Koos Bekker’s Babylonstoren estate on the road to Simondium, suffers from a bad case of schizophrenia. On the French hand it identifies with Franschhoek when it comes to marketing. It is located in Paarl and its benchmark Bordeaux blend tastes pure Stellenbosch. Which comes as no surprise as the Tower of Babel in question (below) is a foothill of the Simonsberg which grows the best Cabernet Sauvignon in the country. So three personalities struggle under the historic crocheted kombers.

This baby has gardens that are the second most visited in SA behind Kirstenbosch and its starting to take its first steps in wine after delivering grapes for generations to Nederburg, that most famous of all Paarl producers. But some marketing distance needs to be opened up to reclaim the high ground for a property that already sees many of its deliveries end up at Babylon’s Peak in the Swartland.

For starters, the name needs to be Frenchified to La Tour de Babel for as Koos knows, the Chinese word for luxury is “French” and China is surely the market for the brains behind Tencent, a small internet investment that added R22.37 billion rand to Koos’s bottom line earlier this month.

The home made flagship label (above), while cute and very World Design Capital friendly, will not cut the mustard in brand aware Beijing. A shameless copy of Chateau La Tour will suffice. Already the olive oil can is an acceptable Gallic blue, so that will save on label redesign.

The Chardonnay – the favourite wine of assembled press at yesterday’s launch – needs to be ruthlessly culled, alas, as it screams Burgundy blue murder. A sweet botrytis number should take its place as happens in Bordeaux and will work excellently with dim sum in Dongguan. Call it B de B and ask Razvan Macici from Nederburg for the recipe.

The manifest destiny of this most exciting vinous property in SA is Versailles with wine and better food. Nothing must distract from a vision of ultralux. You have to be hard to be rich, no messing.