I first visited South Africa back in 1997 as a tourist and the country just blew me away. I was really impressed with the landscape, wildlife and most of all the friendliness of the people.
It was also the first time I did tastings at cellar doors – at that time I was merely an average wine consumer who really didn't know much about wine other than that I enjoyed drinking it. It was, in fact, this visit to a wine country that made me truly fall in love with wine.
This was my third time harvesting in South Africa and I’m lucky enough to have worked at two wineries; Villiera Wines in Stellenbosch and Paul Clüver Family Wines in Elgin, both family-owned estates.
MCC at Villiera
Villiera, in the Bottelary Hills sub-region of Stellenbosch, is one of the biggest players in MCC, Methodé Cap Classique, accounting for some 50% of its production. MCC is South Africa’s answer to Champagne, a sparkling wine where second fermentation must take place in bottle and the wine must be aged on lees for at least 12 months. Any grape varieties are allowed, however most MCCs are made from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Chenin Blanc and Pinotage. The Cap Classique Producers Association (CCPA) was established in 1992 by 12 likeminded producers who share the passions for bottle-fermented sparkling wine and are committed to promote South Africa’s premium MCC to the world. Today, MCC is widely recognised and smaller wineries are adding MCC to their portfolios. Today the CCPA has over 100 members.
I spent four weeks at Villiera for the MCC harvest and learnt a lot from the team led by Jeff Grier. Picking the grapes at the right time is obviously the key factor for making quality wine, but it is even more relevant for sparkling wine in a warmer climate to pick the grapes just ripe enough in order to retain the acidity. Grapes are then pressed whole bunch at low pressure up to around 0.8 bar to avoid phenolic extraction (pressure in a bottle of champagne is around 5-6 bar). All MCCs at Villiera undergo full malo-lactic fermentation (MLF), partly to soften the acid, but also to ensure only minimum sulphur dosage is required. Wine from cool climate region (e.g. Champagne and England) is naturally low in pH that deters bacteria growth, but not in the warmer Stellenbosch. With no or partial MLF, a much higher sulphur dosage is needed to prevent spoilage.
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