The Sadie Family is a
South African producer of
wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
located in the
Swartland
The Swartland is a region of Western Cape Province that begins some north of Cape Town and consists of the area between the towns of Malmesbury in the south, Darling in the west, Piketberg in the north, Moorreesburg in the middle and the Riebee ...
region. Following the emergence of flagship wines Columella and Palladius, winemaker Eben Sadie has been described as an ', South Africa's first certified celebrity winemaker, and by supporters as "one of the greatest and most original winemakers in the southern hemisphere". He has also branched out to other wine regions, such as in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
.
[Goode, Jamie, wineanorak.co]
The wines of Sadie Family
/ref>[Robinson, Jancis, jancisrobinson.com (11 August 2009)]
The virtues of blending
/ref>
History
Prior to his career as a winemaker, following a period as a surfer,Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
and Burgundy
Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...
.[ Having returned to South Africa, Sadie found work under Charles Back at The Spice Route in 1998,][Apple, R.W., ''The New York Times'' (22 April 1998)]
A South African Black On a Road Never Traveled
/ref> eventually becoming the chief winemaker and a resource Back described as "national asset for the South African wine industry".
The solo venture The Sadie Family was founded in 1999.[Atkin, Tim, decanter.com (8 June 2009)]
Interview with Eben Sadie
/ref> The initial vintage of Columella in 2000 began on an exceptionally small scale, with a production of 17 barrels, approximately 5000 bottles.[ The first two vintages were produced at Back's Spice Route facilities until Sadie established Sadie Family Wines with R9000 (US$), and 14 barrels. The company consists of three employees, in addition to Eben Sadie, his brother and sister.][Yarrow, Alder, vinography.com (3 October 2008)]
Sadie Family Wines, Swartland, South Africa
/ref> The initial vintage of the Palladius was in 2002 with a production of seven barrels, just under 2000 bottles.
The Sadie Family has enjoyed success beyond any other modern South African wine producer as Columella is the most highly rated South African wine, and the only to achieve a 95-point rating by US wine magazine ''Wine Spectator
''Wine Spectator'' is an American lifestyle magazine that focuses on wine and wine culture, and gives out ratings to certain types of wine. It publishes 15 issues per year with content that includes news, articles, profiles, and general entertain ...
''.[James, Tim, ''Grape'' (27 September 2009)]
Columella glows in starlight
/ref> In defense of Columella's high retail price per bottle, Sadie states the wine is unusually costly to make.
Sequillo Cellars
Since 2003, the label Sequillo Cellars was started by Eben Sadie in partnership with Cornel Spies, to some degree considered The Sadie Family's more affordable second wine
Second wine or second label ( French: ''Second vin'') is a term commonly associated with Bordeaux wine to refer to a second label wine made from '' cuvee'' not selected for use in the ''Grand vin'' or first label. In some cases a third wine or e ...
s.[
Eben Sadie stopped producing this wine in 2014. He is now focusing on The Sadie Family Wines exclusively.
]
Terroir al Límit
Eben Sadie was also involved with Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
wine producer Terroir Al Límit in the village of Torroja in Priorat
Priorat () is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain. The central part of the comarca, "Priorat històric," produces the highly regarded wines that are certified under the DOQ Priorat. Wines from elsewhere in the comarca are certified as DO M ...
, Catalonia
Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy.
Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...
. This was a joint collaboration with Dominik A. Huber and viticulturist Jaume Sabaté.
Production
Sadie sources Syrah
Syrah (), also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In 1999, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeuse B ...
and Mourvèdre
Mourvèdre (also known as Mataro or Monastrell) is a red wine grape variety grown in many regions around the world including the Rhône and Provence regions of France, the Valencia and Jumilla and Yecla ''denominaciones de origen'' (DOs) of Sp ...
from various ' located in the Voor-Paardeberg ward of the inland Paarl
Paarl (; Afrikaans: ; derived from ''Parel'', meaning "pearl" in Dutch) is a town with 112,045 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the third-oldest city and European settlement in the Republic of South Africa (after ...
district,[Molesworth, James, ''Wine Spectator'' (30 April 2009).]
Diversity and Value
/ref> in total covering 48 separate parcels. Biodynamically produced, the grape yield average is extremely low, 1.2 pounds per vine
A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselv ...
.[Yarrow, Alder, vinography.com (3 October 2008)]
Sadie Family Wines, Swartland, South Africa
/ref> Vineyard pests
Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...
are controlled using a seaweed spray. After, grapes are hand-sorted, stored in open wooden vats, twice daily trampled for a month, and then moved by buckets to a traditional basket press
A winepress is a device used to extract juice from crushed grapes during wine making. There are a number of different styles of presses that are used by wine makers but their overall functionality is the same. Each style of press exerts control ...
. Instead of using pumps to move the wine into barrels, gravity is applied.[
For the flagship wine Columella, there is a blend of Syrah and Mourvèdre from eight different vineyard sites, and for Palladius there is blended Chenin blanc, ]Grenache blanc
Grenache blanc (also known as garnatxa blanca in Catalonia) is a variety of white wine grape that is related to the red grape Grenache. It is mostly found in Rhône wine blends and in northeast Spain. Its wines are characterized by high alcohol ...
, Roussanne
Roussanne is a white wine grape grown originally in the Rhône wine region in France, where it is often blended with Marsanne. It is the only other white variety, besides Marsanne, allowed in the northern Rhône appellations of Crozes-Hermitage ...
, Marsanne
Marsanne is a white wine grape, most commonly found in the Northern Rhône region. It is often blended with Roussanne. In Savoie the grape is known as ''grosse roussette''. Outside France it is also grown in Switzerland (where it is known as ' ...
, Viognier
Viognier () is a white wine grape variety. It is the only permitted grape for the French wine Condrieu in the Rhône Valley.J. Robinson ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pg 754 Oxford University Press 2006 Outside of the Rhôn ...
, Clairette and Chardonnay
Chardonnay (, , ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern French wine, France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from English wine, Englan ...
. There is also produced a bush-vine white varietal
A varietal wine is a wine made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label.The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000.winepros.com.au. ...
wine from Chenin blanc named Mrs Kirsten's Old Vines.
From Sequillo Cellars, there are produced the Sequillo Red and Sequillo White. The red consists of Syrah, Mourvedre and Grenache
Grenache () or Garnacha () is one of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world. Niels Lillelund: ''Rhône-Vinene'' p. 25, JP Bøger – JP/Politikens Forlagshus A/S, 2004. . It ripens late, so it needs hot, dry conditi ...
, and the white is composed from Chenin blanc, Grenache blanc, Viognier, and Roussanne.[
]
References
{{reflist, refs=
[{{citation, title=Vinologue Priorat, author=Miquel Hudin, publisher=]Vinologue
Vinologue is a publisher of an enotourism guidebook series of the same name. It was founded by Miquel Hudin in 2007 with Èlia Varela i Serra as editor and the guides are designed to allow those interested in enotourism to visit "Big Wines from S ...
, isbn=978-0-983-77185-2, year=2015, pages=480, url=http://www.vinologue.com/books/priorat/
External links
The Sadie Family official site
Wineries of South Africa
Economy of the Western Cape