is from their Mentors range. Wines in this range are specifically experimental vinifications from experimental vineyards. That they actually have a formal range that’ s dedicated to experimentation, is, I think, pretty cool.
GH Coming back to the South African wine styles, we’ ve noticed that the wines seem to be going for a fresher style of acidity. In the case of the Swartland, they’ re doing some multi-grape blends, producing real complexity, rather than depending on winemaking techniques to build the wine. Do you see this as a trend that will continue developing in South Africa?
PVZ Yes, and I think that, to balance the sun-drenched style, freshness is certainly a major focus. There is a ripeness, but also a fresh component that makes the wines compatible with food, or attractive by the glass. Winemakers have definitely realized that that is crucial, and they’ ve improved on it, but increasingly through viticultural practices, as opposed to vinification.
MM Do you find that there are people trying to make wines in a style that would give them good ratings in the Platter’ s wine guide?
They want us to take a stand and say, " South Africa needs to go Old World or New World." And I’ m thinking to myself, why would we want to do that?
PVZ That’ s an excellent question, and I will answer that in my usual roundabout way. Some commentators have said to us,“ Why don’ t you take a stand and only give the highest ratings to a particular style?”— referring to an Old World style or New World style. They want us to take a stand and say, " South Africa needs to go Old World or New World." And I’ m thinking to myself, why would we want to do that? Surely what we should be doing is applying universal quality criteria to wines and trying to explain the character of the wine to the reader. We need to be applying universal quality standards and saying,“ This wine is a New World style, but is it good in its style?” or“ This wine is an Old World style, and how good it is of its style?” So we dismissed this option of going for one or the other out-of-hand. We try and accommodate all styles, but apply universal criteria.
There are 5-star wines that are produced in a New World style, and others that are less so. Therefore, I think it’ s quite difficult to make a wine to a“ Platter” style. And, I don’ t want to overstate this, but I’ m quite proud of our position because I think that consumers’ tastes are so different, and the book is addressing a global market. Surely you can’ t just accept or champion one particular style; you have to recognize quality across the board. �
Innovation, technology, style | LINDBERG | Exclusively at Book Optical.
OPTOMETRISTS: DR. BRIAN BOOK • DR. KARA ROSENBLAT DR. SONIA SINGH-ENNS • DR. MARK GILLMAN • DR. EHREN SHERBO
BOOK OPTICAL • 230-444 ST. MARY AVE • 204.942.01 13 BOOK VISION CARE • 143 SCURFIELD BLVD. • 204.487.6233