My year of wine: Up close to methode cap classique

20 January 2015 - 02:00 By Jackie May
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Alexis Christodoulou, dressed in jeans, a T-shirt and oversized gumboots, greets me at the garden gate with a big smile.

I had tasted a bottle of his family's handcrafted methode cap classique bought for me at their November open day.

A good one, with fine bubbles and a depth of flavour not always found in our local MCCs, I was keen to see where it was made. (Platter's has given their MCC regular 4.5 star ratings.)

Alexis's father, Nick, bought the small piece of land in Hout Bay he called Ambeloui.

When he, Ann and their four children moved to live in the Cape in 1995 he planted a small vineyard (0.3ha) of chardonnay and pinot noir.

Two years later they had their first harvest and now produce 8000 litres of MCC a year.

The Christodoulous' production, managed by Alexis, happens in a cellar beneath their home, which this year overlooks wheat fields.

''I had to remove the vineyards. They were 19 years old and diseased," says Alexis leading me down the staircase where he is ''racking" or siphoning clean grape juice out of barrels. The pressing of the grapes had happened the previous day, two weeks earlier than normal.

This year's sugar levels reached their optimal level early. Since he can't make MCC from their healthy looking wheat crop, grapes for this year's production were sourced from Elgin and Constantia, areas with similar climatic conditions to theirs.

After the barrel fermentation, juice is left to bottle ferment, some for two years, others for three and the rest for four years.

About 10% of the wine is fermented in wood barrels which is then blended with the bottle fermented MCC. It's during the bottle fermentation that CO2 is produced, causing bubbles which, over time, become infused in the liquid, making the delicious stuff we like to drink.

Most of the production in this cellar is done by hand or using old-looking machinery. There are, for example, riddling racks, where bottles are turned by hand. This process helps bring all the dirt to the top end of the bottle and when the sediment has settled it's removed using the little de-gorging machine.

Held at a careful angle the temporary bottle top is opened and the sediment removed, Alexis tells me. At this stage the bubbly gets corked and packaged. Then boxes are packed ready for cellar day, usually held in November.

This year there will be a second opportunity to buy from Ambeloui Wine Cellar, possibly in March. I'll be back for a glass and a R150 bottle.

  • For the next open day see www.facebook.com/Ambeloui
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