Backtrack to 1995: Alphonso Bowe, a young dynamic and very successful Bahamian entrepreneur, lands at Schipol airport in Holland on a business trip. he encounters a distinguished man in the cloakroom, who reveals he is to meet the Dutch Royal family, and who accepts an offer of a splash of cologne. The distinguished man is President Nelson Mandela, who proceeds to invite Bowe to visit South Africa. Reciprocally, the President accepts Bowes open invitation to visit Nassau in the Bahamas.
Bowe, whose interests extend beyond aviation and shipping to include a sound knowledge of wine, visited Cape Town a year later, and fell in love with the winelands. He lost little time in making his first purchase, a wine farm on the mountain slopes somewhere between Worcester and Tulbagh, planted with neglected chardonnay vines. Alphonso tells an amusing tale of how, while waiting for the principal estate agent to collect him from the Paarl office of one of South Africas top property brokers, he was presumed to be a messenger rather than a potential client. A
lthough his farm was a member of the Waboomsrivier Co-op, Bowe pulled out of the co-op and pulled up all the chardonnay - after just one harvest. Today Muriel, as he has renamed this property, is planted with red varieties, some of which will produce their maiden vintage next year, Bowe continued to visit the Cape frequently, absorbing knowledge of the vines, the wines, regions and the industry. As he tasted and approved, he decided that Bahamians and Americans should also enjoy the wine.
Last year, he met the Jouberts of La Provence, a beautifully situated wine farm on the Polkadraai Road near Stellenbosch. Enjoying stupendous views of the Helderberg and Hottentots Holland mountains and False Bay, the property has been farmed since 1695, and wine has been made there for over 200 years. The time was ripe for development. Jannie and Lukas Joubert entered into a joint venture with Bowe, while a Wisconsin businessman, Andrew Hilliard, became a third party in the re-named Bowe Joubert Vineyards and Winery.
The maiden wines were released last week at a luncheon party in the old manor house, an affair notable for its fine fare. Each course was created to complement the three whites - chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and chenin blanc - and a dry rose. Wine-maker Jannie Joubert guaranteed that - however much is exported - stocks of wine will be kept for local consumers and sold at reasonable prices. The historic property is blossoming, with old Cinsaut vines surrounded by plantings of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, shiraz and pinotage. Traditional wine-making techniques combine with modern technology and sophisticated equipment in the winery. Vineyard renewal and cellar renovation have been accompanied by the upgrading of workers cottages and several guest cottages have also been opened. In a pleasing nod to the past, the oldest structure on the farm, a clay building, is to be restored as a private wine-tasting facility.