Long Neck Wines have been with us from the beginning. The instantly recognisable packaging is only the start, as they are wines that genuinely live up to their price tag and help keep South Africa’s reputation as a trustworthy producer of quality wines firmly intact.

Credit must go to the purchasing expertise of head wine boffin Duncan McEuen, one of the ‘three amigos’ at Long Neck. Another man behind the giraffe, and another of the three amigos, is Archie Cameron. He tells us that while the USA remains an important market for Long Neck, the migration to other parts of the world have helped turn it into a truly successful global brand. They have even made it to the Antarctic!

1. What is the highlight of making your own wine and what part of the process do you most enjoy?

The highlight for me is walking into the winery and smelling that unique musky and heady combination of wood and grape. It is quite literally, intoxicating!

Not wishing to sound overly capitalistic but I do love watching a container depart for some far away place. That’s always exciting. Sending our wine to Australia, where they make their own very fine wines, is doubly so!

I got a real buzz when I was told that our wines were very popular in one of the Antarctic research stations. Can’t get much further away than that! Check out the photos.

2. Is there a grape variety (perhaps more than one) that you believe is the worlds best when grown in South Africa?

We grow most of the various grape varietals here in South Africa, but to single out one and say it is the best in the world would be presumptuous. My personal favorite is Chardonnay, although our best seller is Shiraz.

3. If you couldn’t make wine in South Africa any more, where would you go?

I suspect South America. I have never visited Argentina or Chile but I think I could enjoy the ‘Hispanic’ way of life more so than say Oz or NZ. Europe is too crowded for me! Needless to say they are great countries for wine production.

4. What was the inspiration for the Long Neck brand?

When we came up with the idea of the label, we wanted to say ‘young, trendy, cool, hip and South African’ all in one go! I think we have succeeded.

5. What do you feel is the long-term outlook for the South African wine industry?

Excellent! More people will experience South African wines this year than ever before, because of the World Cup. I reckon that our wines will become regular items on everyday shopping lists.

Thanks to Archie Cameron and Lucy Godfrey at Long Neck Wines.

Our range from Long Neck.

In our most comprehensive and fascinating interview yet, we talk to the man behind Gordon Ramsay’s house wine.

As it turns out, he’s a bit of a celebrity himself after being featured on BBC 2’s Big Wine Adventure alongside James May and Oz Clarke. Gavin Quinney, head winemaker at Chateau Bauduc, tells us all.

1. We understand that you were hit by some freak weather last May. What’s the outlook for your ‘09 release?

It’s no secret that 2009 was a fabulous vintage in Bordeaux, as the weather was extraordinary. My take on the vintage straight after the harvest was here on liv-ex. Unfortunately, we were badly hit by not one, but two hailstorms in May. It was pretty depressing.

The Clos des Quinze, which you guys have been kindly selling for us, took a pasting, so there isn’t a CDQ ‘09. To make matters trickier, even ‘petit chateaux’ cannot just slip out and buy grapes and blend them with your ‘Chateau’ wine, as you would if you were a winery or an estate brand in, say, New Zealand. So we went off and leased another lovely vineyard from a diligent grower called Pascal. Of course, we weren’t to know in advance that it would be a good vintage, so it was a double or quits bet.

The result is a mixed bag. The white and rosé are very good, (although I mention the hailstorms on the back-label of the white in case regulars notice a change) but for me the jury’s out on our red. I’ll have to wait and see how it evolves, but if the red isn’t up to speed, I’ll sell it off to a negociant to put it into their Bordeaux brand. This won’t be good for the finances but I don’t want customers to have a high expectation of our 2009 red and be disappointed.

I’d also suggest that people be slightly wary of what they buy from hail-damaged areas - some 19000 hectares were affected. Everyone I know around here made up the shortfall from other vineyards which weren’t hit.

2. Was it a surprise to have Oz Clarke and James May pop in to Chateau Bauduc during the filming of BBC 2’s Big Wine Adventure?

Not really, because it was planned long in advance with the BBC. I’d first met Oz in the early nineties when I entered a blind tasting competition in England, and we’d always got on well. When we pitched up with our wines at the Wine Show in London, a consumer event, he came to our stand quite a bit and said he’d make sure we were included in his BBC travels.

He later stayed with us at Bauduc with his publisher, and I have never drunk so much wine in my life as we merrily opened bottles from my cellar. He has an amazing palate, even when trolleyed. James May is a very bright spark, and knows more than he’s allowed to let on. It was a fun day.

3. Is there a particular grape variety that you believe really excels in Bordeaux, perhaps like nowhere else in the world?

I travelled quite a bit before settling here, so I’ve enjoyed Cabernet in Coonawaara, Malbec in Mendoza, and so on. I would really like to experience Napa but I never got around to it.

My ten years at Chateau Bauduc have shown me that it’s all about what works in your own particular vineyard. I love Cabernet Sauvignon, but the Cabernet here didn’t ripen properly, so I ripped most of it out and replaced it with Sauvignon Blanc on the cooler slopes. That said, I think Cabernet Sauvignon is king in the special areas of Pauillac and St-Julien, on the Left Bank overlooking the Gironde. I’m obviously not the only one to think that, judging by the spiraling prices. There are some great wines though, steeped in Cabernet, that won’t break the bank but you need to be patient. Cabernet doesn’t come in at quite the same level of alcohol as Merlot - a degree or so less - so in 2009 I reckon the Left Bank wines might have a tad more elegance and better balance.

Cabernet Franc is wonderful on the Right Bank, as a constituent in Pomerol and the better bits of St-Emilion. You don’t have to take out a mortgage on wines like Cheval Blanc and Ausone, where it’s 50%+ of the blend. Try La Tour Figeac next door to Cheval Blanc for a fraction of the price, or Canon La Gaffeliere, below Ausone. Loire Cab Franc is great - Saumur Champigny and so on - but it’s quite different.

Having said all that, Merlot can be awesome - especially on the plateau of Pomerol. Forget the school fees, send them to the local establishment and tuck into some cases of L’Evangile, for example, post 2004. Of course, there’s a lot of shite Merlot on high yielding rootstocks planted in fields that are better for nurturing other crops. Growers of this tedious stuff will have to pack up at some point, as there’s no market for weedy gnats piss.

At the cheaper end, there are some excellent dry whites. Although the great white wines of Bordeaux like Haut Brion are, er, great, head happily over to the better growers of the Entre Deux Mers for lovely, reasonably priced dry whites. Some, like us, stick with Bordeaux as the appellation. I can’t claim that Sauvignon Blanc is better here than Marlborough, Sancerre, etc but there are pockets of Bordeaux where it works brilliantly most years.

Sémillon is underrated, (good Sauternes in years like 2001 and 2007 - what value) but I don’t go for dry Muscadelle - too, well, grapey.

4. What restricted grape variety would you most like to grow in Bordeaux if regulations allowed?

I’m trying out a few illegal vines in my ‘garden’ - all the usual suspects. I’ll have to let you know how we get on. Unlike Burgundy, we can plant several varieties, and with different clones and a choice of rootstocks. There are quite a few decisions to be made already. I’d like to try Syrah and Pinot Noir and a few whites. I doubt Riesling would work, but I’ll see how my plants get on.

5. Can you tell our readers a little more about your connection with celebrity chef’s Gordon Ramsay and Rick Stein?

When we started making wine in 1999, I thought it would be good to have it on the list in top restaurants. Some wine merchants said ‘there’s no market for Bordeaux whites, thanks’ (aka piss off) and they were right. Not many people ask for it in the way that you’d ask for Pinot Grigio, New Zealand Sauvignon, Gruner Veltliner or whatever today. But I don’t think people care as long as there are some sound recommendations for the wine, and celebrated chefs seemed an obvious choice.

I was invited to lunch by a friend to Ramsay’s eponymous restaurant in Chelsea, as a thank you. I met Ronan Sayburn the sommelier and we got on well. I think Ronan was quite surprised by our first white that we’d made - he really liked it. What swung the deal was some keen pricing to match their existing house wine, but more importantly, I made up some dummy labels with Gordon’s signature on. These went down a storm, they selected us and soon after he won his 3rd Michelin Star.

It’s no mean feat that he’s kept the three stars for nearly a decade, although the press these days prefer to focus on any bad news surrounding Gordon. I have always found him and his father-in-law Chris Hutcheson, who is CEO, to be charming - and they’re very supportive of us. The sommeliers make their own choices, so I go and do a tasting fairly regularly, or they come to us. They list our whites, reds and our new, pale Provencal-like rosé.

I’ve known Rick Stein and his business partner, his ex-wife Jill, for many years now. Similarly to the Ramsay story, I went over to Cornwall some ten years ago and saw Roni, Jill’s sister, who is the head sommelier and a really nice person. Rick then visited us out here, as did Roni a bit later. Rick then made Bauduc one of his Special Selections on the front page of his list (I imagine his ‘food heroes’ must have had that same feeling when picked).

I guess we see them all about once a year - the new look Seafood Restaurant is a special place. My wife Angela and I are fond of Rick, Jill, and Roni, and Rupert the General Manager, and I think what they have achieved is fantastic. They have something like 40 rooms in Padstow now, as well as all the restaurants - go and stay, mention the Bauduc/Quinney connection and have a glass on me.

Special thanks to Gavin Quinney, Chateau Bauduc.

Our range from Chateau Bauduc.

David Gonzalez is chief winemaker at Santa Alicia, the winery which picked up Best Chilean Wine Producer at the 2007 International Wine & Spirits Competition. This is the man behind undoubtedly some of the best Chilean wines to reach Irish shores, and we’re really happy to have him answer our questions. (Click here to view the range)

1. What is your favourite grape to work with and why?

I think that almost any grape can be transformed into good wine depending on the passion of the winemaker, but personally I like Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenérè when it comes to our range of reds. The first one is for me one of the most complete varieties to produce wine. You get flavours, aromas, structure, volume, a bit of everything if you now how to work with it. Carmenérè on the other hand represents a challenge to the skills of a winemaker looking for the right time to harvest and the right management in the cellar. Also this variety is becoming Chile’s own and that is also a challenge for the winemakers to get the best from this variety.

2. What is the highlight of making your own wine? What part of the process do you most enjoy?

To make wines that reflect the characteristics of the grape variety and terroir is important for me. I enjoy the process of making wine as a whole, especially the fermentation process when the wine starts to express itself properly. I love tasting the wines at each stage.

3. If you couldn’t make wine in Chile any more, where would you go?

I think I could enjoy making wine anywhere, each place represents a different challenge and with that in mind I have no preference for a country different than Chile.

4. You have an incredible medal collection at Santa Alicia. Is it difficult to maintain these standards?

For us, Medals are not an objective but a result. Keeping or increasing quality standards is a duty which we are truly committed to. Every day we try to improve the quality of our products and have better practices in our processes. It is a daily challenge but it doesn’t necessarily need to be a difficult one.

5. What makes Chile so special as a wine-producing country?

There are many factors that make of Chile a special country for producing wine. Its geography offers you a huge diversity of climates and soils, a long dry and warm season, the long coast with the influence of the Humbolt current and the Andes Mountains. All of them make Chile a paradise for wine growers and wine lovers.

Thanks to David Gonzalez and Santa Alicia.

Our range from Santa Alicia.

In the second of our winemaker interviews, we have one of the movers and shakers of the New Zealand wine industry talking exclusively to Curious Wines - Brent Marris of The Ned. If you’re still playing catch up, click here for a little about the man himself.

1. Apart from Sauvignon Blanc, which grapes excite you to work with? Are you experimenting with any new varietals at the Ned?

For me the search for the “holy grail” is all about Pinot Noir. It would have to be the most exciting variety to work with, dream about and drink!! It is often considered the prince of all the classic varieties. It is a transparent variety to turn into wine - get it wrong and it will always remind you!  It is notoriously fickle and that is half the challenge. Marlborough produce some of the worlds best Pinot Noirs and I am pleased to be part of that success.

We will be harvesting our first Viognier this year….that will be exciting!

2. What is your opinion on the use of oak in the production of Sauvignon Blanc?

I believe a little barrel fermentation in Sauvignon Blanc can be a good thing as long as you do not know it is there.

The 3 to 4% oak gives lovely mouth feel without deterring anything away from the fruit of the wine.

I have chosen however not to do this for The Ned as I love the way the site express’ the clean bright characters and the mouth feel that is already there due to the lighter crop we harvest from our vines.

3. What is the highlight of making your own wine? What part of the process do you most enjoy?

The highlight of making my own wine is seeing it being enjoyed by everyday consumers in restaurants and cafes. To take land, plant vines, grow a crop, turn it into wine and then brand and sell it is an extremely satisfying job. But to then be at a restaurant and watch people getting enjoyment from all those hours of input is fantastic!

The part of the process I enjoy most is walking through the vineyards just prior to harvest and determining what block is to be harvested. Watching the fruit change over the days leading up to harvest is very exciting.

The next great enjoyment is blending. Taking all the different parcels of fruit, making them into wine, keeping them separate through fermentation and then finally bringing them together for the final blend. It makes you feel like a real creator!

4. If you couldn’t make any more wine in New Zealand, where would you go to make it?

Italy. Part of winemaking is also about the culture. Making wine in Italy would be so cool as the food, language and sense of family seem very strong. I have loved visiting the wine growing regions and feel they have become more innovative over the years. Couple this with the food and culture and you have a great winemaking opportunity and life style.

5. What do you feel is the long-term outlook for the New Zealand wine industry?

Very exciting! We are going through growing pains presently with the volume of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc on the market, but I see this as being somewhat sorted over the next two years.

We have a wonderful climate through out NZ and have proven we can make regionally distinctive world class wines. I believe with the level of winery innovation, vineyard development and dedicated focus on doing our best, the industry is in for an exciting time.

Big thanks to Brent Marris, and to our readers for your contribution.

Our range from Brent and John Marris.

A few months back we said we would be conducting a short interview with one of the world’s top winemakers, Ben Glaetzer. True to his word, the man himself has returned exclusively for Curious Wines to answer your questions.

1. What Rhone Syrah producers do you admire (if any) and who in the wine trade inspires you?

First and foremost would be Guigal for their ability to produce regionally indicative wines across the majority of pricepoints and volumes whilst maintaining an aura of prestige about the brand.

2. You’ve been gaining incredible scores from wine advocate, Robert Parker. Is it tempting to tailor a wine to suit his palate?

Fortunately our wines have been well received across all of our 38 export markets, from Europe, through Asia and the USA and Canada. I admire RP’s overriding passion for wine, and that is the basis of his writing. He actually enjoys tasting and writing about wine. I find Matthew Jukes equally as passionate as are people like Jancis Robinson and Anthony Gismondi. It sounds clichéd but I very much enjoy the company and conversation of people such as these and don’t really spend much time watching the scores.

3. If you couldn’t make any more wine in Barossa Valley, where would you go to make your wine?

As strange as it may sound, I’d probably be in Champagne. Australia does make sparkling wines (Red and White), some of them are exceptionally good but none have the personality, elegance and charisma of a great Champagne from a great vintage.

4. A silly question perhaps, but what is your favourite grape variety, and why?

That’s a difficult one to answer as quite a few varieties show attributes and personalities that I enjoy. Classically speaking I have always admired well made Cabernet Sauvignon but I find that in most cases it requires other varieties blended in to make it complete (as in Bordeaux, Northern Italy and the Barossa).

Shiraz is obviously a passion for me, I enjoy the diversity of the flavour profile and the varietal/regional snapshot that can be created within the wine. The world’s best Shiraz/Syrah is generous yet elegant, structured and balanced and can be an exceptional food partner……(in contrast there are of course many that are overworked, to hot and dominating!).

My current favourites to grow and make are Lagrein (originally ex Trentino/Alto Adige) and Vermentino – both Italian origin but display characters that are ideal for the Barossa/Langhorne/McLaren Vale. These include a sturdy canopy which protects the fruit during some of our warm days and very good natural acid retention which keeps the flavours bright and fresh. Above all they’re producing very food orientated wines.

5. What do you feel is the long-term outlook for the Aussie wine industry?

Like any agricultural industry the Aussie wine Industry has had it’s fair share of peaks and troughs. As a whole the industry needs a degree of compression. There have been too many vineyards planted in the wrong areas, with unsuitable varieties by groups of people who are not well versed in the vagaries of growing, making and selling wine. This has led to overproduction at the lower price point as company owners try vainly to quit the stock that they have in their wineries.

There has been a significant impact on the top end as well, a lot of that is to do with the early Australian hype in the US market and producers feeling that creating dollars was more important than setting and maintaining sensible, affordable pricepoints. Australia is only a young country… we have a lot of growth yet and a lot of time to learn!

Thanks to Ben Glaetzer and Vicki Arnold at Glaetzer Heartland Wines, and to our readers for your contribution.

Our range from Ben:

Heartland Wines

Glaetzer Wines