Sunny Karim, the assistant manager of Simonsig’s tasting room, pours a glass of wine during the estate’s annual Vintage Day celebrated this year on 25 July. PHOTO: Grace Henderson
South Africa’s first Méthode Cap Classique (MCC), a traditional sparkling wine, celebrated 55 years at Simonsig Family Vineyards’ annual Vintage Day.
According to Kyla-Leigh Edwards, Simonsig’s hospitality manager, the day entailed unlocking its vintage wine vaults for the public to venture through a “cellar journey” of its vintage collection. This year was marked by a bubbly anniversary, with Kaapse Vonkel turning 55.
“[Kaapse Vonkel] gave champagne a run for its money,” said Danna de Jongh, an MCC winemaker at Simonsig during the event, on 25 July.
A drink that wasn’t there
The MCC, a method of traditional bottle-fermentation, was first crafted by Frans Malan, the founder of the farm, in 1971. This traditional sparkling wine “created a category [of wine] that wasn’t there before”, said De Jongh.
Although the wine uses the same bottle-fermentation process as champagne, known as Méthode Champenoise, whereby the second fermentation happens inside the bottle, MCC has greater flexibility in the grape varietals used, according to De Jongh.
Gerhardt Olivier, who attended Simonsig’s Vintage Day on 25 July, holding two glasses of Kaapse Vonkel. This category of wine was first introduced in 1971, and was South Africa’s first Méthode Cap Classique. PHOTO: Grace Henderson
According to the trade association for the French wine Comité Champagne’s regulations, champagne must be grown, harvested, and bottled strictly in the Champagne region of north-eastern France.
This is the biggest difference from MCC, which is produced across the Western Cape, said Nathan Valentine, a fellow Simonsig winemaker. The MCC also allows grape varieties like chenin blanc and pinotage, said Valentine.
“People must not get confused – we are not copying champagne,” said Valentine. “We follow the traditional method, which involves adding yeast and sugar before bottling it for a second fermentation that creates fine bubbles. We have a lot more flexibility than champagne.”
Simonsig Family Vineyards was established by Frans Malan in 1968. A few years later, Malan pioneered South Africa’s first bottle-fermented sparkling wine, Kaapse Vonkel. PHOTO: Grace Henderson
Johan Malan, the son of Frans Malan, went on to establish the Cap Classique Producer Association (CCPA) in 1992, intended to protect the category’s name, promote local sparkling wines, and to set quality standards, said De Jongh.
“South Africa has created its own world of sparkling,” said Sunny Karim, the assistant manager of Simonsig’s tasting room.
Gerhardt Olivier, a 2024 Stellenbosch University (SU) graduate in BCom (Actuarial Science) and wine enthusiast, noted the impact of the MCC’s invention for South African wine.
“It revolutionised the wine industry – we were put on the international map,” said Olivier. “I think it also proved that our terroir could produce just as complex wines as our European competitors.”
According to Olivier, terroir is a term that encompasses a set of environmental factors, such as climate, soil, and geography, which influences the “ characteristic taste” of a wine.