Farmers are very practical people who live with one eye on the weather forecast and the other on their bank balance. When the cycle of life is disturbed by extreme forces of nature – drought, flooding, wildfires, summer frost – the farmer must adapt or die. And when the crop is grapes, the product wine and the country South Africa, the viticulturist needs supersonic laser vision and a tightrope walker’s ability to pivot.
Specialist grape growers Danie Carinus and his cousin Hugo – 5th generation suppliers of top-quality grapes to some of the most recognised and awarded wine makers in the Western Cape – know the value in the soils and locations of their vast family enterprise (from hundreds of hectares of the northern Swartland to the slopes of Devon Valley and Polkadraai in Stellenbosch) and over time they have swivelled from quantity to quality production, and to making wine themselves with help from their friends.
“Good winemaking starts in the vineyard,” says Danie when I meet him in London. He has the slightly weatherbeaten look of a farmer (albeit one who stopped for a haircut on the way in to town). Despite the trials and tribulations of production in a drought-ridden region (which recently recorded record rainfall and flash flooding), he is having fun, and this is evident on the Carinus wine labels – ‘made from vines grown next to the long and winding gravel road that leads to redemption and enlightenment’.
In 2020 – when the South African wine industry was shut down by draconian government Covid measures, the cousins teamed up with young-gun winemaker Lukas van Loggerenberg to produce ‘Koue-Vid’ (which also plays on the Afrikaans ‘cold white’). A blend of Muscat Blanc and Semillon with aromatic lychee and Turkish Delight on the nose and green notes of nettle and grass, it turned out a whole lot better than they thought it would. Too good to dismiss as a pandemic fluke.
Along that long gravel road through the Swartland came the realisation that the iron-rich red soils were delivering just what the chenin vines needed.
“We started pulling up vines at Rooidraai in 1991, ripped everything out except the Chenin,” Danie says. Old bush-vine Chenin Blanc (the most planted white grape variety in South Africa) produces liquid gold which is very much in demand.
The Carinus 2021 Chenin Blanc grapes are hand-selected over four passes through the Rooidraai vineyard. Each harvest is wild fermented separately, some in stainless steel tanks and the rest in 300-litre old French oak barrels, for 10-11 months and carefully blended before bottling.The grape’s trademark acidity is balanced by rich, honeyed fruit, intense citrus and stone fruit flavours with a touch of struck match and a flourish of Atlantic salinity on the finish.
A second bottling of the same blend is aged further in bottle before release as Rooidraai. The extra time delivers refinement, rich butteriness and herbal notes that remind me of fynbos (South Africa’s indigenous flora).
A great pairing with fresh West Coast stonebass, rock lobster or a green seafood curry, I would also match it with guinea fowl and other game birds.
We move from the Swartland to Stellenbosch and the pure, unoaked clarity of Polkadraai Heuwels Chenin Blanc 2021, made in collaboration with Chris Alheit. The floral nose with quince, green apple and lime on the palate is the result of careful whole bunch pressing and fermentation and ageing in concrete eggs. Great acidity and salinity on the finish makes it a perfect match for rich seafood dishes or roast chicken.
But we couldn’t be in Stellenbosch without a warming red, and although Syrah is not the top variety the region is famous for (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinotage) again it is the site, Polkadraai (and specifically the sandy soils on the lower slopes), that delivers gentle, ripe tannins and fresh, juicy fruit. Another wine-making collaboration, again with Van Loggerenberg (a busy guy!), it’s savoury and appealing, while at 12.5% alcohol could happily be served chilled on a summer’s day with grilled meats and well-dressed salads. “It’s showing so well,” says Danie. “We are very proud of it.”
The gravel road trip is far from over for the Carinus cousins. Come rain or shine there’s always something new on the horizon, as long as you keep those eyes peeled.
Carinus wines are available in the UK from Woodwinters.com
© Linda Galloway 2023