Writing in the FM last month on transformation (or the lack thereof) in the wine industry, Stephan Hofstätter claimed that "land costs of up to R2m/ha" was one of the main factors impeding "black entry into SA's R16bn wine industry". This must have raised a few "if only" chuckles from farmers not blessed with prime Pam Golding terroir.
Down south at Gans Bay, Dave Mostert and Wayne Gabb make benchmark sauvignon blanc on 105 ha of vineyards on Lomond at a per-ha land cost of around 1% of this - that is, about R25 000/ha - which you can double if you add in the price of the 110 ha dam they built on the Uilenkraal River, holding 6m m³ of water. Of course, the price rises sharply if you add in Mostert's Agusta Airwolf helicopter with dual turbofan engines and retractable undercarriage, which takes cellar technology to a whole new level. (Johannesburg financial outsourcing mogul Dave King also found a helicopter a handy winemaking tool for his vineyards even further south at Elim.)
But Stellenbosch winemakers are finding a Jumbo jet does the trick for them as they forge ahead with what he calls "Plan B" - developing vineyards in the southwest of France.
The latest winemaker to react to the Roussillon reveille is Johnny Nel from Camberley Wines in the Banhoek Valley - for which Hofstätter's R2m/ha certainly applies.
A sum of 34 000 euros (R340 000) buys 6 ha of "stuffed" vineyards (carignan and grenache) and two mid-17th century stone cottages. French film star and celebrity vineyard owner Gerard Depardieu and Jeff Grier, of Villiera fame, are just 3 km down the road. An SA friend, says Nel, has bought a neighbouring plot with "some decent syrah" on it.
Nel plans to make his first vintage next year as part of a new 10-year scheme. With his Camberley operation now washing its financial face and celebrating a decade of production in the shape of an elegant cabernet franc-led blend called Ten, Nel is up for a new challenge.
"Plan B," he says, "is something for my sons if they battle to set themselves up in SA". Which can easily happen if economic factors really do push vineyard land to the R2m/ha threshold. This could spell the death of the domestic wine market as consumers switch to better-priced Chilean, Spanish and Languedoc wines from the French vineyards of Nel, Grier, Etienne le Riche (Stellenbosch Le Riche Wine), Nico van der Merwe (Saxenburg), Tom Lubbe (The Observatory) and Tinus van Niekerk (Spar Wines). Eben Sadie (Sadie Family Vineyards) has invested across the border in Spain and Beyers Truter (Beyerskloof) is in Portugal.
Not that "Plan B" is risk free. "The mistral [the wind that rages in the region] can be a bit of a problem," says Nel, "and the French want out. Inheritance laws have seen family farms become so divided they are no longer economically viable. The children want to sell up and move away." But the elephant in the Languedoc tasting room is over production. "The French government would pay me more than my purchase price to rip up the vineyards," adds Nel. "But once they're gone, you can't plant again."
But then, as Pam Golding will tell you, the three rules of buying property are location, location and location. And this, "Plan B" has in abundance. "The Pyrenees are right here," says Nel, making a grab with his hand for the Simonsberg, which rises up from the bottom of his Banhoek garden. "And we're half-an-hour from skiing in Andorra and two hours from tapas in Barcelona. It costs à1 to fly from Stanstead to Perpignan on EasiJet and then it's a 45-minute drive."
But perhaps Nel's greatest motivation is a passionate love of wine. "When I was younger, I played provincial cricket and while the rest of the team sank their beers, I drank wine. There are few wines I don't like." And some spicy reds from Roussillon are certainly on the list.
Ranking the Analysts 2009
