An interview with our second collaboration winemaker, Angus Paul
One of the biggest challenges we face in building Wasted Wine Club is the sourcing of the wines that we bottle. Thus far, we've stumbled upon opportunities via friends and colleagues who we've been introduced to, and who have been as excited about the idea of working with surplus wine in a creative and sustainable way as we have. We came across Angus Paul and his epic wines in this very way, and we couldn't be happier with how the second collaboration came out. Our founder Angelo van Dyk caught up with him at the Karibib wine cellar in Stellenbosch.
Angelo van Dyk: Can you tell us where you are currently based?
Angus Paul: Karibib Wine Craft, Polkadraai Road, Stellenbosch. My grapes mostly come from Stellenbosch.
AVD: What is it about wine that inspires you to make it?
AP: It doesn't make sense that such a simple thing - a grape - can make something so interesting and varying in flavour. It's truly mystical. I think humans have always appreciated that, which is why wine shares our history beat for beat; it's always there, sharing a space in our most spiritually revered circles.
'It doesn't make sense that such a simple thing - a grape - can make something so interesting and varying in flavour. It's truly mystical.'
AVD: Do you feel that sustainable agriculture is possible in a South African context, given how few farmers are embracing it. And what do you think the future of sustainable agriculture looks like?
AP: Depends on what sustainable means. Organic isn't sustainable if the farmers make no money. Grape prices are kak, there's no money in it unless you can put it in a bottle. I think everyone (or most people) want to go in the 'sustainable' direction, but aren't financially there yet (or not being forced to yet by legislation or public demand). If South Africa continues seeing rising demand for its wines and we can improve our bottle prices locally, I think a lot of farmers/ winegrowers will make the change. I can't speak for other areas of agriculture.
AVD: What do you foresee being some of the challenges that we’ll be facing in the coming years surrounding wine production and grape growing?
AP: Beyond the obvious issues of climate change, our economy and youthful teetotalling, I think wine itself is in a bit of an identity crisis. With the glut of information, opinions, styles, and all-round high quality, consumers are less convinced than ever what is worth spending money on. It used to be luxury, first-growth wines vs. commodity wines, now the spectrum is full of everything you could ever want... but too much of everything is sometimes the same as nothing. Do we dizzy the world with so much wine & wine opinions that there's no such thing as good or bad, just one opinion vs another? I prefer the former.
AVD: Do you think the wine industry can contribute to and impact how we approach the general idea of sustainability?
AP: Yeah, a little bit.
'Wine was never a commercial product anyway. Pull the vineyards out, and plant more apples. Less wine, but more better wine, is far more preferable to the inverse.'
AVD: How do you think we could better engage our audiences on topics surrounding sustainability in the wine industry?
AP: Get them interested in wine in general. The rest will come. Two ways to make someone do something: force them, or make it easier than the alternative. If people love wine, they'll pay more for good farming practices. If there's not enough of these people to support all the wine in the world turning sustainable, then so be it. Wine was never a commercial product anyway. Pull the vineyards out, and plant more apples. Less wine, but more better wine, is far more preferable to the inverse.
