Sales of Sauvignon Blanc rose by at least 38% in the United States, according to Nielsen. Off-premise wine sales drove sales of wine in the United States by 30% or more. The noteworthy preferences of consumers, largely social-distancing in their homes, revealed a growing taste for wine in 2020.
While growing curiosity among international consumers has given rise to the popularity of Sauvignon Blanc, the sun has shone upon Durbanville, a wine region in South Africa. International Sauvignon Blanc enthusiasts will likely appreciate a visit to Durbanville, an area that is roughly a half hour drive from Cape Town International Airport.
Daniel Keulder, the winemaker at Nitida, a wine farm in Durbanville won the Diners Club Winemaker of the Year in 2019. Daniel says that a good example of a good Sauvignon Blanc is a wine that will continue to drink well in five to ten years. Daniel, popularly known as Danie says, “that’s a wine that comes from a good terroir.”
Terroir refers to the environment in which a vine is grown and how those environmental factors affect the taste and flavour of the resultant wine.
Charles Hopkins is the founding cellarmaster at De Grendel Wine Estate, a picturesque wine destination in Durbanville. Charles has over three decades of experience in the South African wine industry, and was part of the founding team at De Grendel in 2005 when, winemaking at De Grendel began in earnest. Charles is familiar with the Durbanville terroir and his breadth of knowledge and experience continue to draw Sauvignon Blanc enthusiasts towards South Africa.
Whether you are in Durbanville, Dallas, Dakar or beyond, there are several reasons to explore Durbanville for sensational Sauvignon Blanc.
First: There Are Several Styles of Sauvignon Blanc
Charles Hopkins says, “for me, there are five styles of Sauvignon Blanc.”
- Esters: pear, apple, flower aromas due to the fermentation process
- Thiols: tropical flavours, like citrus, granadilla and black currant
- Methoxypyrazine: green aromas, asparagus, lemongrass and capsicum
- Wooded Sauvignon Blanc: sea kelp, minerality and vanilla
- Natural Sauvignon Blanc: orange in colour, funky and phenolic
While De Grendel produces a great deal of Sauvignon Blanc from the farm in Durbanville, there are other sources of Sauvignon Blanc that reveal the cellarmaster’s sagacity.
Charles says, “De Grendel Sauvignon Blanc from the farm is produced in combination of style 1, esters and 2, thiols with emphasis on thiols (15 000 cases of 12). Koetshuis Sauvignon Blanc is what we purchase from Lutzville, Darling made in a Methoxypyrazine style with 15% wood component (3000 cases of 12). Our CWG Sauvignon blanc made in style 3 and 4 with emphasis on the wood as it is 100% wooded (50 cases of 12).”
Second: The influence of terroir on Sauvignon Blanc
Charles says that Durbanville Sauvignon Blanc generally tends to lean towards Sauvignon Blanc style 2, thiols.
This means that the tropical, citrus and granadilla flavours that the wine exhibits are influenced by the environment. Charles says, “the moderate maritime conditions ensures a long moderate ripening time from veraison (the onset of grape ripening) in the new year, until picking in the second half of February. Maritime conditions, combined with good winemaking and well-drained blue shale soils result in the success of this varietal.”
Fellow Durbanville winemaker, Danie, says that terroir has an influence on the success of Sauvignon Blanc at Nitida. He says, “Nitida always shows such complexity and layers. Having a core group of people working in the vineyard, who understand what is needed to produce high quality grapes, year after year.”
The influence of nature is evident at Nitida. Nitida Golden Orb, monikered after the Golden Orb spider, is a single-vineyard Sauvignon Blanc wine. Danie says, “we’ve got a different approach to chemicals,” alluding to sustainable winemaking that enables spiders and other organisms to roam at ease at the pinnacle of nature. He says, “you can see the Atlantic ocean from this vineyard.”
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