Avenue Vine

And have we made any strides in encouraging local wine consumers to see Chenin as a hip and happening drink? It’s such a widely planted variety after all. A wine farmer in Robertson told me that in his part of the world, Chenin is still perceived by growers as something to be sold off as bulk wine.

And we keep hearing that Sauvignon Blanc is the preferred white wine of choice in restaurants, followed by Chardonnay. Marc Kent asked around for suggestions for less standard wines people would like to order, while compiling the next wine list at Reuben’s restaurant in Franschhoek. I told him I’d like more Chenin Blanc on wine lists in a variety of styles and price points. He confirmed that Sauvignon Blanc is approximately 50% in terms of volume sales at Reuben’s.

Brendon Crew of Caveau Wine Bar in Cape Town and Newlands says their team goes out of its way to offer varieties other than Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Despite their efforts, varietal sales patterns at Caveau suggest that around 50% of customers still order Sauvignon Blanc. Brendon says there are a lot of Chenin drinkers in the “emerging” wine drinkers i.e. 20 to 35-year-olds interested enough to start wine clubs and attend wine fairs. “Those guys are very interested in Chenin. But the general market just asks for a nice glass of wine, so they’ll probably go for a Sauvignon or Chardonnay – something they’ve heard of,” he says.

He feels that among the more educated palates, Chenin is regarded as a superior variety and a good food wine. Wines in this super-premium category include Rudera from Teddy Hall, Ken Forrester’s The FMC and Raats Chenin Blanc, and can be ordered at R200 – R300 per bottle in Caveau. Customers can also order by the glass.

“Chenin out there is very good at entry level, and superior at top level. It’s a great way to market Chenin,” says Brendon. He believes Chenin’s versatility helps grow the category, and having a quaffer and a seriously wooded style creates options. Brendon points out that most serious Chenin producers produce an affordable style too - Teddy Hall Chenin and Ken Forrester Petit Chenin, for example. “They sell exceptionally well. A lot of people want to learn about wine and that’s the market that really understands Chenin,” he says. “It’s definitely one of the varieties that Caveau punts a lot.”

Simonsig’s Johan Malan says their unwooded Simonsig Chenin Blanc (retailing at around R30) represents their biggest volume produced, and also sells the most cases in volume terms. “There is a huge market at entry level, so it might open the door when we’re trying to get listings in retailers or restaurants,” he says. “It’s seen as excellent value for money, but provides an opportunity to sell a higher priced wine – and image – too.” The wine is sourced from their own and a neighbouring farm’s Stellenbosch grapes.

Simonsig’s flagship Simonsig Chenin Avec Chène super-premium, wooded dry white wine is also Chenin Blanc. But 500 – 600 cases qualify as limited volumes, with a R75 retail price. Johan says it was intentional to make their flagship white from Chenin. “Many of our overseas agents don’t even stock this wine yet, but when they get to know it we have such positive feedback. So I can see those cases will increase slightly. A barrel-fermented flagship Chardonnay wouldn’t have been distinctive enough. What I’ve realised, the longer I’ve been here, is to concentrate on what is good in our terroir. Chenin in this Koelenhof area has proved that no tricks are necessary. I attach a lot of value to the decomposed shale soils,” he says. He reminds us that a lot of good Chenin grapes originate in this shale soil-dominated area - Villiera, L’Avenir and grapes for Kanu’s wines – and says this adds a specific mineral character to the wines.

Johan reckons that local perceptions towards Chenin Blanc are slowly changing. Whereas 10 years ago it would’ve been unusual to mention Chenin as a variety on a white wine label, the variety is starting to appear in serious restaurants now in a range of styles. Simonsig almost discontinued their varietal Chenin during the mid 90s, because they were competing with more popular unripe guava flavours being produced by many co-operatives in warmer areas. Johan eventually found that picking their fruit riper and fermenting drier produced more tropical, yellow apple flavours, and this is a style they’ve stuck with. An introduction to the export market persuaded them of the demand for this style of Chenin.

“In lifestyle-orientated restaurants that quaffer Chenin still has more appeal,” Johan says of today’s drinking patterns. “And I’m afraid that compared to a Sauvignon Blanc quaffer in the same price, local drinkers would probably take the Sauvignon.” He feels that Chenin’s stylistic diversity aids it as a superior food partner to Sauvignon however. “Sauvignon is so clean, crisp and fresh that you can drink it before, during and after a meal. It’s easy to drink and easy to like. But you can do that with Chenin too. It’s richer and mellower. And wooded Chenin combines with cheeses better than any red wine.”

Interestingly, while many South Africans are pulling out Chenin Blanc vineyards, Simonsig is planting more to keep up with wine demand. Official statistics suggest that in 1999, hectares planted to Chenin in South Africa comprised 27 percent. But that had dropped to 19 per cent by 2006. Both Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc plantings increased during that time, but the more significant increases have been in red varieties planted.

Ken Forrester thinks all this pondering is pointless until local restaurant wine lists cut out corporate backhanders from wine monopolies to have their wines listed. “There are restaurants that don’t even have Chenin Blanc as a category!” he laments. “The public are being held hostage to what the restaurants are being paid by big wine companies. So you’re not necessarily getting a restaurateur’s opinion on wines, but rather what a restaurateur is being paid in kickbacks to stock. Eighty percent of South African restaurants operate like this.”

Ken Forester has a tiered wine category that starts with Petit Chenin (retailing at around R30) to Ken Forrester Chenin Blanc (retailing at around R55) to a super-premium The FMC (around R250). “I do 60,000 cases of Petit Chenin and 7,000 cases of regular Chenin, so our growth is in Petit Chenin, in restaurants and retail outlets. You sell more Volkswagen Golfs than Mercedes Benz - it’s about price; there’s no rocket science. The cheaper the item, the more you can move.”

Ken says while some brand association comes into it, you can’t assume that because somebody knows the brand, they’re going to buy up the price ladder next time. In Chenin’s favour is that it’s way more food-friendly than Sauvignon. In contrast, Sauvignon is quite food-specific.

Does Ken think Chenin has improved in popularity as a category? He’s a wine producer and an experienced restaurateur. “Chenin is not even on the scale. There are more people switching to Chenin, but the conversion rate is just too low. As long as there are restaurants accepting kick-backs from big companies who don’t produce Chenin, that won’t change. Did you know that Nederburg produced its first Nederburg Chenin Blanc ever in 2007?”

The bottom line is that Chenin is very drinkable at a variety of price points, and that message must get out. “The crazy thing is that in terms of bang for your buck, Chenin offers so much more,” concludes Ken. “At R30 a bottle, show me a Chardonnay that competes. At R40 a bottle, at R50 a bottle...” Enough said.

Source: “Quaffer or Showstopper, Does Chenin Sell?,” Kim Maxwell, WineC0Za, December 24, 2007