Winemakers On Fire, Issue #3

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This week we feature Johan Malan, 3rd generation winemaker at the legendary Simonsig Wine Estate, and we also chat with Kelly Bunn a South African-born graphic designer now living and working in the UK, and the creator of Shannon Vineyards website.

Meet the Winemaker

Simonsig Wine Estate is synonymous with the history of the South African wine industry, the Stellenbosch wine region, and the Malan family name.

These elements are intertwined in this family-owned farm, where the late Frans Malan produced the first bottle of their much-loved Kaapse Vonkel, South Africaʼs first Méthode Cap Classique made in the classic bottle-fermented style. He is also honoured for co-founding the thriving Stellenbosch Wine Route, a first in its time. Today, his legacy lives on through his sons, Francois and Johan, and grandchildren Francois-Jacques, Christelle and Michael, the 2nd and 3rd Malan generations at Simonsig Wine Estate.

We were privileged to spend time with Johan and ask him more about his philosophy of winemaking.

How did you get started in wine?

I was fortunate to be born into a family of wine growers from both my mother's and father’s sides. I grew up on the Simonsig Estate and lived the whole journey from the very beginning of Simonsig Estate when it was first bottled in 1968 until the present day.

Do you have a degree in winemaking?

I studied at Stellenbosch University for a BSc in Agriculture majoring in Enology and Viticulture. My father obtained a Masters in Enology and my son also qualified in Enology and Viticulture at Stellenbosch University.

What has surprised you about being a winemaker?

The effect something seemingly insignificantly small can have on the taste and quality of wine. The difference one millilitre of dosage can make on the Kaapse Vonkel can be quite remarkable and continues to fascinate me. We should never underestimate the sensitivity of the human organoleptic senses.

What goals in winemaking are you still working to achieve?

My son, Michael is now the Cellar Master at Simonsig but we still work together closely and our constant striving to improve quality is best described by the Japanese philosophy of Kaizen – the art of constant incremental improvement. I would not mind making Champagne in France.

Who do you most admire in the world of South African wine, and why?

I admire the young generation of winemakers and the many exciting new wines they make and bring to the market. They are well educated and well travelled with experience in Old and New World wine regions. Not forgetting that they stand on the shoulders of the previous generations who laid the foundations for them.

What do you find to be the hardest part of harvest?

Judging the vintage when you are in the middle of the harvest. Taking all the factors and influences and signs of the whole vintage into account and interpreting them to make the right decisions for the wines.

What makes your wine unique?

Simonsig is situated in the prime region of Stellenbosch on the foothills of Simonsberg. The soils are of weathered shale and granite origin and it’s hard to find better soils. The close proximity to the cold Atlantic Ocean gives us a mild, moderate Maritime climate ideal for growing quality wine. The origin and our wonderful terroir make our wines unique.

How has climate change impacted your approach?

Rainfall has been more erratic in recent years and despite having good water resources it has been less predictable and reliable so we’ve had to compensate for that and plan very scientifically how it is utilised in the vineyard. Another exciting project we have been working on for more than 10 years is to explore the white grape varieties of Southern France where the climate is much drier and warmer. There varieties like Marsanne, Roussanne, Grenache Blanc, Picpoul and Bourboulenc still make quality wines with great natural acidity under these conditions. The Grapesmith Mediterraneo and Die Kluisenaar are two very exciting wines we make from these little-known varieties.

Meet the Designer

Shannon Vineyards is a premium, boutique wine farm situated in the Elgin Valley in the Western Cape of South Africa. Making fine wines is their ongoing aspiration, and to that end, they have assembled a talented team who share their passion. Their unique vineyard sites, above the banks of the Peninsula Dam, combined with the highly experienced viticultural team of Kevin Watt and James Downes, and a winemaking philosophy of minimal intervention followed by the winemakers Gordon Newton Johnson and Nadia Newton Johnson, produce wines with distinctive personalities.

Let’s hear what Kelly Bunn, owner of Kelly Digital Creatives, and the creator of the Shannon Vineyards website has to say.

What features does a wine website need to be successful?

It needs to showcase the story behind the wine. What makes this wine, this farm, and the winemakers unique? Why is this wine special? In order to do this, images and visual references are the most important feature to bring this story to life. Secondly, the website should be a user-friendly experience and an online shop front for the farm, whether you manage sales through an online store or not, the user should be able to identify key information without searching for it.

What do you think makes a good designer?

Understanding the essence of a Brand to be able to translate that same emotion in a digital or print format. A good designer needs to engage with the client to create a holistic foundation and then follow a disciplined design process to achieve the best engaging solution for that specific project and brand.

How do you approach a new project?

The first steps are to delve into exploring the essence of the brand, the product/service and the brand values to gain thorough insight. Communication with the client is key in this stage of the process. From there I take that insight and the consolidated project brief and start exploring possible solutions through research, conceptualisation and design to reach several solutions to choose from. This would be a first draft for client review before refining the chosen route.

What wine brands or design projects do you admire most?

I have always admired Shannon Wines' finesse and brand elegance. It's an honour to work alongside the Shannon Vineyards team to support their design and marketing requirements.

What else do you think we should know about you as a designer or about the way you work?

A huge focus for me as a designer and business owner is building long-term relationships with my clients. I do of course work on Adhoc and once-off projects, however, the core of my business model is design and marketing support for small to medium enterprises.

P.S. Kelly asked me to mention that her current website is in the process of restructuring and rebranding.

Thanks for reading. It takes me between 8 and 12 hours to write and prepare each issue. If I had more time, I would have written a shorter newsletter.

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• Winemakers On Fire is written by Mike Carter and is work in progress. For the first few issues, I will be publishing every two weeks until I find my feet. Then weekly. My next issue will be published on the 18th of June and will feature Great Heart Wines and Jordan Jelev’s wine label restyle for Bien Nacido’s Black Tier Premium Wines.