You needn’t be a Type-A personality to understand Pieter Ferreira’s obsessive pursuit of the perfect tiny bubble.

Since 1990, the man nicknamed “Bubbles” has been fine-tuning Méthode Cap Classique (MCC) production at Graham Beck, but his quest started in 1984 at Haute Cabrière in Franschhoek, where he worked for seven years under Achim von Arnim – the country’s first specialist MCC producer.

Having narrowly escaped dentistry as a profession, today he’s cellarmaster for Graham Beck Wines, assisted by MCC winemaker Pierre de Klerk.

Ferreira, chairman of the Cap Classique Association, said recently over lunch at the Four Seasons Hotel in Westcliff, that 25 vintages under the belt at Beck Wines is only the beginning because innovation drives success.

Of course, he has many stories to tell of the industry and his time at the estate but the pursuit for perfection is never-ending.

“I will eventually write a book; it will be called Bubbles Unplugged or something like that. Our quest remains ‘in search of the perfect bubble’ but I believe every year, we get much closer. Long may we not find that perfect bubble,” Ferreira joked.