SCIONS OF SINAI - Young generation of South Africa ….the way they see it....

by kmsz
Jul 13, 2018
6 min read

SCIONS OF SINAI -Introduction

It is always hard to predict and foresee what the future will hold for winemakers, what the trend will be within 5 years. Working for an online gastro orientated website for 10 years pointed out for me that it was important, and still is, who you know in the industry, who are you connecting with. Regardless how good your wine is, you need to find the right language to channel with your consumers and to know who you want to represent your wine to start with. There are lots of pitfalls of wine marketing but one is for sure that every year we are indulged by exciting and versatile wines from various regions and indeed it is hard to chose and direct to our tasting palate, what we do like and what we do dislike.

When I am travelling and taking my camera with me, I do not just want to see the World through the eye of the lense but also want to feel the terroir, know the people how they connect to the land! Understanding more about their wine community and their heritage.

Staying in Clos Figueras in 2016, to study more about soil structure, colour of the local terroir called “Llicorlella ”. I met “a young and vibrant Lad” called Bernhard Bredell, a traveller and winemaker from South Africa who just started to create his vision and trying to interpret how important our roots are where we belong to. It should come naturally for any of us the inheritance what we carry and want to pass to our next generation.

“I believe wine ’making’ should become obsolete when you work with a vineyard that can express their own sense of place (terroir) with authenticity and purity. Then, in the cellar, it becomes much more a ‘Guidance’ process than a ‘Making’ process and nothing needs be added nor taken away.” Bernhard Bredell

Bernhard has grown up on the family owned farm, located in Lower Helderberg (ward of Stellenbosh, South Africa). The farmed wine from lower Helderberg lies on “decomposed granite sandy soils with weathered feldspars and quarts granules. Where organic material are farmed back into the soils they tend to be loamy with good aeration (good for deep roots and soil microflaura). Where the “Higher, more universally known, Helderberg ” tends to possess much higher clay heavy soils, that’s the difference and uniqueness of the “Lower Helderberg”. Regarding soil textures and regions on WOSA.

Bernhard decided to interpret his vision in his own way by using natural resources, exploring viticulture and vinification, also he is focusing mainly on saving some of the old vineyards in Lower Helderberg region by investing in better care for its soil and its vines. Making the wine styles fits to favour the vitality of the vines and gain interest to them therefore they may be kept in the soil and not pulled out because of lack of interest and unprofitable of the farmer. Hoping that the increase of the price of the grapes by the farmers, other winemakers will be more willing to invest in those special vine. Some of those vines area round more than 50 years with such a special deep root system which creates more exciting and complex flavours. As we say “Hope dies last" , hoping other investors and winemakers will see how much potentials those old vineyards hold

Taking this challenge as his own project. Travelling around the World and working with inspiring winemakers he started his own project and SCIONS OF SINAI has been born in 2016.

Meaning – The descendants of Sinai Hill

SCION: the meaning of the word in wine language refers to “the top part of a plant/vine which is always above the ground, grafted onto the rootstock, the grape cultivar is the vines’ scion material. If we go deeper the meaning of the word of SCION in English also refers to “the descendant of…”

SINAI: The foothill of the lower Helderberg called SINAI by local dwellers, not related to the biblical mountain “Sinai Hill”

Wines:

FÉNIKS 2017: The wine is made of South Africa’s signature wine variety called Pinotage (100%). As its parental grapes Pinot Noir x Cinsaut it is very sensitive grape variety, can be a bit of hollow and tannins green if the grape is harvested unripe however it is easy to cultivate. Ripens well to give high levels of natural sugar while retaining good acidity levels as many of the Pinotage, the best wines comes from lower yield management. According to Bernhard "My Pinotage is on deep sandy soils and vineyards are old and dry farmed bush wine, meaning they produce more flavour early in ripening with good acidity and yields are low, <5 tonnes per hectare, making it more fit to produce a lighter expression from this variety that can otherwise be very big and bold. " All grapes are hand picked and placed in small hand carried boxes. Using the soaking process only skin/grape berries and letting the grape ferment naturally instead of using “pigéage” -punching down method. The wine is aged in 4th filled in French Oak and hand bottled without filtration. Tasting note resembles to a deeply coloured, black cherry, plum with smoky aromas, from medium to medium (+) in body, medium (+) in intensity. Tannin shows soft and velvety texture with a long finish in the mouth. Highly recommended wine and ready for further ageing.

SWANESANG 2017: Syrah is one of red grape variety which flourishes in moderate and hot climate. This grape is the protagonist in any fashion show thanks to its popularity and easy growing nature. Syrah can truly show its nature not only on Northern Rhone but also all over the World. This vintage has a remarkable story to tell. The vineyard has been pulled out after the 2017 vintage by the new owner of the farm and hereby they called this vintage “Swanesong” to honour its last performance of the vineyard according to Bernhard in addition he says " that is why I try to hopefully save these vineyards because this is definitely very sad to see a great vineyard pulled out. We need to take better care and be open more to the new markets otherwise the farmers will never know what the potential really is." Winemaking shows an interesting approach a blend between two separated fermentations. 70% of the grape’s stems intact with the grape berries, using again foot. Natural fermentation takes over in 2 weeks period, again using basket press method( commonly known as (Vertical Screw Press) to transfer the wine to 4th filled French Oak Barrels ageing furthermore for 10 months. Tasting not rises to mezzo soprano level, still beguiling black cherry, blackcurrant, ripped plum with meaty, spicy notes. There is a real grip and vigour on the palate, which contains wilder aspects of the flavours and makes the wine in balance in acidity and intensity. Long lasting finish in the mouth. More complexity can be expected with aging.

NOMANDIS 2017: It is one of the kind. The 47 years old Bredell vineyard does not disappoint us. This wine is a blend Cinsaut 70% and Pinotage 30% which comes from the lower foothills of Helderberg. During the wine making process there are two types of process used. 1, Using semi-carbonic maceration process where bunches of grapes are put in vats filled with CO2, undergoing intercellular fermentation. This produces alcohol and juices as grapes burst and are pressed under their own weight. Wine is furthermore fermented in stainless steel extracting more colour but less or no tannin to give lighter, softer aroma to the wine in most cases. 2, Destemming process alongside with the combination of foot trotting achieving the minimal extraction. After 2 weeks the natural and long fermentation the grapes are basket pressed by hand. Using old natural French oak barrel for further ageing in additional 6 months on malo/lees. The result is a “raw wine” with lively wild berries, blackcurrant notes on the nose combined with spicy elements. From medium (-) to medium in body, tannin is also medium (-) with medium flavour intensity and medium (-) finish. Ready to drink this wine can age few more years but does not alter that much the taste.

How to get there:

The closest major airport to Stellenbosch, South Africa is Cape Town International Airport. This airport is in Cape Town, South Africa and is 34 km away from the centre of Stellenbosch, South Africa. There is no direct train service from Cape Town to Stellenbosch. However there is designated Bus Service, which is provided by SHOWME. ( Please visit the website for more info). If you like to discover more Car Rental would be the most suitable option to any one who wishes to discover not only the wine regions but also the surrounding areas.

Vineyard: