by Lucy Warner, Thierrys South Africa

I am so over this recession! Is there life after 'Life from Stone'?

Back in the good old days Springfield 'Life from Stone' was my Sauvignon of choice and without necessarily wanting to reveal my drinking habits, was regularly consumed. But CRASH, this global economic meltdown has curbed my consumption of this exceptional wine. It’s not because the price of 'Life from Stone' has necessarily increased, it’s all the other stuff! Electricity, petrol, food and school fees have put the squeeze on. It’s probably not helped by the fact the number of my children has also increased. So sadly something had to give and it was my 'Life from Stone'. What sacrifices, we mothers make!

However, thankfully help has been at hand and interestingly enough also with wines from Bo-die-berg. And they call Hemel-en-Aarde, Heaven on Earth, I think the Robertson/Bonnievale region is exceptional and ranks right up there at the top for me. There is something about the vastness and ambling pace of the Breede River that is inspiring. What’s more I have found a temporary replacement in the form of Du Toitskloof Sauvignon Blanc and Van Loveren Sauvignon Blanc. It seems one year the Du Toitskloof is more to my taste and then it is Van Loveren’s turn to shine. It’s a Du Toitskloof year this year!

The oft used phrase of 'over the mountain' has sadly built more barriers than the one nature has provided and I am constantly disappointed that more international trade representatives don’t make time in their itineraries to visit this region. Robertson Wine route and tourism have done an exceptional job with getting locals to visit and attend many of the great wine tourism events in the region, but somehow that same fire has not been lit under many international buyers and as itineraries get ever shorter and squeezed, so too visits to such regions sadly get cut. I think they’re missing out!

The new Excelsior Heritage Reserve range is just one example of exceptional value, great quality and wines with true heritage and provenance.

It seems to me in many markets regionality has been lost. Obviously this nightmare of a global economic meltdown and the strong rand, has impacted everyone and only the ‘big boys’ are able to weather the storm and keep their places on the shelf. But as a result a vast percentage of the wines on shelves in export markets are homogenous inter-region blends.

Don’t get me wrong, I am about as far from being a wine purist as I am from being Kylie Mynogue, and I am an advocate for bringing wine to the masses but when a region as exceptional as Robertson is represented by only six wines (that I could see) across the six largest UK retailers, it has me reaching for the car keys to pop over the mountain and stock up for myself ... as there will surely be plenty of wine available.