JD Pretorius (29) is the cellar
master at Steenberg Vineyards. He was appointed as winemaker in 2009 and took
over as cellar master in 2012. JD’s Steenberg Merlot 2011 and 2012 as well as
the Steenberg Echo 2012 qualified for the Young Winemaker of the Year award. JD
received the award for the Steenberg Merlot 2012.
MEET THE WINEMAKER
What does being a
finalist in the prestigious Diners Club Young Winemaker of the Year award mean
to you?
It is a great honour; it has
been one of my aspirations since I finished my studies. This is the last year
that I can enter this competition and it ends off the first chapter in my
winemaking career on a high note, and hopefully springboards the start of the
next one.
What makes the grape
variety/ies you’ve entered special?
Merlot is quite a tricky variety,
especially in South Africa. It can make wonderful wines, but it needs the right
climate to succeed. Steenberg has always had a very good track record for
Merlot and it’s great to see the wines nominated.
What would you like wine
lovers to say when they sip your nominated wine?
The Merlots are very unique, we
have quite a number of eucalyptus trees on the property and the Merlot is quite
minty. The wines are controversial as you either love it or hate it. It makes a
great conversation point.
When making a red wine,
what should a winemaker beware of?
Balance between fruit and
tannin as well as oak-derived flavours. The wine needs tannins to give it
backbone, but you also need to respect the fruit and the structure of the wine.
Is it true that a wine
glass makes a difference to the taste?
Yes, definitely. The shape
makes a huge difference in the smell as well as the taste of a wine. Certain
flavours are more volatile than others, so you need to channel them in the
right way so as not to lose them. On tasting, you need to place the wine on the
right part of your tongue as you experience different taste sensations on
different areas of your tongue.
Which foods would you
recommend with your wines?
All three wines are elegant; don’t
overpower them with too strong flavours. In general these three are more
wintery wines, as they lend themselves to stews and roasts. The Merlot works
incredibly well with roast lamb, especially with a little hint of rosemary.
Would you say winemaking
is a craft, an art form or both?
Definitely both. Winemaking is
fundamentally a science, but it is much more than that. With science alone one
creates sterile wines that don’t have much character, and with art alone, they
might be very interesting, but they generally don’t last. One needs to find the
mid-way to make wines with character that speak of where they are from but are
still crafted with the basics in place.
What drew you to
winemaking as a career?
I come from a wine family in
the sense that they enjoy wine – it’s unfortunately no more than that! I grew
up in the Free State, so quite far removed from a wine farm, but my parents
have always had a very keen interest in wine, food and travel. Ever since I can
remember, family gatherings have always revolved around what we are eating and
then what we are drinking to go with the food. So I grew up with this and it
became second nature to me. The more I learnt about the industry, the more I
liked it – it involves farming, winemaking, people, travelling, good food and
obviously wine, and these are all things I really enjoy and wanted to learn
more about.
What do you enjoy when
you are not making wine?
I love to be outdoors: hiking,
cycling, golf and surf-skiing are great passions of mine. I enjoy cooking a
lot, and I love to make stuff around the house; carpentry is something that I
would like to learn more about.
What do you regard as a
winemaker’s greatest challenge for 2015?
Every year brings new
challenges, whether it’s the weather or in the cellar or the size of the crop.
There will always be something. I think the biggest challenge is to continue
moving in an upward direction and to stay innovative every year. As soon as one
becomes complacent you have lost the battle.