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Your Turn Archive - November 2003
www.jancisrobinson.com

SA wine flavourings, continued...

from: Bruce Jack South Africa, 20 November 2003
Thanks for your time given to Michael Fridjhon's comments about wine flavourings. These have been in the international wine industry for decades – red colour is even more widely available and used – but you must know this...

Far more importantly, Michael's contribution to our South African industry should be highlighted. Every now and then a nation delivers to her people the embodiment of its own consciousness. Indeed, it would appear from a cursory engagement with history that these magnificently sensitive and superhumanly robust individuals change the course of life – always for the better.

In South Africa we live within the presence of Nelson Mandela. He offers us more than hope (a national characteristic anyway) – he gives us sanity, forgiveness, acceptance and a Tomorrow of Integrity.

Madiba, as Nelson Mandela, is referred to by South Africans, has created the environment where our other real leaders, like Michael Fridjhon, are able to talk out about what they believe in – as much as a matter of principle, as a matter of course. I would question if this mindset is widespread in the global wine industry.

I think we need not dwell on the reluctance of other wine industry commentators to highlight the same dishonesty in their own countries – for there is therein at least the same degree of abuse. Rather, I will breathe a sigh of relief that we were the first country, via Michael, to tackle this repulsive, degrading problem head-on.

At Flagstone, we drew up a document called The Real Wine Charter. This states that we add NOTHING to our wines, except a preservative called sulphur dioxide (and vitamin C to our whites).

The winemaking team have signed it and anyone else (worldwide) who makes wine and feels as passionately as we do may add their names as well (this will be on our website from 1 December 2003).

For interest's sake the Head Winemaker at Distell, a very talented Australian called Linley Schultz, is as vehemently opposed to illegal additives as anyone I have met. This gives me extra hope, as Distell is one of our 'big boys' – an industry leader in winery procedures, practices, volume and value.

For your readers, I would like to share a simple rule: wine should add joy to life. If a particular wine doesn't, don't drink it again. This may sound ethereal, but it is true – just consider it logically. Real wine has the ability to add joy, false wine only does the job of pulling you down drunk.

Many years ago you described one of our wines as tasting 'happy'. That's the nicest thing you could have said!