I realised something at the recent Polo International event: relationships are everything. The relationship between players on the same team, between the rider and horse or between the horse and trainer. I thought that this simple principle of mutual benefit must apply to all walks of life. It certainly applies in the winery.

For one, the relationship between the winemaker and fruit grower is crucial. If I went to the vineyards and my grapes looked like the testicles of a mummified Egyptian king, I’d be mad. But with hard work and dedication, you can rather get a product that compares to the breasts of a Danish mermaid.

The relationship between the winemaker and his crew is also very important. You have to be sensitive to the morale of your team, because they are your tongue and nose in the workplace. In fact, they work just as hard as you do in creating that special feeling of accomplishment when you taste your wines and think, “damn, this isn’t a job, how could drinking wine at 6AM be work?” Believe you me, after the Polo International and going into the winery and tasting all our wines, it was probably the first time that I considered this as work. “Oh you sweet alcoholic indulgence, how could you mistreat me like this in the morning, after I was so good to you the night before? You’re probably still mad at me for slaying so many of your brethren!”

The next key relationship is between the winemaker and the wine. You have to treat wine with respect (or you’re in for the untameable feeling of a carnival ride). You have to watch it, take care of it, and never let your finger slip off the pulse of craftsmanship. The odds of screwing up a good wine through negligence are quite good, but if you look after your wine, the rewards will always be worth the effort. As they say in the movie Girl Next Door, you have to know if the juice is worth the squeeze. We only do wild fermentation, which is very risky, but if you walk the extra mile and ensure that your baby stays healthy, you’ll end up with something magical, like Anne Hathaway, rather than a Macaulay Culkin or Britney Spears.

Another crucial element is the relationship between the drinker, you, and the wine. You have to understand what the wine has gone through to get to you. It starts at the vine, then to the picker to the winery, and then through the crusher, into tanks, through fermentation, into the barrels and through malolacticfermentation. Finally it’ll get some rest for about 16 months, lying down and waiting for the next step. Then the bomb drops! All wine hell breaks loose! Racking, stabilisation, filtration and bottling. At this point the wine must think, “Is it all over?”, but no, soon it’s time for packaging and shipping to the corners of the world. Unlucky wines will only be drunk in the tasting room, never to see the inside of a warehouse in China.

For me, the most important relationship is the one between me and you, the wine consumer. I want you to understand how I feel about wine. It’s not a job, it is a lifestyle. It’s not a way of escaping, it is a way of relaxing. It is a way of returning to one of the purist forms of drink. I want you to experience the difference in our approach to wine; our simple and natural way of creating something magical.

This is not a statement, this is an invitation.

We received a ton of publicity on the Ryk Neethling wine launch. See below for links to great articles and photos...

Winetimes

FashionJazz

Twistedlifestyle

BIZCOMMUNITY

We held the official launch for the Val de Vie Ryk Neethling wine on 11 February 2011, presented by Vivid Luxury brands and Blackberry. Check out the article below, written by Vivid. For the original article click here.

VIVID organised the VIP launch of Ryk Neethling’s exclusive new Wine at the exquisite Val de Vie Estate on Friday the 11th of February 2011.

The sophisticated black-tie affair, sponsored by BlackBerry, took place in the elegant surroundings of the Polo Club Lounge Bar and Restaurant on the picturesque Winelands estate. Glenfiddich, Tag Heuer and Val de Vie Wine ensured that the ‘Whisky – Wine – Watches’ theme was upheld. And VIPs, celebrities and friends of Ryk, gathered on the exquisite Polo Pavilion where they enjoyed a polo match on Val de Vie’s pristine polo fields before the sun set behind the Simonsberg Mountains. Perfect weather and delicious cocktails were enjoyed with the classic jazz sounds of Haydn & The Hotshots in the background.

As the sun set over the Paarl-Franshhoek Valley, Val de Vie’s Polo Club Restaurant started serving mouthwatering Italian-style canapés, which lasted throughout the evening, and offered guests a selection of Val de Vie’s signature Wines, before reclining in the BlackBerry cigar lounge tasting Glenfiddich’s range of whiskies.

The much anticipated Ryk Neethling Wine was unveiled during Ryk’s speech in which he enthused guests with his passion for the Val de Vie Estate (which he will call home later this year) and the unique Rhône-style wines they make. Val de Vie’s winemaker, Harold Versfeld, was up next, where he talked about how he and Ryk went about blending this easy drinking red blend, spending hours meticulously tasting and mixing and matching until they reached a flawless blend that was to be the new Ryk Neethling blend.

In keeping with Val de Vie’s varietals, the wine is a Rhône-style blend, made up of some of the best Rhône cultivars – 55% Syrah, 18% Carignan, 15% Mourvedre, 7% Grenache and 5% Cinsaut. The production of the wine was limited to only 3000 bottles, and has already been listed in 26 restaurants countrywide.

This stunning new wine fits in perfectly with Val de Vie’s signature Rhône portfolio and was much enjoyed by all at the launch. Guests were further lucky enough to each leave with their own bottle of Ryk Neethling to take home and enjoy.

I’m not a particularly huge fan of Crowded House, but one thing is for sure:  you always take the weather with you. We, unlike our vines, can move to the seaside where it’s cooler, or to the river where you have plenty of water, or put on a nice round hat and sunscreen, almost as if you were at the cricket. All of these factors (minus the cricket) have a great influence on what quality of wine year we’re going to have.

This has been quite an erratic wine growing season, with sporadic showers one day and dry-out-the-spit-in-your-mouth heat the next. There is absolutely nothing that we as wine growers and makers can do about it. And so the weather has been strange all over the show. All of a sudden there’s rain in Beaufort West and the three big dams in the Vaal area have exceeded their capacity! That is something that hasn’t happened in quite a while! The wind has been strange too – never just a fresh breath of air. It's either kite surfing weather, or it feels like an asthmatic mouse blowing at you through a straw – nonexistent. So you either have a drying effect, or a heating effect.

But if I put my mindless barking at the moon aside, and think about it, this has actually been a great year for wine, apart from the lack of cold units (I won’t bore you with science and details). We have had rain at the right times, we are having a warm ripening period, and thus far we are disease-free (touch wood!). So if you are into gambling but you’re tired of horses, cards, roulette, or even betting on who’s going to win the Oscar, just start making wine. The only difference is that with gambling you may have skills that could influence your outcome, like counting cards or injecting horses with steroids. With wine, there’s nothing you can do about it. All you can do is let nature take its course. And we believe that is the way wine should be made, Au Natural!

Have you ever tried cheating the weather?

I honestly have no how idea how to start with my first newsletter. How do you introduce yourself through an email without looking like a serial spammer?! But here we go…

My name is Harold, and I am the newest addition to the wine works at Val de Vie. 5 months have passed since starting here, and man, this is awesome!!! We have so many new and interesting projects, I feel like a kid in a cookie shop!

Firstly we had Ryk Neethling joining our team. He helps us with blending, is a shareholder, and by me knowing him, gives me a lot more “street cred” than I deserve (apparently credit is too long to say). His wine has been bottled, and will be released soon! We’ve decided to involve you with the pricing of the wine.  We’re planning to send you some wine, you decide what this wine is worth to you, and you pay us that amount (if you’re keen of course!) Simple enough… By doing this, we will know where to price this wine. Of course, depending on what you pay, I’ll decided what to send you next time...

Secondly, we launched two new white wines. The Polo Club Sauvignon Blanc, a fresh and vibrant wine with the best of both world flavours. Not overpowering green, or diabetically sweet with tropical flavours. Balance is the key to this popular wine from Durbanville. Now, the Polo Club Filly. This blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc is the health conscious person's dream! It’s lower in alcohol, 10.5% (now you can drink 2 bottles rather than 2 glasses), lower in calories (now you can drink 2 bottles rather than 2 glasses), and lower in sulphur (now you can drink for 2 weeks in a row rather than 2 days).

Summer holiday is upon us, and I’m sure you don’t want to leave you braai unattended. So we will deliver straight to your doorstep, anywhere in the country.

Drop me a mail if you are interested in buying some of our wines, or if you need advice/want to know more about wine, or if you need somebody to join you for a glass of wine.

I look forward to your immediate response!