The declaration "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times" opens A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. It also sums up the SA wine scene today.

Octogenarian Michael "Spatz" Sperling says it's the worst he's seen in 60 years in the Cape. Sperling is no Chardonnay Cassandra; 40 years ago he started the nation's first wine route in Stellenbosch, and his Delheim brand has been consistently in the vanguard of quality ever since.

He made his comments in his barrel cellar, converted into a makeshift cathedral for a performance of the Argentinian folk mass, Misa Criolla, by the SA Youth Choir with all R32 000 in proceeds going to Stellenbosch Child Welfare. The street music of Buenos Aires was given a South African twist through Zulu drums, a trekklavier (accordion) and the ethnic diversity of the choristers.

Sperling reckons South African wine faces the biggest crisis since the chronic overproduction of the 1920s, which led to the formation of the KWV, a national co-operative and an institution that, ironically, seems to be in the process of imploding.

The CEO resigned "with immediate effect" last month.

Stellenbosch councillor Pietman Retief agrees that co-ops are again the way forward. He says the current management structure via a trust does not work "as there is no individual accountability. Farmers were saved by co-ops after the Boer War and we're investigating replacing the trust with a co-op so that successful farmers like Jan Boland Coetzee can get involved and help out".

The best of times argument was advanced at a tasting of 51 of the 159 wines being offered at the Nederburg Auction in September. The tasting was held on Madiba's birthday and presenter Duimpie Bayly announced that the deliberations counted as 67 minutes of community service.

The whites, in particular, were the finest I've tasted in two decades. From a terroir lesson taught by no fewer than eight 2009 vintage Sauvignons Blanc to a wonderfully creamy blend of Sauvignon and Sémillion from the bottomless palette of Mr Nederburg, Razvan Macici, they rocked, while the Chardonnays were also a highlight.

The reds were patchier, but then they were mostly made a decade ago when SA winemaking had hit a previous rough patch. Told to emulate Australian wine styles, alcohol content shot off the scale and elegance took a back seat. That said, my favourite was Sakkie Kotze's Le Bonheur Prima 2001, a 75:25 blend of Merlot and Cabernet which is the first Stellenbosch umami wine, having a distinct character of spicy ripe tomatoes.

Auction volumes on offer are down 15%, which one wag said was because Ray Edwards, the former head of liquor at Spar and usually the biggest buyer at the auction, retired at the end of July.

• Read Pendock Uncorked at http://blogs.thetimes.co.za/pendock