grapes from the area is not an option. "Civilization" is not much missed when you can sip your morning cup of tea on a stoep overlooking stretches of fynbos, afterall: "I don't like the city or traffic, I am not particularly fond of going to the movies... so although there have been offers extended to me from Stellenbosch and Durbanville, I am rather settled here. And I am happy - even if we are a bit off the radar."