Orange River Cellars, shooting for the stars

Wednesday, 9 November, 2011
Norman McFarlane
Consistent improvements in wine quality marks the 10th annual Tops-at-Spar Country Cellars Wine Competition. Norman McFarlane reports on the awards function which took place early October.
The great grey green greasy Orange River winds its serpentine way through the seared countryside, flanked on either side by the bright green foliage of vineyards, heavy with the promise of an abundant harvest. The incongruity of this virtual Garden of Eden, in the lower reaches of the pre-Kalahari Desert around Upington in the Northern Cape, is made all the more stark by the sight of a dozen odd aircraft, in Alitalia livery parked beside the runway in the corrosion-free bone dry desert air, as the SA Airlink Embraer ERJ135 settles onto the runway, and heads for the terminal building.

The visit is occasioned by the annual Tops-at-Spar Country Cellars Wine Competition, now in its tenth year, which sees the winemakers at the five individual cellars that constitute Orange River Cellars, competing head-to-head for top winemaking honours. Sponsored by Spar, which has a relationship with Orange River Cellars worth R32 million a year, the intention of the competition is to encourage the winemakers to push the edge of the winemaking envelope, in an environment which is characterised by enormous volumes.

The scale of the operation is impressive, which became evident during a tour of the Kakamas Cellar. During harvest, from early November to April, the cellar processes around 1200 tons of grapes a day. The cellar has five enormous presses, and the average tank size is staggering. By way of comparison, the average cellar in Stellenbosch would probably do in a year, less than half of what the Kakamas Cellar does in a single day.

With five cellars running full tilt, just how difficult is it to feed the voracious maw with a steady supply of fruit? Easier than one might think, when the average yield sits at around 36 tons per hectare, with a low of 26 tons, and a high of 70 tons. By comparison again with a typical Stellenbosch vineyard, ten tons per hectare would be considered a stellar yield, and the average would inevitably be much lower, around five to six tons per hectare.

The massive yields occur because of the fecundity of the soils which host the vineyards bracketing the river’s course. Growing in rich alluvial soil, one of the problems faced by the six viticulturists tasked with looking after the vineyards, is controlling the vigorous growth, with green picking and bunch knockdowns playing a significant role. The fertile soil aside, it is the virtually guaranteed water supply furnished by the ever-reliable Orange River, that will ensure that in an industry that is struggling to make ends meet, Orange River Cellars will continue to turn a very tidy profit. The vineyards closest to the river are flood irrigated, and those a touch more distant by pumped irrigation.

Seeing some flooded vineyards from the air during short finals on the way into Upington Airport, raised the spectre of the devastating floods that ravaged the area in January. Vast swathes of vineyards lay submerged for days on end, after a series of catastrophic releases of water during the annual flood season of the Orange River, yet despite the damage caused, and the decline in concomitant yield, the quality of wines produced did not suffer. The extent to which the area has recovered, is a lyrical tribute to the hardy farmers of the area, and their ability to rise above devastating circumstances.

Most picking is mechanical, vital in an operation of this magnitude, with grapes coming into the cellar from early morning until late at night, according to Kakamas Cellar winemaker Heinrich Coetzee, with a typical work day spanning up to 18 hours during harvest. The bulk of wine made is Chenin Blanc and Colombard, in itself unusual as a single varietal. Approximately 30% of total production is sold as bulk wine, with the balance finding its way to market under the Orange River Cellars label, and the three Tops-at-Spar ranges: Carnival five, three and one litre bag-in-box, the Country Cellars range, and the premium Olive Brook range. Wines are vinified at each of the five cellars during harvest, but final blending takes place at the main cellar in Upington, followed by bottling and labelling, and then final distribution. Whilst a proportion of the wine sold off in bulk may well find its way into the overseas market, a remarkable 95% of the wine produced is consumed in the local market – the Star Tree range is distributed exclusively in the US.

Although the vast majority of wine produced is fruit forward, approachable easy drinking white (largely Chenin Blanc and Colombard and a small proportion of Chardonnay and a dry white blend), a small proportion of credible red wines are produced, including a Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Pinotage, and a dry red blend. In the stickies department, substantial white and red Jerepigos and Muscadels, a Port, Sherries and sweet Hanepoot complete the range.

But it is the wines we taste during the Kakamas Cellar tour, and later in the day after the blind tasting for the competition, that signify where this highly profitable mass-production operation is headed. We taste an intriguing wooded Colombard, a lightly wooded Chardonnay, a Merlot, a perplexing wooded Nouvelle, and a stunning Muscat de Frontignan. Picked at 33 balling, it has a massive 328g/l sugar, and is all sweet sultanas on racy fresh acidity, with a massive mid-palate, and a lingering finish. Sadly, it is the 2011 vintage tank sample, and I realise I will not be able to buy a bottle on this trip.

This penchant for experimenting, for pushing the edge of the wine making envelope, proves its worth in the 35 competition wines entered this year. The judging line-up is significant - wine specialist Tinus van Niekerk who serves as consultant at Tops-at-Spar, Joaquim Sa of cork company Amorim, journalists Neil Pendock and Fiona McDonald, wine trader Caroline Rillema and winemakers Guy Webber of Stellenzicht and Abé Beukes of Darling Cellars – with a number of them having served on the panel since the inception of the competition. The judges feedback is uniformly positive noting annual improvements in quality over the ten years of the competition.

The awards are presented at a glittering function at the local high school, the hall decked out to look like a baronial dining hall in a fairy tale castle. The star of the show is Grootdrink Cellar under the guidance of Johan Dippenaar, who also won the prize for best red blended wine with his excellent Shiraz, Petit Verdot and Ruby Cabernet blend, and was adjudged champion winemaker over all as well. The awards are interspersed by successive courses, each accompanied by one or more of the competition wines, while the diners are serenaded by a magnificent series of operatic arias sung by noted artists soprano Ilse Matzonne and tenor Dewald von Solms.

And as the formalities conclude, and the assembled company settles down to share a glass or two and discuss the awards, it is all too easy to imagine that next year’s competition is being planned for, and eyes are already fixed on the coveted trophies and prizes which we’ve just seen conferred on the hard-working winners.
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Orange River Cellars wine served at Gerrie's Kalahari Sushi Bar at the Kalahari Gateway Hotel in Kak
Orange River Cellars wine served at Gerrie's Kalahari Sushi Bar at the Kalahari Gateway Hotel in Kak

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