Iona - Sauvignon Blanc 2009

Name: John Seccombe
 
This is what he had to say...

Tell us about your early days in the vineyards, your education and how you started your career.

My first experience of producing wine was working the harvest for family friends in Walker Bay, South Africa. My nascent interest in wine then turned into a full-blown obsession, and from then on I have worked almost every job in the wine industry, all the while focused on my dream of becoming a winemaker. In between harvests around the world, I worked as a sommelier in Scotland and England where I had a fantastic exposure to some of the world's great wines.

Describe your philosophy/approach to making wines.

I am a scientist at heart, and have always sought a deep understanding of what I do in order to be able to work more creatively and intuitively when the demands of harvest are upon me. I find that this understanding helps me to find what is essential in each batch of wine. I find that this focus helps me to do the simple and essential things that bring out the best expression of each harvest. I think that in order to be creative it is fundamental to understand every aspect of one's art.

What is or would be your ideal wine to make?

My ideal wine is the one that at home in the land in which it is made, one which yields incredible finesse to simple winemaking. I always look to the Old World for inspiration, as it is there that we find great wines that are at home in the regions that they come from. As a winemaker, it is extremely satisfying for me to be making great South African Sauvignon blanc, as I believe we bring together the best elements of the Old and New World to produce world class Sauvignon blanc.

Favorite cultivars to play with?

Sauvignon blanc and Riesling produce some of the great wines that I like to make and drink. I would love to work with Pinot gris, Godello and Albarino as they have all produced stunning wines that I have enjoyed in my work and traveling. Although I am focused on producing great white wines, Grenache, Syrah and Pinot noir can all produce a wonderful array of styles and constantly hold my interest.

Elgin, Western Cape

The wines of Iona come from a dramatically unique site in the Cape Winelands. The vineyards are on a mountain plateau 420 meters above sea level, surrounded by the Kogelberg Nature Reserve, and overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. In a country where cool sites are precious, these vineyards are like gold – the grapes ripening up to two months later than other Cape vineyards and in perfect balance. Iona is South Africa's coolest vineyard site.

Andrew Gunn and family acquired this beautiful, but run-down apple farm in 1997. It was renamed "IONA" after the remote, spiritual island off the west coast of Scotland.

The first vineyards were planted in 1998 and the initial research confirms that Iona is South Africa’s coolest vineyard with harvesting times up to 8 weeks later than other wine producing areas. 

The cool climate ensures long, slow physiological ripening of the grapes under ideal growing conditions, with the sugar, ph, acid and flavor compounds being in balance to produce elegant wines of distinction. 

Iona’s Sauvignon blancs are making a name for themselves as one of the finest examples of this grape variety in the world.