Winemakers and their cars
The fast and the Epicurious
A British study has shown that men view their cars as an extension of themselves, which apparently explains why they are more inclined to cruise along with one hand nonchalantly on the wheel than women, who tend to keep both hands on the wheel because they see their car as a separate entity. What about winemakers? Maryke Visagie investigates.
PIERRE WAHL DOES IT SHAKEN, NOT STIRRED, IN A Z3
Rijk's Private Cellar winemaker Pierre Wahl bought his little 2.8 Beemer Z3 with his dad. It's affectionately nicknamed die koets (the carriage) because he used to pick "Cinderella" (then his girlfriend, now his wife) up in it. "Either that or die koue kar (the cold car), so named by my nieces and nephews because it's a convertible." He loves driving the Bond car on weekends, to feel the wind in his hair: "While I still have some hair, anyway."
He adds: "It has unbelievable power and speed and it sits snugly around the bends. Plus, being a 1997 model, it's soon to be a vintage model!" His tongue-in-cheek philosophy about The Thing with Men and their Cars is that it's all in the genes. "Men were driven to discover new places and the more competition they had, the quicker they had to do it. Speed became important. Since there isn't really any land to claim anymore, a man must claim territory in a nice-looking car." But the biggest advantage of driving this car, he says, is that a female companion can't take along a lot of baggage, since there is virtually no boot space!
ANDREW GUNN DOES IT STYLISHLY IN A VINTAGE PORSCHE
"It's the first car I ever bought and I still have it."
Iona owner Andrew Gunn was 19 when he bought his 1958 Porsche for R675, and it sparked his life-long love affair with this supercar. While still living in Johannesburg, he was the president of the Porsche Club and met designer Ferdinand Porsche in Germany. When Gunn's family relocated to the Elgin valley, he had to sell most of his cars. "Steep dirt roads aren't exactly friendly to supercars."
He couldn't, however, sell his first love and today he uses it for weekend drives - and to take the kids to school, dirt road or no dirt road. "Porsche also designed for VW, so this Porsche is much like a VW Beetle, it can go anywhere."
BOELA GERBER DOESN'T QUITE DO IT IN A MORRIS MINOR
Granny Smith is sick and not exactly mobile. Water flooded Groot Constantia winemaker Boela Gerber's garage last year and, consequently, his 1956 Morris Minor Series II, affectionately known as Granny Smith. This left her with "mechanical limitations". He's about to fix her, though: "The Morris Minor is legendary! It was the British Motor Company's answer to Henry Ford's Model T Ford and the first British vehicle to sell more than a million units."
But it does have some flaws: "Every person who owns one will tell you stories about how failed brakes brought them within an inch of their life."
Gerber bought Granny Smith two years about, unlicensed and not exactly roadworthy. "The idea was to get her on the road again, which proved to be much easier in theory..."
KEN FORRESTER DOES IT WITH ACHTUNG ON A BMW
Ken Forrester got his first bike - a Honda 50CC - at the tender age of 16 and he's been a motorcycle fan ever since. "I slowly moved up the ranks until I drove an 1100 Honda. Then I realised that having a wife and children probably meant having to slow things down a bit."
So he put a lid on his inner hog for a few years - until one day, four years ago, when he spotted a 1958 BMW R60 in a motoring magazine. "I promptly flew up to Johannesburg and had to persuade the fanatical owner to grudgingly part with it. It was more of an interview than a sales transaction."
The bike was in showroom condition, but Forrester thought it wise to hide his impulse-buy in a friend's garage for about six months. "I couldn't tell my wife I had just bought another bike. But I did suddenly find a lot of reasons to fly to Johannesburg for ‘meetings'..." It was at this harbouring friend's birthday party that he decided to introduce his wife to his mistress, and today, to his pleasure, there's room in his life for both.
GYLES WEB DOES IT LIKE MICHAEL CAINE IN A MINI COPER
"Because it's fun," says Thelema winemaker Gyles Webb matter- of-factly on driving a Mini Cooper. This sounds a lot like "because I can" - a familiar response when it comes to men and their car choices.
"It's not a very practical little car," he admits, revealing that he uses his Land Rover for farm business, "but it is seriously fast, sits well on the road, is zippy, and I have no problem parking." He insists he's really not a petrolhead, but of course he's seen both versions of The Italian Job, the first one with Michael Caine as well as the remake starring Mark Wahlberg and Charlize Theron (and, no, he hasn't attempted driving his Mini down a flight of stairs...).
His favourite road is, conveniently, the one leading to Thelema: "I love whizzing up and down Helshoogte Pass." Driving a car with low clearance and no boot space whatsoever does present problems, although Webb recalls driving eight cases of wine to Plett with no problem. "This isn't a mode of transport; it's a car for someone who loves driving."
