Rico Suter
Country: South Africa
Father and son Winemakers, Rico and Carlo Suter speak of something of their perspectives on winemaking.
Rico Suter:
We try to produce organic grapes, not using insecticides, no inorganic fertilizer; even our irrigation water is distributed by a gravity-fed system out of storage drums higher up against the mountain slope. Fertilizing is done post harvest with chicken manure-enriched compost. Additionally, we cultivate in the winter months (our rainy season) a mulch crop of rye which is only cut when fully ripe. Over the years, this has created a rich strata of topsoil accommodating various beneficial insects. Another benefit is the high population of earth worms (aeration of the root zone).
Harvest is all by hand: job creation on one side, bio-friendly treatment of the environment on the other.
In the cellar we rely mostly on natural yeast, brought in with the grapes from the vineyard. Fertilization in oak, open-top fermenters with manual punching down of the grape must -the old, traditional way. After the alcoholic fermentation, transfer into Barriques for malolactic fermentation. Once completed, the wine is then racked into the cooled cellar for maturation of 12 to 26 months according to the cultivar and style of wine. Eventually, our matured wine is bottled in our cellar an the bottles stored further for another year until the winemaker is satisfied that the product is ready for consumption.
This makes for healthy wine.
Regarding the wider social health, all of our staff are housed on the farm; there is a social infrastructure of a nearby primary school, a clinic. Our longest-time employee has been with us since 1971!
Problems that exist in the area (one must recognize these in order to combat): Aids, Alcoholism. These are having their origin in the history of South Africa and need concerted counteraction of all of us.
Carlo Suter:
In the winemaking I am attempting to pare down activities to the minimum that is necessary and possible without my considering to be interfering in or neglecting the process. Each year we have progressively used less commercial yeast to initiate and complete the fermentations (none applied this year). Commercial food grade yeast nutrient additives are not added unless absolutely required (based on analysis combined with gut feel). Instead I have been trying to rather work with temperature control as well as correctly timed traditional aeration of the must (one or two pump overs) to help the indigenous yeasts on their way and promote gentle, but not excessive extraction in the wine. I also use sulphur judiciously, often not adding any until after the naturally completed malo-lactic fermentation. This year this general approach seems to have worked very well. Most of the fermentation takes place in traditional wooden (oak) vats (steel tanks are also available) and maturation is in small 225l French oak barriques.
The vineyards are managed according to the South African IPW requirements (Integrated Production of Wine). Since 2001 the vineyard inter-rows have had dense cover-crops which are not sprayed off in spring, but rather allowed to ripen and re-seed for the following year and the birds. The cover-crops themselves provide a haven for insects and birds (including birds of prey) and other smaller animals as well as improve soil structure and protect the surface from the harsh African sun. In addition to this, thick straw mulch has recently been laid directly beneath the vines to maintain cooler soil temperatures and improve the affectivity of the necessary drip irrigation in high summer. I am convinced (as a result of the dry and windy climate and attention to detail) the viticulture can be taken a step further in the organic or even Bio-Dynamic direction if this is undertaken thoughtfully and with conviction.”
On Quality and Maturation in Winemaking
Perhaps South Africa’s authoritative wine guide, John Platter South African Wines 2004, says it best about Rozendal wine: “An authentic ‘cult’ wine (all the more remarkable for the winemaker’s belief that he succeeded possibly because he ‘knew too little’), it’s still considered one of the finest Cape wines of the modern era. Kurt A has fulfilled his vision of making wine ‘as naturally as possible.’”
Two of the hallmarks of the Rozendal’s St. Emillon/ Pommerol Bordeaux style blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc blend are the almost mystical balance and its incredible capacity to cellar without big alcohol and additives.
Authentic Quality
Balance in red wine is about the fruit, tannins and acidity in harmony. To Kurt, harmony is not just a component descriptor, it’s a philosophy of life. Only healthy fruit can produce quality fruit and health is more than chemicals in balance. Seeking harmony for every facet of life on the Rozendal Farm is seen in their bio-dynamic philosophy that ‘feeds’ the farm and everything associated with it. Kurt recounts how he was jolted into thinking more holistically. A certain toxic chemical supplied by a U.S. company that was used for spraying the vines became unavailable in 1990 in South Africa due chemical warfare stockpiling on the eve of the first Gulf War. Kurt was sobered by the fact that the chemicals being used to potentially specifically kill people were the same ones being used on the vines and seeping into the soil and water table and it was only a matter of time before his family and farm would be toxin saturated and poisoned. ”The toxic nature of these chemicals was only a matter of concentration, nothing else,” Kurt recalls. Rozendal Farm (located on the edge of South Africa’s largest natural reserve) has been completely chemical-free since 1991. They have encouraged whole farm natural eco-systems, complete with no artificial irrigation, and at a very human level have intentionally fostered racial and relational harmony among the staff. One visitor, overcome by the tranquility labelled Rozendal Farm, ‘Planet Rozendal!’ The ripple effects move into the wine making: With such clean land and water feeding the vines, added yeast and subsequent fining used to clear the accumulated dead yeast cells are unnecessary.
It is the absolute quality of the fruit on the Rozendal vines that allows for the tremendous balance of fruit, tannins and acidity/alkalinity. Amman believes and oft says, “quality is the estimate of value that is always an individual experience.” He believes that only nature can produce quality and that quality by its very nature cannot be static or constant and therefore cannot finally be manipulated by the winemaker. So he deduces that when winemakers or marketers speak of ‘consistent quality’ they are, in fact, referring to consistent mediocrity or ‘average’, a standard that can be manipulated and controlled and then marketed as ‘quality.’ “Sadly,” says Kurt, “people who now train in winemaking and winemaking techniques no longer learn about making good wine, they learn how to avoid making bad wine.” The standard is lowered but the marketing is heightened because advertising can influence our palates. Kurt observes, “It seems easier to find good wine that is expensive, than expensive wine that is good.”
Maturing vs. Aging
On Kurt’s first visit to Saskatchewan we noted the newly arrived Rozendal 2001 in the specialty section of a government liquor store. It became clear that Rozendal was a bit of an anomaly among the ‘big’ reds parked on either side. The average alcohol percentages ranged from 14-15.5% alc./vol. with Rozendal 2001 at only 12%. Amman notes that at 16% alc./vol. all developmental activity in the wine ceases. Here he comes back to grape quality: if you start with optimum quality fruit you need fewer manipulative techniques evidenced in excessive alcohol levels and sulfur additives to preserve. It is here that Kurt makes a point he often repeats: ”Aging and maturing of wines are not the same. We want our wines to mature; aging is about sterile preservation. You can keep a body part or animal in pure alcohol for a very long time. Growing old and growing up are not the same. This is true with wine as well as humans.” Kurt talks about how our palates have been overwhelmed, even ‘numbed’ by the big alcohol-laden wines. Having been formally trained in European culinary ways and having operated one of Johannesburg’s top restaurants prior to moving into the Stellenbosch wine world, Kurt understands the palate. One wonders how many big reds have wowed us by effectively pickling sub-standard fruit in copious amounts alcohol. In contrast, each Rozendal wine (you pick the vintage) has all the delicate fruit flavours and balance, the gentle finesse that seem to mark prominent Bordeaux wines, without excessive alcohol or sulphur reinforcement. There is not a Rozendal vintage that we know of since that first catapulting 1983 vintage (with only 11% alc./vol.) that is not still drinking from well to outstanding.
Rozendal wine is true terroir wine, and given the health of the Rozendal Farm terroir it should not be surprising that the Rozendal wine has such maturing potential. Amman refuses to make hard and fast predictions about best drinking time because authentic maturing is outside the winemaker’s control, the wine is ‘alive’ and evolving and defies predictions. They will not release the wines before they can be enjoyed when purchased, and so the 2001 vintage is the latest to be released. He does say that the 2001 will probably be at optimum drinking in 7-14 years. Amazing, because it’s so enjoyable now.