Lifting the ’Vale

2009-04-20

Neil Pendock speaks to John Barnardt, CEO of Bonnievale Wine Cellar.

You’re currently making the third vintage from the merged Bonnievale, Merwespont and Nordale Co-op Cellars. Was the merger a success?
Yes, the business is on the right track and is gaining momentum. Our grape farmers are united under one umbrella. In 2008 our farmers received on average 15% more for their grapes than in 2007. The scale of the business has attracted an increasing number of new overseas buyers to Bonnievale.

How is it possible to maintain quality when you’re producing 22 million litres of wine?
It starts and ends in the vineyard. We class our grapes according to the highest standards and pay our farmers much more for good- quality grapes. For example, the producers of our best chardonnay grapes received almost 300% more than those that didn’t quite perform in 2008. For this reason many of our progressive farmers nominate their vineyards for Premium and Super Premium grape production. Our winemakers select the best from these vineyards, which are managed through the season for optimal quality production. These grapes are harvested separately, and the wine from these grapes is also kept in separate tanks in the cellar, where they receive the “wine estate” treatment. There’s a lot of attention to detail in all our systems and processes.

Can Co-op wine ever be as good as the stuff made by a small producer who respects the terroir of his vineyards?
Yes, of course. Each of our Premium producer vineyards is respected by its owner. Add to this the fact that our best vineyards are up to 50km apart (reduced climatic risk), and that there is healthy competition between our winemakers to produce the best (all our premium wines are blind- tasted and scored monthly), then there is no reason why a group of professional grape growers can’t compete with the best.

An analysis of the results of recent wine competitions will reveal that many “co-op wineries” are catching up fast.

Is it frustrating living on “the wrong side of the mountain”, given that most wine stories focus on appellations within an hour’s drive of Cape Town?
In these times the abundance of electronic communication together with overnight courier services for delivering samples seems to have flattened the mountain. The mountain is more often a mental block in the minds of wineries, wine critics and the media.

However, there is sometimes an advantage in that the market or media expectation is low, thus enabling the “behind the mountain” winery to comfortably over-deliver on quality expectation.

Do you think co-ops get a fair deal when your wines are reviewed sighted by guides such as Platter?
We have the greatest respect for Platter as a reputable guide. Yet we, for example, remain baffled that the Bonnievale Cellar 2008 sauvignon blanc was awarded silver medals at both Michaelangelo and Veritas competitions last year, but managed to achieve a humble two- star rating in Platter 2009.

Yet we must recognise that the Platter team is inviting wineries to a workshop in April, hopefully to give some attention to these issues.