Plan A was simple. There was only going to be one wine: a red. An everyday, rule-breaking, punchline kinda wine – a friend had joked that the maiden vintage had so many varietals (12) they basically had the whole alphabet from A to Zinfandel in there.
Then came Plan B. David Cope (the man who made wine cool again, according to wine.co.za’s 40 under 40 and of Publik wine bar fame) was adamant that Alphabetical was a red wine full stop no questions asked… until The Magical Verdelho. Having a reputation for finding and buying grapes he wasn’t necessarily supposed to, it’s no surprise that David gave in to the alluring whispers of The Magical Verdelho. However, still eager to carry on with Plan A, The Magical Verdelho was to become… not Alphabetical. Instead, David created a wine called Dirty Julie. But when The Magical Verdelho mysteriously went missing the following year (case file still open), grinding Dirty Julie to a temporary halt, David considered his appetites for his own whites sufficiently piqued and his arm sufficiently bent. There would be an Alphabetical Vin Blanc.
Now, a few more letters down, the most complex wine of the lot has joined: Alphabetical Vin Rosé. Far from being an afterthought or classic pink “porch-pounder”, its 12 months in 300L barrels has made it the most serious of the three. Take that stereotypes.
Alphabetical has been an evolution. From David’s need to finally have a product of his own rather than just writing about other people’s (he used to work in advertising…turns out he wasn’t one for going corporate), to whittling down the 12 grape varieties to a streamlined 5, it’s now matured into a family business with David’s wife Donné joining the Alphabetical ranks.
However, despite the amount of letters Alphabetical travels down, two things have always stayed constant. The first, is that this is a passion project – and passion has no time for stale rules or safe roads. Alphabetical isn’t about tradition or doing what’s “right” because the people “in the know” say it’s so. It’s about drinking it the way you like it, be out of a tumbler or a plastic cup. It’s anti-establishment, leave your pretentions at the door kinda stuff. In exchange, they only ask one thing: be bold. Don’t be afraid to try new things or unknown cultivars. The second, is the people. Where most producers choose their grapes based on site (and other factors, but let’s not get bogged down by the technical), Alphabetical chooses its grapes based on relationships: growers they’ve connected with, through winemakers they admire, or through trusted introductions. It’s about gut, not prestige.
So round up your nearest and dearest. Cook something your grandmother used to make, break out your Cards Against Humanity decks and open two bottles of Alphabetical or four. Mismatched glasses encouraged.
