Being one of the wineries where my love of da vino, began, I have always had a soft spot for Fairview. Though when I first visited the farm 30 years ago nobody would have guessed that the joint would turn into the mammoth and diverse enterprise it is today.
If you are not being stared at by a goat perching on some wooden steps leading up a tower, you are shoving a chunk of cheese in your mouth. Fairview’s wine-tasting area must be the most accommodating, in the industry: capable of handling hundreds of visitors a day in an orderly fashion without looking like a Hong Kong train station.
There are more labels and brands under the Fairview umbrella than there are adjectives in the Platter Wine Guide, and all this is supported by a marketing machine which has ensured the mother brand being marketed in more than 40 countries.
But it’s not just hype. At the heart of Fairview lies some extraordinary wines of great quality without which a successful brand is just not able to survive.
Okay, stop for press release from the farm:
,Fairview lifted a host of prizes at this year’s key international wine awards including gold medals for the Fairview Shiraz 2008 and Spice Route Malabar 2006 at the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, as well as gold for the Cyril Back 2007 at the 2010 Decanter World Wine Awards. Fairview also gathered eleven silver medals from the two competitions, together with the recent International Wine Challenge, marking a remarkable success for the family-run business based in Paarl.
,The awards are a testament to the hard work of winemakers Anthony de Jager, who manages the Fairview label, and Charl du Plessis responsible for Spice Route, and their respective teams. Production of consistently award winning wines and a maverick approach to brand building has allowed the company to achieve continued success into 2010, despite tough economic times.
,Comments Charles Back of the latest accolades, “We are selective about the small number of competitions we enter, as the opinions we most value are those of our consumers. However being judged as producing great wine by international experts makes me very proud of our wine making teams and their outstanding contribution to the company’s success.”
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,Okay, that’s all very nice and well-deserved. Fairview has always been one of the leaders in Shiraz, bringing together classical Boland power and New World fruit-driven juiciness. The Cyril Back is ?+¦-+???+¦-ú?-¦?+¦-ú?+¦+¦ along with the Jordan 2003 ?+¦-+???+¦-ú?-¦?+¦-ú?+¦+¦ my benchmark for South African Shiraz.
One must not, however, forget about the action on the white side. Here there are some real ballsy wines, styles of which have inspired the Nouveau Sexy Swartland set. Think the Oom Pagel S+¬millon with its dusty dried peach and waxy notes. Fairview Viognier has also shown the way in, a grape which whilst fashionable, has caused a few bumped heads in the local wine industry.
But bumped heads are not an issue if you’re wearing horns.
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