Cathy Moerdijk, Janna Rijpma & Norma Ratcliffe at the VINITES tasting in Amsterdam!!

Wide-angle view of the Warwick tasting room

From: Stephan Theron
Sent: Wednesday, June 17, 2009 2:03 PM
To: Warwick Wine Estate
Subject: Dankie

 

Dankie vir die wynproe gister.

Hier is 'n wye hoek foto wat ek gister geneem het.
Stephan Theron van Vishoek.

Ivan Daniels proudly displays our new Warwick 'The First Lady' t-shirt

Bernard Le Roux was on hand to show off our winning wine at the Trophy Wine Show function

Swinging with Norma and Warwick

Published by emile@winegoggle.co.za under Reviews and Views

Norma Ratcliffe - Grand Dame

Ever since Mike Ratcliffe talked me into buying a membership of the Warwick Wine Club two years ago, I seem to have a lot of this farm’s stuff lying around. I’m not going to stake a claim to being a Warwick boffin, but I can spot the Estate’s wine in most line-ups, just as I can tell my dog’s bark from 320 others running around De Waal Park.
Of course, being somewhat intrigued by the wines from Simonsberg, Stellenbosch’s Pauillac, delving into my Warwich stash is always going to be more than just opening another bottle of something.
The Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot do not give as much heady fruit intensity as Kanonkop, Warwick’s one neighbour. Nor to these varieties portray the likeable leanness of Le Bonheur just up the road.
For me the Warwick reds show wine’s ability to bear a seductive power. Tannins are evened out, but the presence is weighty and potent, without any hint of after-burn or over-extraction. Of course, a reason for this is the dominance of Cabernet Franc in the Trilogy Bordeaux blend. Having perfected Cabernet Franc, the farm is able to bring out the best in this variety, namely grace and poise enveloped by an assertive juiciness. For Cabernet Franc can be greener than a Kommetjie whale-hugger.
I was thus not going to let the opportunity pass me by of attending a tasting to celebrate Warwick’s 25 years in the winemaking business, held last week in the Vineyard Hotel. I wanted to see where everything came from. The bash behind the stash.
Norma Ratcliffe, Mike’s mother who placed Warwick on the wine map – amongst other noticeable achievements – led the assembled group of hacks and friends through a tasty line-up.
But this was a tasting Norma style. No weighty diatribes on yields, smart cellar decisions or philosophical statements on wood maturation. Just Norma talking animatedly about some of the Warwick wines she likes and using a few nostalgic titbits to complement her vivaciousness, knowledge and personality. (Isn’t the thought of young Mike among a pile of pumpkins just adorable!)
Norma tells it all, her way. She is, after all, our Grand Dame.
Okay, so first up was a 1984 Warwick Femme Bleu (sic), the first commercial wine made by Norma on Warwick. A Cabernet Sauvignon, this 25 year old model was in perfect condition. The colour was garnet. The nose honey-comb. Lean fruit on the palate, a hint of cedar. No oxidation or stuffiness.
The 1986 Trilogy was similarly brilliant, although the addition of Merlot and Cabernet Franc to the Cabernet Sauvignon allowed for a tad more complexity and depth. Once again, it was crystal clear on the palate and the good acid ensured it was still as tight as an Eric Clapton guitar string.
A lot of the anti-Pinotage gang rip into anybody willing to state that a Pinot Noir character can become evident in Pinotage. Well, Norma put up a 1997 Warwick Three Cape Ladies (Pinotage blend) which almost knocked one over with the whiff or pure Burgundian forest floor, wet haystack and Algerian vineyard worker arm-pit. This was more Pinot Noir here than in a lot of Pinot Noirs themselves.
Of course, the wine was huge in the mouth, making an assertive Pinot Noir entrance and ending with ripe cherries and hints of Fortis syrup.
Heading onto the 1995 Cabernet Franc and the 2001 Cape Winemakers Guild Femme Bleu (sic), it was enormously satisfying to begin recognizing the stylistic traits of my current, newer Warwick wines. Looking at my 2006 Trilogy and Cabernet Franc, it appears the wines are actually fuller and more voluptuous in their youth. After a couple of years, the fruit and tannins separate giving the wines a different structure all together, whilst maintaining pureness and depth.
Norma threw in a 1998 Chardonnay, and what a humdinger. It was big, it was nutty, it was limey, it was a Staffordshire terrier of Chardonnays, just waiting to rip the gonads out of anyone wearing an “Anything But Chardonnay” T-shirt. Some, like wine-trader Mark Norrish, were so inspired they shouted: “This is Burgundy, Norma!”
The evening ended with dinner, and I enjoyed more of the Chardonnay – albeit a younger model that, unlike the 1998, hadn’t been stirred with Norma’s golf club – and Warwick’s wonderfully supple Pinotage.
This was definitely the wine event of the past year for me, for you can haul out the best wines in the house, but the event don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing.
Keep swinging, Norma, because you’ve got it.

E Louw Joubert

 

Mike, Naftali & Friends at the Trophy Wine Show awards function in Cape Town

________________________________________________
Mike Ratcliffe
Warwick Wine Estate
Phone: +27 (0) 21 88 444 10
Fax: +27 (0) 21 88 44025
Skype: mikeatwarwick
Email: mike@warwickwine.com

Drinking from the wedding cup

Dear Mike,

I promised you a photo that was taken at Warwick on 30 April.   The lovely young couple Andrew Hunt and Rachel Read are from Oxford and both involved in a tour operator called Audley who sends many English wine fans out to the Winelands. They are getting married in September and came out to the Cape to source the wine that they want to present at the wedding to some 100 guests. Isn't that nice?  Hopefully they will eventually decide on Warwick ‘The First Lady’ which is my favourite.

Regards 

Pietman Retief

 

 

Brand Hooligans conference - Mike speaks

 

Cherryflava conference: Brand Hooligans - Creating a brand experience that makes people nuts about you [video link] On Thursday 28 May 2009 Cherryflava will host an experiential marketing conference in Cape Town called BRAND HOOLIGANS - Creating a brand experience that makes people crazy about you. The event will showcase the city's most creative and successful marketing practitioners in a unique marketing conference format designed to generate maximum insight into their successful strategies and future opportunities as they see it. It's a must-attend event for marketers, creative professionals, entrepreneurs and strategists keen to gain insight into how a carefully crafted experience can be the most efficient and effective marketing tool a brand can employ. Tickets to the conference are very limited. Only 30 are available for purchase. The speaker line up includes: Rui Esteves & Brad Armitage [founders vida e caffe and and now Brewers & Union] - Building a world-class South African brand: The devil's in the detail Jody Aufrichtig [co-creator of the Old Biscuit Mill and The Grand Daddy and one of South Africa's most prolific and successful business innovators] - Re-imaging the way things are done Porky Hefer [celebrated creative director and founder of Animal Farm - an award-winning creative consultancy that is quickly redesigning the world] - Innovation inspiration from the world around you Mike Ratcliffe [Platter's guide 2009 5-star award-winner and partner/owner of Stellenbosch-based Warwick Wines and Vilefonte] - Experience is the only real marketing tool we've got left Gareth Cotton [the 24-year old entrepreneur and creator of Chariot Limousines] - 10 recession busting marketing ideas in 3 blocks Jonathan Cherry [editor of Cherryflava] - How to market like Marilyn Manson When: Thursday 28 May 2009 Where: Boo Radley's, Cape Town CBD Time: 1:00pm - 6:30pm Price: R950 per ticket. To book your seat: E-mail Jon Cherry - jon@cherryflava.com Bookings close: 20 May 2009 [no tickets to be sold after this date] [video link]

 

 

Our new product - Warwick Bottle Stopper

TO RUSSIA WITH LOVE

Mike Ratcliffe, Managing Director & Owner of Warwick Estate and Vilafonté Vineyards (http://www.vilafonte.com/) visited Russia on a wine marketing trip recently. Here he blogs irreverently about the experience.
Entering the Russian wine market is not for the fainthearted. The beaurocratic mess that is the Russian import regime makes South Africa's wine regulatory red-tape feel like a walk in the park. Add to that the shambolic politically motivated import restrictions and the punitive (and irrationally inflexible) customs duties and taxes and you have already accumulated a number of reasons to avoid the Russian federation all together.And so it was that I found myself facing a barrage of questions from a local customs official after disembarking at Moscow's Demondenova airport. To put it into perspective, the landing card containing numerous illogical questions (like university qualification, interests and hobbies etc) and needs to be filled out in triplicate. Despite a wealth of travel experience, I made the mistake of filling out the wrong form (in triplicate) and it was eventually explained that I had inadvertently used the form for 'Belarus' citizens and not the 'foreigners' form. Let me be clear that nowhere on the form did it mention any distinction between foreigners and Belarus residents.After navigating the murky corridors of taxi diplomacy, I seemed to be making progress. Stepping out of the airport into the crisp cold afternoon air was like getting slapped in the face with a bag of ice. Cold was the word of the day and boy was that word an over-traded commodity. After an hour of driving through a crazy snow-storm, I arrived at the Danilovskaya Hotel which was something out of a 1970's James Bond movie. Built to withstand a nuclear blast with windows designed to keep radiation out, this was a budget hotel in name only and without any service at all. Even asking the concierge (who didn't really speak English) to book me a taxi was met with an unapologetic scrap of paper with a phone number on it and a few other words in cyrrilic script. Communication in the Russian federation is challenging and I was quite surprised by my inability to decipher even a single Russian letter on signage or understand a single word of the local lingo. I downloaded a translation application on my phone and even this did not help as the pronunciations are challenging, even for a Stellenbosch educated Afrikaans speaking souty. I finally found that the only way to compare the words on the map with the words on the street signs was to compare the shapes of the letters.Now that I have set the cultural scene, let me explain that Moscow has never been accused of being a pretty destination. It does however have isolated examples of breath-taking architecture and somehow familiar examples of extraordinary (or grotesque depending on your angle) edifices that hark back to the days of the cold-war. I spent a late evening clearing my head wandering through Red Square in the driving snow and it certainly felt a little like a dream landscape, but the reality of mass unemployment and beggars on the street corner soon dispelled all hints of romanticism. I should also note that despite extensive investigation, there was absolutely no evidence of the iron curtain.Hot tip: There are easier places to sell wine, but the Russian market, even now, is flush with cash and if you can navigate the complicated entry procedures, South African wines are considered seriously good value and can, and do, make an impact. The Russian market is also untainted by any kind of historical (read early nineties) baggage that over-zealous wine marketers might have foisted on the British. Wines from South Africa seem to be considered cool and in the many high-end wine retailers that I visited were often positioned in the pride of place and amongst the best wines of the world. I also visited a couple of every-day supermarkets and was happy to see wines from South Africa being displayed prominently, and at price-points that seemed to indicate a relative value against our antipodeans and South American compatriots. Yes - the 'V-word' translates globally and it is just as valid here in Moscow. As an aside, have we considered how many people around the world that are trading down in price point, are currently trading down to the South African price-point. A wise man once said that there is nothing quite like a recession to realign markets and bring supply and demand back to an equilibrium of common-sense. Perhaps it was the same wise man that noted that some of the worlds biggest success stories were founded by opportunists and entrepreneurs during a recession. The South African value proposition is going to hold us in good stead over the ensuing months as the world shakes it's excesses out of the system.Back to Russia; the wine culture does not scream at you and to truly uncover the potential of this market you really have to scratch around a little. I did. I discovered wine, vodka and cigar bars hidden below ground behind unmarked doors. I found wineshops that were so eager to learn that they were prepared to shut down the store for an hour long presentation. I met serious sommeliers that actually listened to what a winery owner from South Africa had to say - and took notes. It is a far cry from some of the more established blasé markets that have been overrun by winemakers on their annual overseas holiday (read: wine marketing trip/employment perk) who are judged on their ability to limit their expense account rather than on tangible results.Some (secret agents and wine marketers) would suggest that departing Moscow brings a certain bitter-sweet level of relief and an inner calm - I would not disagree with this completely. Despite all of the mixed opinion above, Moscow has not scared me off - the market is exciting, edgy and pulsating with potential. A little adrenaline never failed to galvanise my resolve and I will be back.

Visiting Drinx Wine in Mississippi.Bartholomew Broadbent, Matt Beard & Mike R.

________________________________________________
Mike Ratcliffe
Warwick Wine Estate
Phone: +27 (0) 21 88 444 10
Fax: +27 (0) 21 88 44025
Skype: mikeatwarwick
Email: mike@warwickwine.com

Warwick Trilogy 'Estate Reserve' - Position 46 in Wine Spectator Top 100!!

_______________________________________________________________

Mike Ratcliffe

Warwick Wine Estate

 Phone:    +27 (0) 21 88 444 10

 Fax:       +27 (0) 21 88 44025

 Skype:    mikeatwarwick

 Email:     mike@warwickwine.com

 

Mike was a judge at the Indian Wine Challenge in London

 

Mike & Ronald are spearheading the planting of a new vineyard at the historic Vineyard Hotel in Cape Town www.vineyard.co.za

 

‘Major coup’ for charity Jan Kriel wine auction

Friday, 16 May 2008
International leader in the wine industry, Mike Ratcliffe, will auction off a list of top wines at the prestigious London Jan Kriel Charity Wine Auction scheduled for Thursday, May 22. The 10th annual auction in the British capital is one of the city’s only charity events aimed at helping South African children with epilepsy and special educational needs.
Ratcliffe qualified as a business major before attending the University of Adelaide and was in the first graduating class for the Graduate Diploma in Wine Marketing.
He is now managing director of his family estate, Warwick, which is recognised as one of South Africa’s foremost wine estates.
Mike is also owner and partner in the first and only South African/American luxury winemaking joint venture – Vilafonte. In 1997 Ratcliffe founded Rootstock, an organisation dedicated to the upliftment and education of the youth of the wine industry with a practical focus on marketing and management.
He was an instrumental participant in reigniting the concept for a “Cape Blend” (Pinotage-blend) which has since become an integral part of the Cape high-end wine offerings.
Ratcliffe is a board member of WOSA, (Wines of South Africa), the generic export promotion board for the SA Wine Industry and has participated actively on the marketing committee of the Stellenbosch Wine Route.
He is keenly involved in black economic empowerment and land redistribution as deputy chairman of the South African Wine Industry Trust (SAWIT).
Ratcliffe’s presence as auctioneer at the London Jan Kriel Charity Wine Auction was described by project co-ordinator Marco Pereira “a major coup” for the event.
“As regular international wine judge, industry commentator and marketing coordinator, it gives the event international appeal,” Pereira said.
The event will take place at the New Connaught Rooms, 61 - 65 Great Queen Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2B 5DA. To secure a seat or a tabel at this event, contact Marco Pereira on 08702244081 or mail to info@jkwineauction.org.

Rootstock comes alive