To spectacularly mix metaphors, Alan Pick, Big Chop at the Butcher’s Shop & Grill on Nelson Mandela Square in Sandton, is the Mohamed of SA wine. Well he does have three restaurants in Dubai although his new project involving Dubai World taking a share in his Johannesburg business to fund an expansion in London has been put on hold after the Dubai wobble late last year. “Dubai is a three tier market” explains Al: “normal dining which is where we are is holding up fine; ex-pat restaurants and then tourism, both of which have taken a knock.” That said, Al is still in expansion mode with a project in Abu Dhabi on the menu “but we’ll be totally fruit juice in that conservative market” he continues.
Eben Sadie, Alan Pick, Catherine Marshall
“Well then serve pomegranate juice” suggests SA’s first celebrity winemaker Eben Sadie “the tannin structure and sugars are such that it will work well with food. In SA we have a shortage of pomegranates so it gets stretched with grape juice, but once new plantings come on stream we should have excellent pomegranate juice.”
Eben was in town with Cathy Marshall, showing off the latest additions to the wine list at the Butcher’s Shop & Grill in a rarely seen sight of the Mountain coming to Mohamed. “We export to 31 countries” continues Eben “but I haven’t sold a bottle of wine in the USA in 36 months.” This in spite of having the highest rated SA red by Wine Spectator magazine. “Wine over $25 doesn’t move in the USA which translates to a R45/bottle ex-cellar price in SA and I’m not in that market.” Which makes the rumoured huge sales growth by Two Oceans in the USA, all the more impressive.
But not unexpected as Evan Alexander, Eben’s Jozi marketing maven, related the results of a blind Pinot Noir tasting last week including some of Jozi’s top importers of Burgundy. “We poured them a glass of R23 Two Oceans Pinot and they all declared it to be definitely Burgundy and a young one, at that.” Which nearly floored Cathy, as her excellent Pinots cost around R160. “Too cheap” boomed Alan.
Cathy showed a trio: a savoury 2006 made from Elgin, Darling and Stellenbosch fruit; a spectacular 2007 from Elgin and Langkloof with a racy mid-palate and pronounced “forest-floor” flavours and the 2008 made from Elgin fruit alone from Shannon Vineyards. The latter achieved five stars in a sighted wine guide but our favourite by a country mile was the 07 (rated four stars by the sighted seers). Cathy ascribes the 07 quality jump to Langkloof fruit but hasn’t made any more Pinot from this remote coastal appellation. “It’s just too difficult.” But then they don’t call Pinot the heartbreak grape for nothing.
