Cape Town - You could call it luck, but sports, tourism and wine have conspired handsomely for Edwin Doran, a London-based Irish businessman with a love for wine and all things South African.
In July 1974, Doran set up a travel business in Twickenham which grew into the world’s largest sports tour operator. Nearly 35 years later, Doran sold his stock-market-listed company Tui Travel in 2008, and paid a visit to his long-time friend André Badenhorst, a Constantia wine route pioneer, in Simon’s Town. There, while enjoying the best of South Africa – braai, company, sunshine and wine – he realised that what he actually now wanted was a wine farm.
But fools rush in, and the friends, who’d known each other since 1992, took their time. Two years later, at the age of 64, when most businessmen would be thinking of taking it easy, playing golf and travelling the world, Doran and Badenhorst entered into a R40-million partnership, buying an estate in the Voor Paardeberg outside Paarl – so far west that it borders the Swartland.
For “two old buggers having fun” – their words, not mine – Doran Family Vineyards became the name of the new venture, with a cellar developed in the farm’s former milking shed.
While Doran is based in London and travels to South Africa four times a year, Badenhorst is tasked with building up the farm and its 50ha of vines, herd of Aberdeen Angus cattle, Egyptian geese, blue cranes, chickens and a prized flock of Île-de-France sheep – which he also races. (Proceeds from the race are donated to the local SPCA.)
On the last Saturday of every month, they host a sheep race for charity.
Badenhorst must have a fair amount of wine coursing through his veins, having been born on Groot Constantia to a wine family. His father, Japie, had become the 300-year-old property’s manager at the age of just 16, and stayed in that position for 46 years, while Badenhorst himself started his winemaking career in Constantia at Buitenverwachting and launched Constantia Uitsig.
Badenhorst’s son, Adi, is himself a renowned producer behind the AA Badenhorst and Secateurs labels, from Kalmoesfontein in the Swartland, in partnership with his cousin, Hein.
Adi, one of the Swartland maverick winemakers and founding member of the Swartland Revolution, also started early in the game. Jean Daneel, then the winemaker at Buitenverwachting, allowed him to make his first wine at the age of 13.
While they were scouting for properties, André Badenhorst, who was one of the first winemakers to blend premium white wines, was seriously impressed with the wines coming out of Paarl, and realised that the area was well positioned to produce premium wines.
For their 2012 vintage, they brought on board young winemaker Martin Lamprecht, who came “strongly recommended” by his former employer, David Nieuwoudt of Cederberg.
Together, they’re producing top-drawer wines at less-than-premium prices. Over dinner recently at a divine little tapas restaurant in the Post Box Centre in Illovo, I realised that Doran was selling himself short, because their wines over-deliver in quality for the price point.
The economics of selling wine cheaply, for a small producer, only makes sense if you consider the export market, and Doran admits that much of his wine sells abroad.
For the fourth time this year, their product has been recognised at prestigious wine competitions, with their elegant, fruit-forward 2012 pinotage being awarded a gold medal at the Michelangelo International Wine Awards, and the 2012 shiraz a silver medal.
Then, at the recent International Wine and Spirits Competition in London, they cracked four more: silver for the shiraz 2012 (R75), the chenin blanc 2012 (made from 30-year-old bushvines – about R69), and the Bordeaux The Romy D 2012 (R69); as well as a bronze for the pinotage 2012 (also R69).
Doran winemaker, Lamprecht, Badenhorst’s successor, now produces both the flagship Doran range of three reds, a white and a rosé, and the second-tier Horse Mountain range. The budget-friendly Horse Mountain range includes a chenin-viognier blend (R35) and a fruity, unwooded shiraz (R40). It’s not easy for a new producer to get into the market, which is why keeping prices down – and promoting your estate – are so important. As is offering something different.
At Doran, it’s not only about the wine. Offered once a year, the madcap sheep racing event has become a big attraction in the area, and visitors are encouraged to braai or bring a picnic. For more info, visit www.doranvineyards.co.za
Saturday Star