Under the Influence of the Soil - Eben Sadie

Under the Influence was inspired by an earlier course topic for the wine ensembles and decided to go and investigate soil a bit closer.

To record findings we worked with a film crew who tried their best to shoot us from complimentary angles. They failed in this quest!

At just after 5 in the morning we piled into a vintage Valiant and hit the road with as the sun rose above the Simonsberg mountains. Our first "cellar of call" was Eben Sadie's in the Paardeberg. Eben is world renowned not only for his wines but for his philosophy and pure understanding of wine making.

He gave us a tour of his cellar and answered questions on what soil does for flavour. The soil in his area is granite rich and he thinks that this contributes some of the berry flavours unique to the area. The soils are also very dry and the vines have to struggle to put their roots down and seek nutrients. This creates great concentration in the berries and the intense flavours that the regions wines are renowned for. Eben gave us a favoured quote that "one or two degrees of temperature don't make the difference between Petrus and Plonk!" In other words, soil has a massive influence on the quality of a wine, as illustrated by massive price and quality differences within the space of a few metres in France.

Our trip continued to Waterford Wine Estate and an update on this superb experience will follow in due course. In the meantime, we highly recommend making an appointment to visit Eben on their farm.

Under the Influence of Deloitte

Under the Influence had the great pleasure of conducting a wine and spirits tasting with a difference for the newly formed Under the Influence Deloitte Wine Club. Guests were welcomed to the Event with a beautiful glass of bubbly served in crystal stemware, which set the tone for a great evening.

The Under the Influence team soon demonstrated that fine wine does not necessarily have to be a difficult or boring topic to learn. All you need to explain fermentation is a group of willing people holding hands!

We had to teach a certain degree of civility amongst the novice wine drinkers, particularly the back right table, so a quick course on how to hold a glass was conducted. All of this took place before tasting a range of South Africa's top wines.

These included the De Toren Fusion V, DDS Shiraz and Hamilton Russell Pinot Noir. The evening continued as we compared bourbon and Scotch whisky by cracking open bottles of Blantons Single Barrel and Compass Box Oak Cross, two innovative and world renowned distilleries.

All in all we were mightily impressed by the focus and attention span of the Deloitte team, what a credit to this fine organisation. We are looking forward to our next tasting with the team as we explore some tequilas perhaps?

Email info@undertheinfluence.co.za for more info!