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What was it that attracted you to the Andreas Winery ? A friend and I spent three weeks looking at about forty South African wineries and farms . Much of this time was fruitless , but one afternoon we turned a corner and came across Andreas . It stood out in the baking heat of Wellington ( where temperatures regularly reach over 40 degrees ) with its beautiful Cape Dutch house , set in the middle of stunning botanical gardens and surrounded by vineyards . Despite all the setbacks , every time I turn into the entrance to Andreas , I get the same wonderful feeling as I did when I first came across it .
What were the main challenges you faced following purchase ? Although the Estate is a small one ( only 13.5 hectares , of which 4.5 hectares is under vine ) and that we only make one wine ( Syrah ), everything turned out to be a lot more complicated than I had thought it would be .
Firstly , running a business from 10,500 miles away isn ’ t easy ( even in the era of e-mail , What ’ s App , Zoom and Teams ). You sometimes need to look people in the eye and touch , hear , feel and , perhaps in this case most importantly , taste things in order to understand what is really going on ... as opposed to what you are being told is going on !
In addition , our parent company is a UK company , but we operate in South Africa , so everything is duplicated . By way of example , we have two accountants , two lawyers , two banks , two company registrations , two sets of statutory accounts to prepare and two VAT submissions to make ( in the UK quarterly , in South Africa six times a year ).
We also inherited a winemaker who , it turned out , didn ’ t know what he was doing . He ruined an entire vintage , including all the barrels that housed it . The 2016 vintage of the Andreas Syrah was never made . This proved to be a very costly experience .
The plan was , from the outset , to improve the wine making operation ( which already existed ), but also to create a second arm to the business by renovating the eighteenth-century Cape Dutch house and bringing it to life as a Luxury Accommodation offering . We achieved this goal , but then along came the next challenge ... COVID-19 !
Who is your current wine maker ? When I dispensed with the services of the winemaker , who we inherited when we purchased the Estate , I had to find a replacement . I decided to aim high and recruit someone from one of the top Syrah wineries of South Africa .
Based on advice from a number of parties I identified Shaun Meyeridricks , who worked at Boekenhoutskloof , a winery that has consistently made one of South Africa ’ s best Syrah ’ s . Shaun took a lot of persuasion to join Andreas , but , after ten days of spending time with him and giving him the reassurances that he was seeking about our commitment to the project , and our willingness to give him the tools that he needed , I persuaded him to join . Late one night ( after a very long dinner ) we shook hands in the car park of a local restaurant – just hours before I flew home . It was one of the best business decisions that I ’ ve ever made .
Shaun , as well as being very well qualified and highly intelligent , has an incredible passion for what he does . He has transformed the wine , the cellar and the way in which our Syrah is made .
Tell us a bit about the Estates wines ? Aside from a tiny parcel of Mourvèdre , which we use for blending , we are unashamedly a one varietal estate - originally Shiraz , now Syrah . We changed from Shiraz to Syrah with the launch of the 2018 vintage , to reflect the fact that this was the first wine for which Shaun had been wholly responsible and in recognition of his achievement in creating a more elegant , Northern Rhone style , of wine .
Andreas is not an estate that is ever likely to make a wide range of different wines , as many do . We want to make seriously good Syrah . Later this year , we are launching a premium Syrah , called ‘ Lithic
Whisperer ’. This will be made in years when Shaun judges that we have sufficient small quantities ( maybe just two to five barrels ) of truly outstanding wine .
In time , we want our wines to be in a much wider range of international markets . It is a wine that we hope can be enjoyed by all who appreciate a really good Syrah .
What are the plans for the future ? The ambition for the wine is quite simply to encourage Shaun and give him the tools that he needs to keep improving the wine . He is the expert , not us ! As I have already said , in October we will launch Lithic Whisperer . In addition , after being closed for two and a half years , we will re-open the Cape Dutch house in September / October this year for people to visit and stay in .
Where can we currently find your wine ? In the UK , Andreas Syrah is sold through about thirty members of the Vindependents network ( including Define in Sandiway and Reserve Wines in Manchester ) as well as in a number of restaurants ( including the Art School in Liverpool and Sam ’ s Chop House in Manchester ). It is also sold , and appears on restaurant wine lists , in South Africa , Namibia , Germany , Norway , Switzerland , Belgium , Hong Kong and Singapore . We are constantly looking for new outlets to improve our geographical coverage .
What do you perceive as the main challenges for you and the winery today , as you move forwards and plan for the future ? The main challenge is to sustain the momentum that we have created and start to earn a meaningful return for our shareholders , all of whom have stuck with us since the original purchase . We reported our first profit ( albeit a very small one ) last year , which , in itself , was quite an achievement given the challenges that we had faced - not least the prohibition of alcohol sales in South Africa for 20 weeks because of the pandemic .
I have , myself , already consumed several bottles of the Andreas Syrah 2018 . Deep purple red in colour , you get a wine full of black fruit with a touch of pepper and spice . Like many other South African red wines , you get that little hint of smokiness on the palate . I have also given a number of bottles to friends ( all confessed wine enthusiasts ) and have seen a wine tasting class drink the wine blind . Without exception it has attracted great praise . It is a wonderful wine , drinking beautifully now , but with the potential to age well . It is from a beautiful winery in a stunning part of the world ( take a look at the drone footage on the wineries website ( www . andreas . co . za ) and you will see , for yourself , exactly what I mean ).
*** SPECIAL READER OFFER ***
So – back to the beginning of this article ! With the full backing of David Croft himself , you are offered the opportunity to buy the Andreas Syrah , delivered direct to your doorstep free of charge in the Merseyside , Wirral and Cheshire areas , for only £ 99 for a case of 6 ( only £ 16.50 a bottle ). This is a discount of some 23 % from its recommended retail price and will undoubtedly probably prove to be an even greater discount when you actually come to find it for purchase somewhere . Indeed , past vintages can be found , online , at anywhere between £ 30 and £ 40 a bottle . Currently the offer is for the 2018 vintage . In October this year the 2019 vintage will be available on the same basis . This offer will run until 30th November 2022 . If you are interested in this kind gesture ( available to readers of this magazine ), then please email David Croft and he will sort out both your purchase and the delivery of your wine ( dmbcroft @ hotmail . com ).
All I can say is – bite his hand off . This is a lovely wine , drinking beautifully now , with the potential to age . At the price being offered – it is a steal . You will not be disappointed . Look out for future vintages and the Lithic Whisperer too . This wine estate seems to be going from strength to strength . Keep an eye on it ! wirrallife . com 33