UNUSUAL cultivars, niche varieties, alternative grapes, call them what you may… Certain leading South African cellarmasters are making some lovely wines that orginate in vineyards somewhat different from what most people with a taste for good living know all too well. Some are difficult to pronounce, let alone find on the average winelist or bottle store shelf, however the specialist wine merchants are on top of things and just as we’re being lured in one direction to try something new, along comes the next ‘wave’ of discoveries to point us somewhere else.

On the basis of their prowess with Roussanne (white) and Mourvèdre (red), Painted Wolf was the ‘Most Successful Producer’ at the 2019 Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show, and the subject of unusual varieties was also broached in an article recently published by Independent Media’s Personal Finance magazine – see below. Cabernet Franc was once considered niche, before Raats and Warwick and over 50 other wineries and négociants saw fit to make it more mainstream. Some suggest that the categories Cinsaut (red) and Grenache (white and red) might grow to be just as big.