Ridgeback - Viognier 2007

Name: Toit Wessels, Winemaker

This is what he had to say…

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

After school I spent 3 years working in the UK and seeing as much of the world as I could on a shoestring. On my return to SA I studied viticulture and enology at Elsenburg Agricultural College and my plan was to start making wine asap. But midway through my first year of studies I realized with a shock that without a great understanding of the vineyard I would never be able to reach my full potential in the cellar and to this end I decided to spend a year in the vineyards before enrolling for my third and final year specializing in Enology at Elsenberg. I started as a young viticulturist at Ridgeback in 2000 and absolutely fell in love with the vines and soil and for 5 years almost forgot about my dreams of making wine. During this time we won the vitcultural competition for the best vineyard in Paarl/ Wellington and Franschoek twice. Eventually after getting married in 2005 I decided that it was now or never and returned for my final year of studies where I finished top of my class and started in the cellar in 2007.

Describe your philosophy and approach to winemaking.

My approach to making wine is simple. I aim to do as much of the work as possible in the vineyard and then maintain the integrity of our fantastic fruit with as little cellar manipulation as possible. I love a wine that tells a story as no two vintages are the same and this variation, no matter how subtle, is there to show to us the fantastic effects of working with a natural product. I love wines that depict their origin eg Paarl Mountain Shiraz with the lovely floral aromas of violets, liquorice and cherries.

What is or would be your ideal wine to make?

Ideal wine? That’s tough. I love working with Rhone cultivars, especially Shiraz and Viognier as they are so well suited to our area, but each time I go to a tasting I find something which intrigues or interests me. On Tuesday I attended a tasting of Spanish wines and was introduced to Verdelho and Tempranillo and was absolutely blown away by the fruit of the white and the depth of the red. Ask me again next year and I’ll have a few more wines for the list ha-ha.


Favorite Cultivars to play with?

Favorite cultivars to play with would also have to be Rhone as they are quite forgiving and the effects of bush vine vs trellis, old vs young vines, and wood influence make such a difference.

Ridgeback

Windmeul, Paarl

Ridgeback Wines is situated in Noord Agter Paarl surrounded by the rugged magnificence of the Paarl Mountains. It was purchased in 1997 by Vernon Cole and at that time it was predominantly a fruit farm. However the poor performance of fruit prices convinced the owners to change over to wine grape production.

The origin of the main brand Ridgeback derives from the Ridgeback dogs kept on the farm. The Ridgeback, an iconic dog of Southern Africa, and known as “Lion” dogs because of their ability to keep Lions at bay while their masters made the kill, embodies the strength and quality of the winery’s product.

Today a total of 35 hectares is under vines from a total available of 65 hectares. Great care has been taken to ensure the vineyards are of the highest caliber. All vines are secured on high trestles and water irrigated. In order to provide the winemaker with the ability to produce an exciting array of blends the farm has a fairly diversified vineyard.

Ridgeback's terroir is what really allows for them to produce great Rhone varieties. The soil is all 100% decomposed granite soil and temperatures in summer average around 40 degrees. These conditions, similar to the Rhone valley, are perfect for the production of Shiraz and Viognier, hence these two varieties being their premium grapes.

The mainstay is Shiraz followed by Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Mourvedre, Petit Bordeaux and Granache. In addition Sauvignon Blanc and their exciting Viognier complement the white production.

Total volume of wines bottled 175000 bottles annually.