The Swartland Independent – a Revolutionary Act
Declarations of Independence/Revolutionary acts make use of manifestos to give them focus and sustainability. Does the Swartland Independent have such a manifesto? Is it possible – or even desirable – to produce one?
The features of the Swartland – as a movement whose existence we celebrate today – were determined by a set of circumstances, a coming together of events, a dovetailing of opportunities:
1. Low yielding, appropriate to locations, often bushvine, mainly dryland, largely unfashionable old vineyards with limited commercial viability to mainstream producers.
2. Young, strong-minded, passionate, creative winemakers intent on defining themselves in the context of terroir
The production of terroir-expressive wines requires
1. Old Vineyards
2. Manipulation-free winemaking
3. Unintrusive use of oak
In other words, there was a fit between what was available and what was sought. It helped that Eben Sadie led the way, but the process needed others to build momentum.
That's how it came together – but is that how it is today?
1. Not only old vineyard
2. Increasing red wine focus: Rhone/Mediterranean (the Rhone a matter of fashion?)
3. NB Much of the old vineyard resource – at least by volume – is not Rhone: it is Chenin and Pinotage – though it does seem that Chenin, as it is handled in the Swartland, fulfils the role of Roussanne in the Rhone. It should also be noted that there is plenty of Sauvignon about, though the movement appears to eschew use of this variety
4. Not all Swartland producers necessarily share the same philosophy as the Independents
5. The region does not have enough places of production (though does this matter?)
6. The continued high percentage of uneconomical vineyard is a potential threat – the movement could be hijacked by a corporate moving in on this resource – or the farmers might ultimately give it up.
It is important to note that appellation alone is not a definition, not a manifesto. History is littered with the carcasses of revolutionary movements which have been usurped or re-directed (the failure of the ANC to live up to its promise, the end of egalitarianism in Soviet Russia, the imperialism of modern day USA – born of an anti-imperialist UDI).
Liberation and rule-writing are often seen as contradictory... yet manifestos must define the essentials of the movement otherwise the Swartland Independent will risk losing its defining features.
We need to recognise that:
1. it is not always possible to have an old vineyard resource
2. Young winemakers become old winemakers
3. Cultivar prescription can be too limiting: already there is evidence that the Rhone, Rioja, Priorat, Tuscany and the Loire can and do co-exist in the Swartland
The way forward should incorporate:
1. Guidelines around vine age
2. Guidelines around vineyard management – including trellising, treatments (how organic is possible/desirable/mandatory) and, most importantly, yields
3. Cellar – production philosophy: which should, I suggest, be non-interventionist if there is to be an authentic expression of site in the wines. Therefore
· No acidification
· No de-acidification
· No oak as flavorant
· No tannin additions
· No must concentration
· No alcohol removal
· No filtration(?)
· Yeast – natural or commercial still to be determined
Production guidelines lie at the heart of the matter and to the extent that they control interventionist winemaking they will enhance authenticity by making repair work in the cellar difficult (if not impossible) to apply. What will then follow will be a more direct route from site to bottle, which will in turn lead to a truer expression of place. This is the definition of terroir in the sense of location interpreted by human aesthetic. From this it is clear that it will be in the wine-making guidelines that the manifesto should be housed.
Going forward, varieties will define themselves because the rules against manipulation in the cellar will eliminate unsound plantings.
It is – and will continue to be – in the nature of the Swartland as the locus of the Revolution that the appellation, as defined by the Swartland Independent, will be both a unique place and style of wine. It will bring together the expression of place and the personality of the winemaker. It will be characterised by low volumes of artisanal, hand-crafted wines. It will not be the place to produce wines like Stepford Wives, compliant and without personalities or lives of their own.
For the Swartland independent to survive into the future it must enshrine individuality, commitment and passion. The rules it sets in granite must ensure that these key elements are not compromised – even when the children of those making wine here today are working in the Swartland's cellars, and when the young vineyards planted since the millennium have become the old vines whose very existence speaks of the prescience of those who planted them, and the wisdom of the Independents who saved the Swartland from the imperialism of agri-business.
Michael Fridjhon
13th November 2010
