the next generation: philip van zyl’ s south africa
Photo by Paul Martens
Interview by Gary Hewitt, MSc, CWE, SGD, AIWS and Mike Muirhead, Sommelier( ISG, CMS), CSW
In the Southern Cape, Platter’ s South African Wines, an annual guide to cellars and vineyards, is everywhere— in every store, winery, or tourist centre. Platter’ s ratings are part of the language, and everyone in the wine trade knows the current“ five star” wines. The guide, first published by John and Erica Platter in 1980, quickly attracted an elite panel of tasters and, latterly, an intrepid young editor named Philip van Zyl. During Philip’ s tenure, the South African wine industry has evolved enormously and he has seen it all. When we looked for someone with a global view of the South African wine industry, we were told“ Philip van Zyl is your man.” Mike Muirhead and Gary Hewitt enjoyed a morning coffee with Philip at an outdoor café near his home in Somerset West, a thriving community east of Cape Town and on the southern edge of the famous Stellenbosch wine region.
Gary Hewitt [ GH ] I haven’ t been in a wine region where a single publication is as ubiquitous throughout the industry as is Platter’ s South African Wines. This is a big compliment to the quality of the guide, but it carries a big responsibility to the industry as well. How do you see this responsibility in terms of the success of the wine guide?
Philip van Zyl [ PVZ ] Well, that’ s a complicated question. I know that everybody on the team has accepted that this is the case, and we do take our responsibility to the consumer— and to the producers— very seriously. But there is some criticism of the tasting approach. John and Erica Platter said right from the start that they were journalists first, so they wanted to convey the backstory
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