New Cape Wines
Monday, 3 February, 2003
Leonie Joubert
Green fingers in the Breede River Valley
By Leonie Joubert
Breaking into international wine markets these days is all about having the correct systems in place. So says former agricultural economist Christiaan Groenewald, who has successfully taken the wines from his own fledgling wine company, New Cape Wines, out into the international arena.
Groenewald’s roots in the Cape wine industry run deep, but it was only in 2000 that he set up New Cape Wines and began buying wine to bottle under his own labels.
He grew up on this family farm in the Breede River Valley, between Worcester and Villiersdorp, where his late father, Kobus, farmed wine grapes. Kobus was one of the founding members of the nearby Brandvlei cooperative and established a foundation upon which Christiaan could build his business.
The farm’s grapes have been going into the Brandvlei crushers for years. When Christiaan took over the farm, this arrangement continued with the option to buy back wine from the cellar.
Christiaan also negotiated the use of the Brandvlei premises to blend and bottle some of this wine under his own labels. The cellar, he says, has the capacity to chill over three million litres of wine at a time.
Today, about 70% of New Cape Wines come from Brandvlei – which only sources Breede River Valley grapes – with the remainder coming from other nearby wineries. Before he ventured out on his own, he gained wine buying experience as manager of a negociant business in the area. And before that, he honed his business acumen as an agricultural economist at the Standard Bank after completing his degree at Stellenbosch University where he specialized both in agriculture and economics.
By spring in 2001, New Cape Wines had begun operating as a bulk wine dealer, moving the product to Europe. But Christiaan had his sights set on higher things – his own labels.
Since then the operation has grown from one million litres to an anticipated eight million in the coming season and three labels have been birthed: Dwyka Hills, Eagle’s Cliff and Pridelands.
The Dwyka Hills range is named after glacial rock formations that were carved out of the strata in the area by rivers of slowly moving ice. This is the premium range, which started as two differently styled Sauvignon Blancs in 2001. No 2002 wines made it into this label, but 2003’s wines will be coming soon. This range is positioned in the £5.99 to £6.99 category.
A pair of rare Black Eagles have made their nest in cliffs overlooking the Groenewald vineyards – hence the name for the entry level wines: Eagle’s Cliff. This range, positioned at £3.99, currently includes a Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay (all 2002), a Shiraz-Pinotage and a Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon 2001. This is the fruity, drinkable range in the stable.
More recently Christiaan has gone into partnership in a label called Pridelands. This is a joint effort with a UK-based company, D&D Wines, and Pridelands Europe and will include a Chardonnay-Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay-Sauvignon Blanc, Pinotage-Shiraz and another red blend, which is as yet to be decided upon. These should sell for around £4.99 in the UK.
Until now New Cape Wines has been operating out of an office in the home of Christiaan and Karin Groenewald. By next harvest, this will have changed.
Plans for a 100 to 150 ton capacity cellar have been finalized and construction will begin within the next few months. Christiaan says grapes from the farm’s better vineyards will be kept for vinification in this cellar, which will go exclusively into the Dwyka range. The Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon are the varieties that he believes show the best potential on this farm.
He will continue producing the other ranges using wine that is made, blended and bottled at Brandvlei Winery.
Helping him with this, from the 2003 season onwards, will be the internationally experienced Ivo Hasler. Hasler has worked as a cellar hand, assistant winemaker, assistant researcher and sales person for cellars in Chile, New Zealand, Italy, Australia, the UK, and the United States since 1998.
With all this on the cards, Christiaan continues to build his contacts in the United Kingdom and Europe in order to disseminate his wines within the European Union. New Cape Wines will once again be at the London Wine Trade Fair with the latest vintages ready for sampling. And once those markets are cracked, he’ll consider looking at new ground in the United States and the Far East. But that’s another story.