Taaibosch, one of the Oddo family's wine estates in Stellenbosch, South Africa. Photo: Taaibosch Wines
It was a simple statement – but one which carried a wealth of impact once examined. Taaibosch cellarmaster Schalk Willem Joubert made a throwaway remark about having attended Wine Paris in February. "The sentiment towards South Africa from the French is so positive," he said. "In my more than 30 years in the wine industry, having travelled the world and spent a lot of time in France, I’ve never known it like this!"
Was it perhaps the fact that he was representing Taaibosch, owned as it is by a French concern, Oddo Vins et Domaines? "Certainly, that’s a part of it but it wasn’t only that – it was South African wine in general."
To then have that statement echoed a day later – without any prompting – by Thys Louw of Diemersdal was eye-opening. At the launch of his new Diemersadal The Globe Sauvignon Blanc, Louw was talking about how impressive Wine Paris as a global wine exposition had been. "I’ve been to lots of shows and trade fairs and I think Wine Paris is going to take over from ProWein as the most significant event. And the way people, especially the French, reacted to South African wine was amazing! As South Africans we’ve never felt included or welcomed the way we were this time."
France remains the heartland of wine and for decades there was an air of superiority to the French wine industry. It’s not just South Africa that they haughtily looked down on; it was the same for other countries too!
The word "sentiment" is often shied away from, carrying as it does connotations of schmaltzy, saccharine hearts and flowers type emotion. That’s because its origins are from Middle English when it meant "personal experience" or "physical feeling or sensation". As with many words in the English language, it was hijacked from French – sentement – which in turn was taken from medieval Latin, sentimentum, that, in turn, came from the Latin word, sentire, or "feel". But search for synonyms and the options include the obvious answers: "feeling" and "emotion" but also "response", "reaction", "attitude", "opinion", and "outlook".
Lorraine Oddo, daughter of the founder of Oddo Vins et Domaines, Pascal Oddo, is well-placed to provide some context for this change in outlook and opinion on South Africa and its wines, having been invested in the country since buying Cordoba farm on Stellenbosch's Helderberg in 2017. She travels between Paris and Stellenbosch frequently, keeping a gentle hand on the Taaibosch ship steered by Joubert. The first observation she made was that more and more French people are visiting the country and experiencing its beauty for the first time. "Scenically, the country is an easy sell. I know I fell in love with it on my first visit!"
"South Africa makes up 60% of our total portfolio," Oddo said on her latest visit to Stellenbosch. "With Taaibosch, Le Chant, and Pink Valley we have more wine properties in South Africa than we do in France!" (Oddo Vins et Domaines owns Vallon des Glauges in Aix on Provence, Le Piton Sancerre in the Loire, and also Serra Ferdinandea in Sicily, Italy.)
The growth happened quite organically, Oddo said. "We looked at a number of different properties which were for sale but settled on what used to be Cordoba because of its potential – especially for Cabernet Franc." Pink Valley and Le Chant followed, and Oddo is at pains to point out that each brand is unique, occupying its own special niche.
The reasons for the Oddo family selecting South Africa mimicked those often repeated by Madame May Eliane de Lencquesaing who established Glenelly in 2004: proximity ("it’s just an 11-hour flight from France – not far, like Australia or New Zealand which we also considered," Oddo said); the minimal time difference (only an hour or two, depending on summer or winter daylight saving time); the historical French connection with Huguenot settlers; and the country’s long track record of making wine along with its modern renaissance and striving for world-class quality.
An article in Le Monde newspaper in August 2024 quoted Les Grand Chais de France and AdVini, both of which have extensive South African wine holdings (Villiera, Ken Forrester, Neethlingshof, Le Bonheur, and L’Avenir): "For these multinational beverage companies, having vineyards in both hemispheres means they have two harvests a year. This diversification also mitigates the economic risk of a climatic catastrophe affecting a vineyard."
Perhaps the strongest motivation for the Oddo investment came down to the human capital. "We knew that if we invested in the country, we would have to rely on a strong team for the day-to-day running of the operation – and we have that in Schalk Willem and his team," she said. "Obviously, there was some apprehension at first, but now, eight years on, we are genuinely very happy with everything. Doing business here is not too different from France. It’s essential to do your homework … as you would for any business."
Perhaps the most telling comment from Oddo was her last sentence. "We have confidence in South Africa."