Voor Paardeberg: Birth of a Revolution

Swartland Revolution

South Africa has quickly regained international interest in its high-quality wines thanks to the Swartland Revolution, a movement that originated around 20 years ago in the hot and dry Paardeberg. In fact, celebrated Swartland icons like Adi Badenhorst and Eben Sadie recognized the area’s potential on the Voor-Paardeberg. Two decades later, this previously under-discussed community, often dismissed as “Swartland Lite,” is buzzing with highly exciting newcomers in South Africa. New wave winemakers are eagerly lining up to acquire both fruit and land.

As I sifted through the current list of winemakers in the region (Donovan Rall, Miles Mossop, Bernard Bredell, John Seccombe, Jacques de Klerk, Thinus Krüger, Pieter Walser, Tremayne Smith…), I began to wonder what it takes for a region to emerge from obscurity and transform into an "ultra-cool" destination. Or in the case of Voor-Paardeberg, what it would take to shift its perception from "Swartland Lite" to "Next Big Trend.”

The Anatomy of a Wine Trend

Wine trends are like the word "Monopoly." The longer you focus on them, the stranger they seem.

Here’s what I mean: For a wine trend to take root, it needs two seemingly contradictory properties. (1) It needs a new kind of attraction to break through the establishment; (2) it should also carry tradition. You need both for it to work. If the trend lacks this old quality, it is seen as a fad. Conversely, if there’s no tangible change in the product, consumers have no new narrative to engage with.

Here are a few examples of what I’m discussing:

• The orange/amber wine wave - “new” wine styles based on 8,000-year-old Georgian techniques.
• The blossoming romance of the global wine community with indigenous varieties employed by fresh-faced winemakers reclaiming long-forgotten varietals.
• The still-growing movement towards natural wines points to an era prior to technology or cellar additives while embracing an entirely modern design aesthetic.
• Lastly, at the southern tip of a continent known for jungles, deserts, racism, and poverty, the Swartland Revolution melded the ancient terroir of Swartland and Paardeberg with progressive wine styles that allowed local producers to challenge what South African wine was known for at the time (big, cheerful reds, pungent Pinotage, and budget Chenin).

Looking back at my old and modern thesis on what comprises a wine trend, I started to contemplate whether the growing roster of Who’s Who winemakers working in the Voor-Paardeberg region could possibly signal a deeper change in the status of this humble region.

But Does Voor-Paardeberg Have What It Takes?

En route to Vondeling Estate - one of the most established estates in Voor-Paardeberg - I noticed that the road to Voor-Paardeberg serves as a physical manifestation of major perception shifts in the area.

Driving north along the N7 from Cape Town, you easily miss idyllic coastal scenes, veering slightly inland and passing unattractive oil refineries hemmed in by barbed wire, interrupted by rusted guard towers. These towers seem - like the political system they emerged from - abandoned yet still pivotal in the region's outlook. Then there are the impoverished townships and unending power lines. The landscape features vast, dreary brown grasslands that aren’t even dry enough to have that desert allure. The romantic image of wild bush vines and barrel cellars seems far-fetched.

However, as time progresses, the scene becomes softer. Leaving the godforsaken N7 towards the R304, the first signs of commercial agriculture emerge. The dreary grassland transitions into monotonous wheat fields, and despite the circumstances, some vineyards begin to appear. Suddenly, there's a very noticeable shift in focus. Where your gaze might be locked on the curious, flat expanse of wheat, now you're confronted by distinct, jagged rock formations rising to your left while (voila!) picturesque vineyards appear on your right. The combination of rugged rocks and lush green vines sets a cinematic tone. You are now in wine country.

I stood on a porch overlooking the vineyards of Vondeling Estate as I watched the leaves rustle in the afternoon breeze.

"Ah, someone just turned on the air conditioning!" quipped a young man beside me. It was the vineyard manager Jaco Engelbrecht, founder of visual viticulture and consultant to Eben Sadie, Duncan Savage, Adi Badenhorst, Pieter Walsers BLANK Bottle, and Overgaauw Estate.

"Every afternoon you can feel a cool breeze flowing in from Tafelbaai [south]," he continued. “The cool air pumps through the trough between Paarl Mountain and Paardeberg Mountain. It makes a significant difference with the afternoon heat.”

"And what about the soils?" I secretly hoped he wouldn’t start talking about decomposed granite, which seems to be the sole soil type that gets touted in South African wine marketing.

"Well, of course, we have quite a bit of decomposed granite soil near the mountain…", he began, but redeemed my hopes by adding, "but that's not the whole story."

Jaco, much like the Tafelbaai air conditioning, is a refreshing breath of air.

“Closer to the mountain, we have decomposed granite. Typically poorer soils. The vines struggle a bit but offer higher acidity and freshness as a result. However, as you move farther from the mountain, you’ll find more schist soils that often yield thicker, fuller, and bigger wines. I believe the best wines are a blend harvested from both types of soils.”

But there are exceptions; the Chenin Blanc from old vines in my glass was an exceptionally rich layered salt-chalk-wax affair from Henry Kotzees Pilgrim Wines, vinified from grapes sourced from decomposed sandstone and clay.

And What About the Fruit?

The lunch table displayed an array of wines offering everything from a generously structured, oaked Ayama Vermentino (silky, sweet stone fruit and crisp green apple, with waxy mouthfeel; dusted with white pepper and almonds) to Tremayne Smith’s vibrant dark Black Smith Innervision Pinotage (a carbonic maceration wine that is intoxicatingly aromatic, fresher than a pair of Nike Space Hippies, and full of crunchy tannins). By the way, "vibrant dark" doesn’t fully do its coloring justice. I’d best describe it as "pantone #f2117d"; a shade that icolorpallete.com refers to as "Razzmatazz." The wines that consistently displayed the most focus and craftsmanship were almost always blends featuring Chenin Blanc that is frequently paired with Rhône varieties like Roussanne and Viognier as well as Grenache Blanc, which has also recently enjoyed a surge in popularity as a varietal wine.

But Why Now?

There remains the cynical notion that the newfound popularity of Voor-Paardeberg is simply because Swartland has become oversaturated. There are countless tales of keen winemakers lining up for grapes from ultra-trendy Swartland municipalities such as Piekernierskloof. They had to purchase grape parcels they hadn’t even wished for, just to get access to a Grenache block they had their eyes on. Of course, with that come rising grape prices and shrinking options. For young winemakers in such a position, it makes sense to look for alternatives. Voor-Paardeberg is a natural choice.

Twenty Years to Become an Overnight Success

A simple lack of options in a trendier region doesn’t explain why some of the larger estates are not merely sourcing grapes in Voor-Paardeberg but are making significant land investments. Regional powerhouses like Bosman Family Vineyards recently acquired Sonopfarm, a valley bubbling with speculation about its future direction. Thankfully, with the track record of winemaker Corlea Fourie (winemaker at Bosman), who produces some of the best Grenache Blancs and Cinsaults in the country, and the deliberate choice of owner Petrus Bosman to work with the climate. Their positioning with comparable varieties like Nero d'Avola seems to only enhance what's already taking place in Voor-Paardeberg.

What Is What?

In line with some of the most exhilarating components of South African wine, Eben Sadie was also part of the action. Now, Eben… and a certain distrust of the often nefarious cooperatives. “In the late '90s and early 2000s, the Voor-Paardeberg community consisted of a small cluster of family-run operations selling grapes to cooperatives like Boland Cellars or the Perdeberg Cooperative,” said Matt Copeland, senior winemaker at Vondeling Estate. Both Boland and Perdeberg primarily serve the mass market, explaining their demand for so-called international varieties (Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, etc.).

“But when Vondeling experienced a sort of renaissance, it was Eben Sadie who oversaw the plantings, clonal choices, and site selections. The reason we have such a diverse range of varieties at Vondeling today is due to what Eben did back then,” Copeland added. Incidentally, Copeland’s favorite wine produced annually is Vondeling Babiana. It is true that this is a Chenin-driven blend supported by Roussanne, Grenache Blanc, and Viognier.

Regardless of the demands from cooperatives for “colonial” varieties, part of the current wealth of Voor-Paardeberg can be credited to the resources and infrastructure provided by these institutions. “Everyone loves to blame the cooperative system and its focus on mass wine,” Engelbrecht argued, “but the likes of Boland Cellar and Perdeberg Cellar have sourced some of their finest fruit from this region for decades. They’ve also played a pivotal role in assisting farmers to establish new vineyards and retain some ancient vines. People tend to overlook that! They forget that without the big cooperatives, South Africa would have virtually no old blocks left! And concerning varieties, they were the ones who could afford to take chances with different clones and grapes out there. They could afford to fail, which granted them an immense degree of freedom. They are the ones to whom we owe the abundant variety we’re seeing now.”

And there's the enigmatic farmer of the future; the now-man, Willie Mostert. Mostert himself is an exceptionally cautious individual who avoids engaging with journalists. His influence on the area is no secret, though.

"Willie Mostert has been pivotal in Voor-Paardeberg," Engelbrecht stated.

“He’s open to new ideas. He began planting new varieties long before it became fashionable. Marsanne, Roussanne, Grenache Blanc, Verdelho, Grenache Noir, Grenache Gris; whatever it may be, Willie has dabbled with it. He recently planted Alicante Bouschet as well. He understands the winemaking business and knows that he’s not just planting grapes; he’s growing wine. His ethos has fascinated and drawn many winemakers; once they taste the fruits from Voor-Paardeberg, they're hooked! It was his work that paved the way for fellow farmers to transition into serious grape production. Recently, others like André du Toit from Pakhuisdam have been doing the same. Once again, he’s a precious rarity; yet another farmer who loves wine!”

The scarcity of real vignerons (true vignerons!) is concerning to me, but when I pressed Engelbrecht further, he insisted that this was a topic for another conversation.

As I drove home, I pondered that my “old and modern” theory could be entirely misguided. But fear not; I have a backup theory:

Wine purists insist on wines that communicate place and time (vintage) yet never seem to deeply engage with the human element. In many of the great wine movements, it is actually the human component that has made these movements magnificent. Even though few will say it on the back of the label.

The natural wine movement would have struggled to gain traction without champions like Isabelle Legeron MW. The orange wine movement required talented, bearded, enthusiastic evangelists to reinvigorate ancient Georgian techniques. And one must question whether the regional cultivar wave would be where it is today without prophets like José Vouillamoz and scholars like Jason Wilson.

Indeed, Voor-Paardeberg boasts incredibly ancient soils and thrilling new varieties. It also features cool, southwest-facing slopes and a remarkably plentiful arrangement of mountain peaks and valleys that facilitate cool air flow at precisely the right times each day. But those attributes have always been in place. Twenty years ago, it took a handful of human visionaries to truly connect the dots between the grape varieties and the climate. It required human infrastructure and organization to preserve old vines which otherwise would not have much value in today’s economy. Now, as some of the most exhilarating wines from South Africa are produced in this region, they emerge from young, energetic winemakers who bravely approach things differently and communicate their own philosophy concerning what fermented grape juice ought to signify. Perhaps the revolution has simply returned to its roots.