Tania Kleintjes has an infectious laugh. It starts in her eyes and then her shoulders begin to shake. Her laughter ripples through a room until every corner of the room is laughing with her. Much of Tania’s work as an organic winemaker involves sustainable practices that resonate with a growing legion of oenophiles.
At the launch of the Cultivate Wine Collective, Tania explained how she has become part of a growing group of organic winemakers in South Africa, since 2016.
There are over 30 organic certified wine producers in South Africa. These include Avondale – renowned for its ducks, Org de Rac – established in 2001 on the ethos of organic farming, Laibach – famed for the ladybird and others, including Spier.
Spier, where Tania forms part of the winemaking team, was partially certified by EcoCert. EcoCert was founded in France in 1991, the international Organic Certification Organisation was registered in South Africa in 2002 and has offices in Stellenbosch. While EcoCert works widely through Southern Africa, other organic wine producers in South Africa have been certified by Control Union, Lacon, Ceres and other certification bodies.
Tania says that certification all starts in the vineyard. She says: “Spier started with the organic conversion of the Spier Farms in 2008 and was fully certified in 2015. 2015 was Spier’s first organic harvest with the vineyard and cellar certified organic.”
The Enthoven family, Spier’s proprietors led the team’s desire to become organically certified.
“The request for an organic range of wines was initiated by the Spier family, who wanted to convey Spier’s commitment to sustainability,” Tania says.
Tania expands: “I decided to jump on the bandwagon, since I had a lot of experience in the cellar food safety management system, together with the winemaking. About a year into the process, it became part of my everyday at home, where I now scrutinise everything I give to my family and use around my home.”
Tania says that in the cellar, she rolls the barrels with her fourteen-year-old son.
Although, she adds: “Rolling barrels isn’t specific to organic wine, we do it for our conventional wines too and likewise you are allowed to do pump-overs or punch downs for organic wine. At Spier Cellar, we have adopted a minimum intervention approach to making organic wines, to try to elevate the true terroir expression in the wine. These are all practices that we have adopted and work for us, but they are not enforced as a standard. The main labour-intensive requirements come into play in the vineyards: where no chemical herbicides, pesticides and fungicides are allowed.”
In the United States, ‘organic’ either relates to wine that is organic or wine made using certified organically grown grapes.
According to Wine Enthusiast, organic wines certified by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) which carry the USDA seal are strictly regulated. These wines are made naturally and all of the added ingredients – including yeast – must be certified organic.
The European Union began to permit the use of ‘organic wine’ on labels since 2012, previously, according to Wine Enthusiast, the wines were labeled as ‘made from organic grapes.’
In South Africa, Tania says: “In the cellar, organic doesn’t necessarily imply that the wine has no additives - contrary to popular belief.”
However, Tania explains: “There is a closely regulated list of additives that are allowed in organic wines, which is also dependent on your market. The EU, USA and China, for instance have their own organic standard and regulations. So, if you want to export to any of those countries, you have a different set of rules to adhere to before you can export.”
The global conversation around sustainability has shifted organic wines into focus.
“Global demand is growing – according to a recent report that I read in the Meningers online: Organic-Certified wine saw the highest jump in sales (+10.8%). South African consumers are following suit, although at a slower pace,” Tania says.
According to a study by The Insight Partners, in 2019 Europe held the largest share of the global organic wine market. Globally, organic cultivation areas tripled from 88,000 hectares in 2004 to 256,000 hectares in 2011. This trend is expected to continue into the future as issues pertaining to pesticides and how land is treated become more pertinent. According to Pull the Cork, the demand for organic sparkling wine grew by 19.1% from 2013 to 2018.
Unlike organic wine, biodynamic winemaking remains uniform across countries. Biodynamic Agriculture is founded on the principles of Austrian philosopher Rudolph Steiner’s work in the 1920’s. The biodynamic philosophy predated the organic movement and promoted the use of agricultural practices based on the lunar calendar and astrological influences. Biodynamic farming, certified by Demeter, also relies on sustainable agricultural practices, like not using synthetic pesticides or fertilisers to achieve soil health. Leaf days on the calendar, for instance refer to watering days.
“Reyneke is doing amazing things on the biodynamic front,” Tania says.
Tania’s Cultivate compatriots, Brunia Wines are committed to working towards biodynamic practices.
“As much as I don’t want to believe that biodynamics has such a major impact on the wines, I can’t deny the difference in taste of a wine tasted on a root day (pruning) versus on a fruit (harvest day) or flower day (where the vineyard should not be interfered with). Biodynamic farming has proven to restore soil quality and biodiversity in the vineyards, imagine what it can do for the wines!” Tania says.
Tania qualified with an MSc(Agric) in Oenology while working at Spier. Tania says: “My Master’s was on the quantification and qualification of spirit products, by means of statistical analyses of FT-IR spectroscopy data obtained from the WineScan. It was not much to do with organic winemaking as such, but the skills acquired during my post-graduate degree are invaluable to what I do today – problem-solving, statistical analysis, report writing, prioritizing, etc.”
Tania joined Spier in 2007 as an assistant red winemaker. Soon after graduating with her Master’s degree, the quality and compliance department approached her to join their team.
“But my heart was in winemaking, so after a three-year stint as quality manager, I wormed my way back into the cellar. All the experience that I have gained through the years has equipped me with what is needed to get this position as organic winemaker - attention to detail is key,” Tania says.