Jan Solms, part owner of Fanakalo Design Studio and De Kleine Wijn Koöp’s favourite quote, and a testament to his and partner, Rohan Etsebeth’s story as label makers turned winemakers.
De Kleine Wijn Koöp is an intriguing brand, very much the result of the proverbial grapevine we’ve discovered within the South African wine industry; identified during a chat with assistant Sadie winemaker Paul Jordaan who when asked how they identified their vineyards answered: “Ag you know, through the grapevine…” (cracking a surprised smile at his own wordplay). With names such as Rosa Kruger (viticulturist to the stars - and old vines), JD Pretorius (Steenberg mastermind winemaker) and Johan Reyneke (the organic guru) involved; and combined with the fact that Fanakalo as design studio is responsible for the wine labels of an incredible number of notable brands (see Sadie Family Wines, Hartenberg, The BlackSmith, Steenberg, Strandveld, Alheit Vineyards, Vilafonté, Kaapzicht, Longridge, Fram, Rickety Bridge, Lowerland and Porseleinberg) it seems inevitable that a wine brand has manifested here, imbued with the best qualities of its many parts. As you can imagine, given its origins we had QUESTIONS, and because Rohan answered so eloquently, we felt it best delivered in his own words:
How did these wide-ranging personalities meet (first) and THEN decide to make a wine range together (second)?
This question has two stages. Jan and I (Rohan), first played around by trading a barrel of wine for design-work and we then packaged these wines with labels that were purely what we felt like designing. For example, we did a wine with a swing-top like Grolsch beer. In a way it was a portfolio piece for our design-work and we were only selling out of hand to friends. We originally never intended to be a 'wine label design company' either. Illustration was our first love and when we were at university we used to design for most of our friends in bands. One of our friends is Bertie Coetzee, who is together with his wife, now the farmer and brains behind Lowerland wines. Our third partner is Stephanus Rabie who used to make all the music videos for these bands. Being in Stellenbosch we just had exposure to wine and some of the friends in our overlapping network were studying winemaking. So we all really met and mingled years before thinking of taking a wine from vine to bottle. Stage two would be where we had two friends who studied winemaking climb on board briefly to set this up as a standalone business. They have had to exit due to other obligations but we had the wines harvested in 2018 made by winemakers who will be revealed with next year's releases. Ultimately, if I can echo Lukas van Loggerenberg's emphasis on the camaraderie in the wine industry, the industry is really small and interwoven and we've only had support when we tried to get grapes or wine. We either met the people in the industry as our designing paths crossed with them, or they were all friends of friends.
Why Afrikaans exclusively?
Because we make too many spelling mistakes in English. Just joking. Actually for multiple reasons. At first we never really planned on taking these wines into the trade, Afrikaans names were less in use and made name registration easier. Also as a bit of a statement, if the French and Italians are not putting English on their labels - why should we? When we did it we were some of the first to do the back labels in Afrikaans, but it wasn't really a very conscious decision.
How did you decide on the wines you’ve made? Given the fact that you buy in fruit, or merely tend vineyards (not own them), how did you identify the vineyards and varietals you’ve made your wine from?
Grenache and Cinsaut was our first love. The Grenache we got hold of through another winemaker with connections; as the wine is named Hoendertande and being from Piekenierskloof it’s hard to get hold of if you don't have connections. The Cinsaut we actually found by browsing through the I-Am-Old vines website that Rosa Kruger compiled and the wine is made from a vineyard planted in 1952. The Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon is from a small vineyard on the Polkadraai which is in front of one our founding member's parents' house.
What is the overarching STYLE of the wine?
We have a commonality between us in the sense that we all levitate towards lighter style red wines. Red wines made almost in a white wine or Burgundy/Beaujolais style. Minimalist intervention in the sense that we don't use new wood. Whole-bunch made Cinsaut and Grenache, whole berry Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, but we're reintroducing some stems into the future Cabernet Franc. The Cabernet Sauvignon specifically is made in a way that is reminiscent of the days of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cinsaut blends and isn't made with new wood or in an overly ripe style. Apart from the Kreatuur, the wines are small batches from single vineyards and made in such a way as to be true reflections of their terroir.
Who did the illustrations and what was the inspiration for the titles of these wines (Knapsekêrel, Ou Treffer Cinsaut and Kreatuur)?
As we are designers, naturally we did the illustrations ourselves and Kreatuur is a juxtaposition of old found illustrations from encyclopedias and engravings from century-old artists. Knapsekêrel is the Afrikaans for a Black Jack and takes its cue from the biodynamic approach that the vineyard is farmed in. Ou Treffer is from the second oldest Cinsaut vineyard in Stellenbosch and also draws its name from the workhorse grape that Cinsaut is and the role it played in the history of South African winemaking. Kreatuur is exactly what a blend is - a different and unique creature each year. We illustrate this with a creature being made up from the same amount of animals as each blend consists of. Even though this blend is some years made from the same grapes, it is also a different wine in its own right each year and thus the creature on the label changes to reflect this each year.
What do the 5 acorns on the logo stand for? Similarly who is the man in the logo?
The five oaks/'okes' are symbolic of the five guys involved when we started taking the wines into trade. The man is a reinterpretation of an old Stellenbosch municipal or heritage logo we stumbled upon. We call it the vuvuzela man.
Where are the wines made?
Currently still clouded in secrecy.
Who has final sign-off?
I think we're still fighting over who is supposed to be taking up which roles in our 'company'... but Jan and Stephanus and I don't try to interfere with the winemaking.
What principles of organic farming are employed here?
The Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon are from a small vineyard on the Polkadraai that Johan Reyneke and Rosa Kruger look after. The vineyard is biodynamically farmed and is officially Demeter certified from this year's harvest.
How many vintages have there been? With which wine did you start? How has the brand evolved since then?
Our very first wines that went into the trade was a complete mixed bag and the plan was never to be very specific on having a range that was consistently made each year. We had a 2013 red Kreatuur and 2014 white Kreatuur. A 2014 Swartland Syrah. A 2015 Syrah called Liefling from Darling. A 2014 red Kreatuur. A 2015 Heimwee Cabernet Sauvignon. We always thought our edge would be to get hold of small unique barrels of wines that wouldn't find their place in the market, but since we started the industry has shown us that demand does dictate follow-ups of wines and this will be the third year of Knapsekêrel Cabernet Franc with a 2016 released this year, the second year of Ou Treffer with a 2017 released this year and the third year of a red Kreatuur with a Syrah/Grenache/Cinsaut 2017 blend.
The future of the brand? Do you aim to make more wines, and if so which? Or do you feel that you’d like to see how these wines evolve?
We are releasing the Cinsaut, Grenache, Cab Franc and red Kreatuur again next year. These wines are currently what we try to put out each year, but we would also like to maybe do a white Kreatuur in future.
Favourite terroir and why?
We're not the actual winemakers and we won't pretend to be experts on this topic. The culmination of terroir, age of vines, the drought, farming practices and winemaking are all beyond what we'll ever be able to comprehend and we are just always very much in awe of what our wines have delivered in terms of being treated in a minimalist intervention way. The Cabernet Franc has truly been interesting as it went through a dip that people attribute to when a vineyard is converted to biodynamic and since we released the first 2014 vintage, the quality of the wine has been on the up each year. The Ou Treffer, being from old vines, have truly stood head and shoulders above a lot of other Cinsaut vineyards at harvest this year; it didn't yield much, but the quality was exceptional.
Favourite varietal to work with and why?
Cinsaut is probably the favourite as it makes all the difference in our Kreatuur blend. Also because of the market having woken up to its capabilities. Speaking from the view of a buyer/consumer, we don't see it trumping Pinot Noir in complexity, but it's a more consistent return on investment when you buy a bottle you don't know. Pinot Noir is more of a hit or miss in what you'll get and Cinsaut more consistently delivers really nice drinking wines. Again, it's so hard to talk about wine without having enough context, but this comment relates to wines sold in South Africa below R300 and this is where we are positioned. We also find that in tastings of old wines, going as far back as the 70's, Cinsaut and Pinotage (being a Cinsaut half-bred) wines really age well.
Aspirational South African wine - which wines do you look up to and emulate in your own winemaking?
The wines that we felt opened our eyes to what we'd like to see more of in South Africa were probably the very first Sadie family Ouwingerdreeks Soldaat Grenache and Pofadder Cinsaut. We always felt there was something to lighter and fresher Italian wines that was amiss in the South African market 10-15 years ago. There are now a lot of wines that we look up to and although we gravitate towards the lighter reds, we wholly appreciate other wines like the Kaapzicht Steytler range which we believe can compete with the best in the world. Or South African MCC, which is also world-class and mostly underpriced in the International arena.
How many bottles of each are produced and where do you sell the majority? In SA or abroad?
The production is 'klein'. 900 bottles Ou Treffer Cinsaut, 1300 bottles Knapsekêrel Cabernet Franc, 3000 bottles Kreatuur. We currently have one importer in the UK, Red Squirrel wines. Red Squirrel seeks to sell native and unique wines, so our wines work in their portfolio. Currently only SA and UK.
How does one go from labels to wine? A natural progression of things given your association with the industry?
We weren't avid wine drinkers when we started Fanakalo. We were really still wet behind the ears and started Fanakalo when we were 25. Eben and Adi were in the Paardeberg, but the Swartland Revolution hadn't happened yet. Chris Alheit was still an assistant winemaker working with Merlot. Blank Bottle wines were still labels designed in Microsoft Word and only grannies drank Gin. The journey that Fanakalo has been on has been one of learning and discovery for us and we were very fortunate in being schooled by a lot of the forward thinkers in the industry as we know it now. In that same sense we never intended to grow De Kleine Wijn Koöp into a business and it still is a passion project where we put out wines that are wines that we would gladly drink ourselves if we can't sell them.
Though I have a feeling they won't have to...
