Bubbles Ferreira

Why Bubbles? “Because I’M Bubbles Ferreira…” - Pieter Ferreira.

Next year marks 50 years of Cap Classique. Frans Malan was the first to make Cape bubbles at Simonsig. I’m told at R3.21 per bottle back then (BARGAIN). For 30 of those years, Pieter Ferreira has been making Cap Classique at Graham Beck, and for seven years prior to that with Cape Legend Achim von Arnim in Franschhoek. I drove through the Huguenot Tunnel on a blustery Cape morning in early spring, and when I emerged on the other side, it was no longer spring but summer. The sun shone bright, and it was as if I had emerged in another world, another Cape. Pieter Ferreira is not a big man, but his convivial personality fills up a place, quietly knowledgable, engaged. I arrived as agreed, an hour after Kleinjan and Michael (they usually work with the early morning light and traverse the farm for landscape shots unhindered by me and my constant line of questioning). Only to find Pieter and the guys deep in conversation, setting up shots in the cellar and having a FAT chat - I’m not going to lie, I was envious. But DETERMINED to catch-up on whatever nuggets of wisdom Pieter had already dispensed with, I started ticking off questions - and Pieter did NOT disappoint.

Consistency & Continuity

Pieter was one of the originals when Graham Beck setup… well, Graham Beck, in 1990, with their maiden vintage released in 1991 (the year my brother was born, thus a celebratory year to my mind). Since then, Graham Beck Cap Classique has never flagged in its consistency, the mark of true luxury. It was most noticeable while researching the library vintages Pieter has so kindly made available to us - the ratings all hover around the 94 point mark year-on-year, while Cuvée Clive their flagship Cap Classique (named for one of Graham Beck’s sons and NOT pronounced Clivé as I had initially thought) never fails to attain those extra 2 to 3 points. We talk about ratings and the 100 point phenomena of recent years and Pieter comments on the MEANING of the elusive 3 to 4 points that would amount to a perfect score - more intrigued by these few points than the 97+ that was attained. Ratings are a big driver in the industry today, treated cautiously by all given the subjectivity of the practice, but also a welcome benchmark for producers to aspire to. Pieter makes a relevant point that he’d LOVE to see traditionally more conservative Michael Fridjhon’s 100 point wine, given that Michael scores a perfectly good wine at 80 points and above, making me a bit dismayed at the feeding frenzy a 100 point wine can elicit while 80-point wines cool their heels on the shelf. Pieter actually participates in Michael’s Wine Judging course, teaching aspiring winos the finer points of taste, in effect offering these novices the opportunity to draw their own conclusions. His own track record makes Graham Beck Cap Classique a study in consistency and continuity and the cornerstone of what makes Graham Beck such a force within the category. Pieter says that while other wine categories enjoy a lot more brand diversity, that Cap Classique as a category elicits a deep sense of brand recognition and commitment - Graham Beck’s consistency making it a go-to for those looking for quality, and something Pieter has established over his 30-year tenure.

Robert-SON

“There’s only one SON and that’s Robert-SON.” (‘son’ in Afrikaans meaning ‘sun’) There are three things that make Robertson uniquely suited to the production of Cap Classique, they are: the sun, having the highest levels of limestone in the Western Cape, and the diurnal shift of up to 20 degrees between day and night, preserving the natural acidity of the grapes. They do however source grapes from 8 geographic regions in the Cape to ensure a diversity of flavour profiles to blend and ensure the consistency they’re known for. For Cuvée Clive they start every vintage with up to 150 components, giving each vineyard the opportunity to present itself year-on-year, never resting their laurels on just one site, constantly testing and scaling. 75% of their grapes are homegrown, taking the lemon and lime quality of Robertson Chardonnay and blending it with the ripe citrus of Stellenbosch fruit and the bright, zesty acidity of Darling to make a comprehensive whole. I ask Pieter what it is to LIVE in Robertson and he says there are plenty Bruwers, and plenty De Wets, but that they’re incredibly friendly and that Danie De Wet (of De Wetshof) has played a big role in getting everyone to TALK. It might seem trivial, but farmers can be an austere bunch (though I cannot really attest to this, given what I have experienced of South African winemakers), it would seem that SOMEONE had to take the lead in brokering the sense of community that now exists in the Robertson valley and Pieter fully ascribes this role to Danie De Wet, South Africa’s noble grape pioneer.

The Legends

There are big men in the history of Graham Beck, ‘big’ as in ‘legendary’. The more I speak to winemakers, the more I hear Oom Jan Boland’s name. Oom Jan brokered the Graham Beck ‘deal’, as he did for so many others. The unofficial ‘fixer’ of the South African wine industry it would seem - I could almost BET you that if we had to draw a spider diagram of the evolution of the South African wine industry, that most of those lines would somehow connect to either Kanonkop, Jan Boland Coetzee or Vriesenhof in SOME way or another. Pieter tells me that Oom Jan came to visit him at Achim von Arnim back in the day, saying that he had met a crazy man on the other side of the mountain and that Pieter had to come. That ‘crazy man’ was Graham Beck and Oom Jan had been tasked to put together a band of merry men to BUILD what would become Graham Beck today. He assembled an architect, a winemaker, a lawyer, (a candlestick maker) … all the people you NEED to make and sell wine, and Graham Beck, in turn, gave these men a CHANCE and the freedom to achieve their own goals. Graham Beck was a forceful man, Pieter describes him as a ‘statue of a man’, a whiskey drinker, a coal miner from Vryheid, and eventually one of South Africa’s most successful horse breeders - Robertson ALSO the perfect place to raise horses. Pieter says Graham Beck taught him how to LIVE, and I think it’s quite telling of who PIETER is that someone would literally entrust him with their NAME, given that in the absence of Graham Beck, Pieter has quite literally become the face of the brand.

30 Years of Cap Classique

To stay with a brand for more than 30 years is also telling of who Graham Beck was, Pieter, talks about the family’s philanthropy and the chills it gives him, but more than this, I think his record-breaking tenure can also be ascribed to the kind of scope he has been afforded. Pieter has made sparkling wine in California from 2012 to 2017, and in 2018 started making Bubbly in England, the maiden vintage to be released at the end of next year - GB from GB as he calls it. These projects seem integral to his evolution as a Cap Classique maker and add to the Graham Beck legend as one of South Africa’s top Cap Classique producers. Pieter has a long-held aspiration to make Champagne, as he says: “All roads lead through Champagne for me.” When I ask him about the various styles of sparkling wine, be it Californian, English, South African, or French he says Champagne will always be the benchmark. Chalky, with mineral aromatics and bright acidity. He says the UK is quite similar if you consider the soils and the white cliffs of Dover with their grand display of chalk - though their vines are still quite young, and therefore without the intensity of Champagne. California and South Africa then band together, with more sunlight, riper fruit flavours, and aromatics with slightly less acidity. He makes me taste an experiment he is conducting about the storage of Cap Classique. Horizontal vs. Vertical. He makes me taste it blind - always a daunting task for an amateur palate like mine. The horizontal storage method means direct contact with the cork, benefitting from the characteristics the cork imparts but also the damage it causes the cork with bubbles literally eating away at it, and potentially then damaging the cork to such an extent that it will eventually let in oxygen and spoil the wine. In contrast, the vertical storage method creates a kind of seal to protect the vibrancy of the wine as well as the structure of the cork - so maybe next time you’re storing a bottle of bubbles, keep it upright? The concept of age-ability in sparkling wine is one of its great selling points, with more and more emphasis being placed on vintage - though, at the end-of-the-day, Pieter jokingly says: “Ageability depends on how thirsty you are.”

The ‘Glow’ 

Another big man in Graham Beck’s history is Nelson Mandela. When I ask Pieter what one of his milestones were, he said it was when Nelson Mandela chose Graham Beck as his celebratory drink of choice at his inauguration. He says he met him once and that he was just … NELSON. HE had a voice like Graham Beck and imparted a sense of purpose, and even just in his selection of wine, imprinted that same sense of purpose onto the brand. I think it’s comparable to how Siya Kolisi or Francois Pienaar will always have that IMPRINT of a world cup win behind them, that IMPRINT of Nelson Mandela and everything he meant to us shadows the brand. It was this shadow, or rather, ‘glow’ that enticed Barack and Michelle Obama to pursue an allocation of Graham Beck for HIS inauguration - they managed to source 16 bottles and served it at a private celebration after the ceremony. “Storytelling NÊ.”

Serving Cap Classique

Key serving tips for Cap Classique as prescribed by Mr. Bubbles himself include: Look for a good glass. The Cap Classique Association is working with Riedel to find the perfect glass to offset the characteristics of Cap Classique. Currently, what you need to look for is something with a round bottom and tapered rim. Fill it to one-third of the glass for the aromatics to take effect. Real silver contains a slight charge, meaning a proper silver teaspoon inserted in an open-top and placed in a refrigerator will conduct the cold most effectively to keep the bubbles bubbling for the longest time possible. Though Pieter says he suggests merely covering it with cling film and placing it in the fridge, though Pieter ALSO says that if you’re unable to finish the bottle, it may just not be meant for you…

The Classiques

The Cap Classique Association was founded in 1992 by like-minded individuals, and today has grown to around 250 producers, representing 90% of the volume in South Africa. Together they’ve gone from strength to strength, helping each other in perfecting the technique and offering advice throughout the process - in essence, BUILDING the South African bubble from the ground up. When I talk about the kanniedood spirit of the South African wine industry, Pieter says: "That’s just part of our DNA. We know what’s coming, but we batten down the hatches and face it anyway." Of South Africa, he says he’s never owned running shoes, and he doesn’t intend buying them now. “South Africa remains uniquely special. Lockdown has taught us that people love us out there, and we’re going to reap those benefits down the line.” 

Until then, it’s a comforting thought that Pieter will be working away in his cellar in Robertson. In pursuit of the perfect bubble.