Quality First the 2015 edition

We've been to France and last year we ventured to Lebanon, but this year we take it a little bit further west and bring you Pax Mahle, one of the leading lights of the new California movement.

Not unlike the revolutionaries in the Swartland, California also has a group of innovative producers rewriting the rules of contemporary winemaking and aiming above all for an expression of California's unique terroir.

Pax is a self trained winemaker who hails from wine retail originally. He started making wine in 2000 under the Pax label and his powerful, intense wines quickly garnered rave reviews and a cult following. 

In 2008 he started a new label called Wind Gap focusing on minimal intervention and fresher wines from marginal vineyards. Wind Gap also very quickly received rave reviews and an equally loyal following.

We look forward to sharing stories and insights with you and Pax.

Tickets?

Tickets to the 2015 Swartland Revolution will go on sale at 8am on July 1st (and not a moment earlier).

There is no waiting list, no special exceptions and no emails will be considered before 8am on 1 July.

Tickets are R2950 each. 

For the complete weekend programme, click here. 

We came, we saw, we revolted. #SR2014

Five years old and still going strong... 

This weekend's fifth edition of the Swartland Revolution confirmed that the region has established itself as a wine (and food and party) force to be reckoned with. Putting into words what the 500 odd involved experienced this weekend is not easy, and I have thus decided to make it a little bit personal.

Speaking on behalf of (by now) legends such as the Mullineuxs, Eben, Adi and Callie is too big a responsibility - they have said what they felt needed to be said, and it is up to each of us to take from it what we need... 

So what you find here is my interpretation of my favourite weekend of the year, in a region where I was born and bred, a region I fled as soon as I could and to which I have very recently returned with much excitement and expectation of even greater things to come. 

I have grown up with the event, and I stand in awe of what happens in Riebeek on this weekend every year... 

We had decided to change the format of dinner and lunch a little, we were experimenting and we were ready for change... We were going to sit down, with table cloths and chandeliers on Friday, we would lay down on the grass for a pre packed picnic on Saturday and for the first time we looked outside of France for our opening act...



With 3600 glasses packed out and poured, we were ready for Serge Hochar to guide us through his wine. Almost two hours later the crowd still hung on his every word. The man's philosophy, his unique approach, patience and his quirky comments certainly inspired me (and made it clear why he is Adi's idol!).

  

A few of my favourite quotes:

"Wine was created by God to be the link between him and humans..."
"I started selling only half of my vintages and aging half in my own cellar"
"Taste, don't talk!"
"Nature is very worrying for me today... No vintage is the same. Each day I learn and discover more."
"When I was a boy I was a philosopher and my philosophy was protect the environment"
"I have never understood wine. I still have so much to discover".
"Wine touches the whole world."
"If you come to my winery I open a bottle of '64 for you"
"Take your time, you drink too fast. Enjoy your nose!"
"Wines are made to be opened and enjoyed. Tomorrow the wines may not be here or you may not be here"
"Wine can lead you to know yourself better..."

The lesson here, from a 75 year old who has been making wine for 56 years, was clear. Slow down, give yourself, your life, your wine time and space. Appreciate, enjoy.

After the tasting it was time for dinner. This year we had asked revolutionaries to dress it up a bit to fit with our (tongue in cheek) glitzy but a little bit f-ed up Bootleggers Ball theme.

Mama Cucina waiting staff, all dressed up.

Revolutionaries don't pose for pictures.

Smashing Eben's "winery of the year trophy" hand made by the talented Mrs Mullineux.

After the auction DJ Chopper got the crowd dancing (till the cops stopped us, the third time...)

After dinner the bar opened... The extended Badenhorst Family were launching their Caperitif with four unique cocktails. Read more about it all here.

Eventually I believe I might have physically chased people out of the tent in an attempt to evacuate, at around 3am. Now THAT is a good party... 

Saturday morning (luckily) came with Babelas Burgers and good coffee from local Beans about Coffee,

before we sat down to 4 wines each from Craig Hawkins and David Sadie. 

Moderated by David Clarke this tasting was an excellent look at the young polarity in the region. David (originally from Malmesbury) and Craig (a Sharks fan from Gauteng) both showed great interest in investing in the future of Swartland wines and vines. From planting new vineyards to planning for the years ahead and growing solid relationships with local farmers... these guys get it.

David's two wines say it well:
Aristargos - meaning to lead by serving people and Elipidios, which means to have hope and expectations for the future!

Then there was a beer and Southern Smoke snack break (I can't tell you much about it, during this hour we clear the tables of 3600 glasses, 450 tasting sheets / spittoons / waters, and replace it with new ones, filled with wines, numbered 1-8...) before Expert Opinions.

This year we made our Revolutionary big 5 the Experts with Opinions... Adi, Andrea and Chris, Callie and Eben each picked a wine that has inspired their love (for wine) and winemaking and we tasted it next to one of their own wines.



What caught me as significant here was that Chris mentioned that any one of them could have easily picked any of the wines on the table as their inspiration. To see this connection and link between the diverse personalities making such unique wines shows that the Revolution and the region is on the right track.

To hear Eben say that he has to continue to drink wines better than his own to grow and evolve shows that the egos are under control. Being reminded of the 5am braai Adi and Eben sometimes shares shows their commitment to the cause and it is always fun to listen to Callie tell a pointless Afrikaans joke...

And then it was time for lunch. With fantastic picnic packs by the Revolutionary Mums, music by our old(!) favourites Die Baardskeerdersbos Orkes and wines by The Swartland Independent... and a lot of people laying around on big blow up pillows and blankets, some until after the sun had set.

Till next year... I hope you also left exhausted yet satisfied and inspired. 

The 2015 edition will be on the weekend of 6/7 November and ticket sales will be announced as soon as we have decided. Give us a break, please ;)

Yours in Swartland gees
Helena

All pictures (c) Maree Louw. 
Food menus / Tasting sheets coming soon.

Feeling enthusiastic!

It is 4pm on a Friday and in the spirit of good Fridays to come we wanted to share his story from the latest issue of Wine Enthusiast. 

Written by Lauren Buzzeo, photographed by Maree Louw (on Kalmoesfontein) and styled by Cornelia Badenhorst, the article is a beautiful feature of the Big 5 as we head to our FIFTH Revolution...

Eben Sadie ‘The Virtuoso’, Callie Louw ‘The Farmer’, Chris and Andrea Mullineux ‘The Dynamic Duo’ and Adi ‘The Personality’.

To read the full story online, click here and have a good weekend. 

It's a party, in the street. It's the SI Street Party

And everyone is invited...

The closing party for the 2013 Swartland Revolution is an open event for everyone who missed out on the weekend's fun. 

For only R100 per person you can share in the beauty of the Riebeek Valley and the spirit of the Revolution by tasting (and buying) wines from 18 Swartland Independent members.
 
Winemakers with a like-minded approach to working with varietals as well as farming and winemaking techniques, that give a true sense of place and expression of the character of the Swartland.

When? Saturday 9 November from 15h00 - 18h00
Where? Short Street Square, Riebeek Kasteel
How much? R100 per person includes a SR glass and unlimited tasting. 
Tickets are on sale via webtickets (click here) or on arrival on the day.

For more pictures from last year, click here.
We hope to see you all there!

Back to Black

Featured in the November (our favourite month!) issue of Food and Home, a lovely article on the Swartland and the Revolution by Richard Holmes.

For the full story, get the magazine, it is on the shelves now. 

May the wors be with you...

Let's be honest, today is Braai Day. We might be a country of 11 official languages and numerous cultures, but South Africans can agree on one thing at least, meat on the fire is part of everyone's heritage.

Agreeing on the best time to turn the chop or the wine to enjoy with the meal might be a different fight...
but to get you excited on this Day of the Braai we give you a sneak peak at Coenie, Johan and the team at Mama Cucina's plans for the BBQ at The Swartland Revolution 2013.

Inagine the scene. It is Friday night in Riebeek Kasteel. You have just experienced the wines by Laurence Feraud  and Domaine Du Pegau. In the background Die Baardskeerdersbos Orkes is getting warmed up as a happy local pours you a glass of Revolution Wine. Baby chickens, from where they (used to) range free in the vineyards and on the hills of the Porseleinberg, now dressed in peri-peri being grilled next to various exotic and local mushroom kebabs on the fire. In the pizza oven, the lamb shank...

But November 8th is still 45 days away, so for today, get out those tongs, open a few bottles of your favourite Swartland wines and gooi something on the fire...

Braai, the beloved country! Happy Heritage Day.

French Flair

We know you have all been patiently (well, some maybe more patient than others) waiting  to hear who will be presenting what at the formal tastings at this year's Revolution. 

We are now pleased to confirm that the last of our Saturday tastings (the Expert Opinion slot in 2012) will feature:
Vincent Careme (Domaine Vincent Careme)
Damien Delecheneau (Domaine de la Grange Tiphaine)
and Benjamin Joliveau (Domaine Huet)

Together they will show eight wines (which will be announced in due time).

Hope you can sleep a little bit easier now. Too early to start counting the days?

Swartland success

We are still trying to deal with the fact that the 2012 Swartland Revolution is over... but, while we wait for the official pictures from Maree, we would like to just say a quick thank you for everyone who joined us in making it yet another success. So much gees and so much fun was had.

You can check out some "fan pictures" on Facebook and a few blogs.
The Batonge team consistently deliver great coverage and this year it included story boards that captured some of the legendary quotes and moments.
Sam Linsell of Drizzle and Dip fame took some really nice pics (on her blog, click here).
There are also some fun one's on Winegems' Facebook page.

If you have some pics to share, please send us a note on swartlandrevolution@gmail.com
Hope you had just as much fun as we did.

(c) Batonage.

Quality Cape Wine

Last week the Swartlanders headed into the big city of Cape Town to show the wines of the Swartland Independent members at the 2012 edition of Cape Wine.

Held at the Cape Town International Convention Center (CTICC for much shorter) this bi-annual event, organised by Wines of South Africa (or WOSA for short) has been praised by visitors from near and far as an excellent showcase of South African wine. 


2012 was the show's most successful expo to date with producer exhibitors up 15% and visitors reaching a record at just under 1500. This year had seen the highest turnout from countries in Asia, Eastern Europe and Africa. Johann Krige, WOSA chairman, said Cape Wine was now ranked globally as the most successful international wine business show in the Southern Hemisphere. Read more interesting facts here.

The Swartland Independent stand proved to be very popular, with wine enthusiasts crowding the space constantly for three days.

Carla and Jurgen (Lammershoek) with Eben (Sadie Family Wines) sharing philosophy no doubt.

Adi (Badenhorst Family Wines) and Callie (Porseleinberg) in the funky SI stall. Picture with thanks to John Ford, who captioned it "In the Swartland corner, it was exciting and very busy, especially with Adi Badenhorst there to make things happen." 

Emile on Winegoggle simply says: "Dig the Swartland Grand Funk stand. Mohammed Ali poster and other non-vino artefacts. Cool dudes. I order some chickens from Callie Louw, Porseleinberg. Talk boxing with a chick from the Sandveld, goes by the name of Katrien."

Rebecca Gibb says on her blog, "The Swartland has also been turning heads in the past five years and quality of the wines can’t be denied. The Rhone-like blends produced from old bush vines in this Mediterranean climate are original and interesting."

She also selected her top 10 from the event and FOUR Swartland wines made it onto the list.

Her top 10 wines of Cape Wine 2012 (in no particular order)

 The Sadie Family Palladius 2010, Swartland

Tokara’ Director’s Reserve(white) 2011, Stellenbosch

 Oldenburg Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, Stellenbosch

Cartology 2011 (92% chenin blanc; 8% semillon), Western Cape

The Sadie Family Pofadder Cinsaut 2011, Swartland

Lady May Glenelly 2009, Stellenbosch

Mullineux Syrah 2010, Swartland

Vergelegen G.V.B. 2005, Stellenbosch

Miko Chardonnay 2009, Mont Rochelle, Franschhoek

Porseleinberg Shiraz 2010, Swartland

Adi with Australian wine writer Mike Bennie

From the 1st Revolution, still going strong.

Adi Badenhorst, Eben Sadie and David (not related) Sadie. pictures with thanks to spit or swallow.

We saw a few excited revolutionaries and this event has geared us for SR2012, bring on November 9th...

Tomorrow's stars

This week the winemakers and marketers of the Cape took over the CTICC for Cape Wine 2012.
Organised by WOSA (Wines of South Africa) the aim of the event is to showcase the best of SA's wines to journalists and buyers from all over the world.

The Swartland Independent took over the back corner of the exhibition hall in true Swartland style and were very well received.

On Thursday morning there was a tasting entitled "tomorrow's stars" and it features two Swartland Independent members - Callie Louw from Porseleinberg and Craig Hawkins from Lammershoek.

Harry Haddon made these videos about the respective farms as an introduction and I think they give a very good view of the lovely Swartland from two different hills.

We hope this little check in on the region will make it easier to count down the next 42 days to the Revolution...

Programme Update

Please note tickets are not yet available and the current list of email address (mostly revolutionaries from previous years) will be THE FIRST to know when they DO go on sale. Our next meeting is on May 18th at which point I will be able to give some more information on ticket sales.

For now, we have confirmed a few key aspects of the programme, while others will be announced in the build up.

What we can tell you, to make sure you will want a ticket, is this:

Friday afternoon’s Quality First Tasting will feature wines by legendary father and son team Alain and Maxime Graillot – another inspiring Rhȏne tasting to look forward to.

There will once again be a BBQ extravaganza on Friday night with more meat than you can eat, LOTS of wine (this year specially produced for the braai), music to get you dancing and some unique Swartland gees!

The popular Babbelas Burger and coffee will get you going on Saturday morning, before you sit down for a tasting of 8 Swartland wines (two each by AA Badenhorst Family Wines, Porseleinberg Wines, Mullineux Family Wines and Sadie Family Wines) selected to showcase the different terroirs from the various Mountains and Hills of the appellation.

After a beer break we will once again have Expert Opinion, where three kenners will each share two inspiring wines.

Lunch this year will be prepared and hosted by a team of Revolutionary Moms – headed by Adi’s mom Judy Badenhorst (who needs no introduction to the gourmet Cape food scene) and harvesting the talents of Ena Louw (who regularly caters for the greater Freestate region with hearty meals that leave you physically and mentally satisfied); Mrs Sadie Snr (who is Vredenburg’s most respected Tuisnywerheid Tannie) and Anita Rock – Chris’s mom - (who officially makes The Best Lemon Meringue Pie in Gauteng!)

There will also be another auction and as always the ever growing Swartland Independent Street Party (there will be more space to lift your drinking arm this year, we promise!)

More updates will be added as they get confirmed. watch this space!

A revolution in pictures, day 2

Mullineux Magic:

Beer break:

 Expert Opinion:

    

Bar Bar Black Sheep Festival Feast:

Swartland Independent Street Party:

Photos by Maree Louw, Naturallight Photography.
Lunch at Bar Bar Black Sheep.
Styled with the help of Cornelia Badenhorst, De Liefde.
For more pictures of the tastings and lunch etc visit Maree's blog, just click here for pictures from the Reuben's BBQ, click here.