Graham
Beck sells more than a million bottles of their Mèthode Cap Classique Bubbly every year and that
figure is now rapidly on the rise. All the Graham Beck wines are part of our
rich wine tapestry and most people know them well. None of us realised that winemaking
on the farm was started by Graham Beck only 25 years ago. His purchase of the
land followed the Laingsburg floods of 1981, when the existing farm was almost
wiped off the face of the earth. The farm was perfect for horses, his great
love, and they also began to plant grapes. In 1991 they had their maiden
vintage and “the journey of discovery in pursuit of the perfect bubble”
commenced, driven by winemaker Pieter (Bubbles) Ferreira, who is still the
magician wielding his magic wand there. We celebrated with so much MCC from so
many different years and in so many different guises. This was followed by an
excellent lunch prepared by Chef Margot Janse of The Tasting room at Le
Quartier Française in Franschhoek – what a treat and what an ebullient and
joyous celebration! They totally spoiled us
The gathering for the bus to Graham
Beck in Robertson was early so we all needed a coffee in the coffee shop of 15
on Orange hotel in town
A warm welcome and a glass of bubbles
awaited us on arrival at Graham Beck
The long table set up for the tasting
and lunch
A word of welcome from Lisa Keulder, Marketing
Manager for Graham Beck
The day was for the trade with some
media added
Here Peter tells us about his career
at Graham Beck and how it all began ...
... with lots of amusing stories
A pupitre for riddling the bottles,
set up in the Tasting room, which is also a gallery
We begin our cellar tour ..
...and extensive tasting of vintages
of Graham Beck bubbly
Peter pours us some of the wines made
from different chardonnay clones so we can see what each one has to add to the blend
He tells us what we should be looking
for
A selection of them, all different
“Are you picking up the citrus?”
and he answered lots of technical
questions and taught us much that we didn’t know, even though most people there have
studied wine to a high level
They called this the Journey and
Discovery tasting. Here are some Pinot Noirs. Note the difference in colour
between wines from different vintages
The wine map had Pieter showing us
where the best Chardonnay and Pinot Noirs for MCCs are grown, as well as some of
the rarer varieties
We saw the effect of dosage and were
amazed at the difference just a minute amount can make to the taste of the
wine
Making tasting notes and tasting at
the same time requires focus!
More intelligent questions
Pieter discussed the cork trials
they have made over the years
Yes please
Now we get on to the older wines and
see how it can affect the aroma, the taste and the weight of the wine
One of the first bottles, opening with
a bang
Bottles, closures and the limestone
rocks the wine is grown on and in
Pieter’s new baby. The Agrafe
bottling, sealed with a staple(the agrafe)
The technicalities
And we were able to taste the very first
vintage,Graham Beck Brut 2001 Blanc de Blanc. It was bready, almost meaty on the
nose, crisp with limes and lemons and still refreshing
Pouring us a glass of the current
Graham Beck Brut Rosé to take upstairs with us
Now for the guided tasting in the
bottle cellar
Entrepreneur Shaun Terry with Riedel's Tarryn Thomas. Riedel supplied the glasses
Managing Director Chris du Toit, making his
speech on the theme of Gratitude. He quoted AA Milne Piglet had a small heart
but a large amount of Gratitude. They were all grateful for the vision, courage
and tenacity of the late Graham Beck,
Rhona Beck’s big heart, son Anthony Beck’s support and involvement.
Their achievements like winning the
best fermented bubbly in the world award. Yesterday, his financial director had
told them they had already beaten their own record of last year by selling 1
million bottles (and there are still two thirds of the year to go.) “ Impossible until it is done” said
Mandela. The Laingsberg floods had washed the farm away, so they could begin
again. The trust in the team by the
family. The Unswerving value systems
to unlock the potential of the staff. Dedication
of Pieter, his hard work and achievement making the wine and taking it into the
market. Graham Beck expected nothing
less
Hanging on every word
The line up of wines we were about to
taste
A surprise for Pieter, a presentation
Quickly unwrapped
And it is a fantastic painting of him
and what he does by the artist Frans Groenewald,
specially signed on the back
Pieter with the whole winemaking team, without whom nothing would be possible
“The journey has just started,” said
Pieter. “The best vintages are still lying in the cellar reaching perfection”
Now to taste these wines. How to share
25 years at Graham Beck! A collection of Graham Beck Blanc de Blanc MCCs :
2010; 2009; 2008; 2007; 2002 & 1997. They were all exceptionally good but
our favourite was the 2007. Very different from the rest, it really stood out
with its freshness. It has a very French nose of buttery brioche and shows
maturity. It is lean and layered and very sophisticated with a kick of alcohol
and more fruit and less acid than some. It ends with long marmalade flavours
Time for lunch. The Canapes were wild
mushroom bark with fynbos icing or an Oyster mignonette. Served with the Brut NV
Magnum 1994
**The long table set and ready
Chef Margot Janse of The Tasting room
at Le Quartier Français in Franschhoek, making the final preparation on the pass
First course
A ridiculously rich, but so right for
crisp MCC bubbly, Foie Gras Brûlée and topped with slices of Karoo-plaashoender
(farm chicken) and Klein Rivier Grana Padana cheese. Served with the Cuvée
Clive 2009
Preparation by the chefs. They must
all look the same
The menu
The first course, on the table
Second Course. Very tender slices of
octopus tentacles, topped with a sorrel nori and served with a cucumber and
horseradish consommé. Served with the Brut Zero 2005
Pieter tells us how they paired the
food and the wine
Pouring on the consommé
Parting gifts for everyone, which
included a special edition apron
There was a small pause during lunch
for Pieter to show us how to remove the corks held on by staples from the bottles
He does it like the expert he is
He then challenged others to try, with
varying degrees of success - Sue Proudfoot of Wine Concepts
Ivan Oertle of Woolworths lost the
least
Sommelier Ndaba Dube of The Vineyard did a great burst
And Shaun Terry did it with a quiet whisper
Celebrating success
We all donned our aprons for a group
picture and, of course, we needed bubbles
and glasses for another toast
Back inside to continue lunch
Third course was a Suckling pig bush
braai, with a bowl of aligot (mashed potatoes with garlic and cheese) and Kapokbos (Indigenous rosemary)
The suckling pig was served with the
maiden vintage Brut 1991
Then it was time for dessert, a quince
crumble, which so echoed the flavours of the Brut Rose 2006
The cooking team for the day did splendidly
One of Graham Beck’s wine Ambassadors,
Kerry Kirby, who is responsible for sales in Cape Town. She accompanied us on the bus
and kept us well supplied with Brut Rosé for the return trip
It was sunset before we got back to
Cape Town after a remarkable day. Thank you, all at Graham Beck, for letting us
celebrate with you
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2015
