'I couldn’t imagine doing anything else with my life. Winemaking isn't a nine-to-five job; it’s a lifestyle. I literally eat, sleep and breathe it.' For Pieter Ferreira, winemaking is all heart.
Vintage 28
And to think the man wanted to be a dentist! While waiting for acceptance to study dentistry, the 'surfer dude' born in Durban studied microbiology, plant biology, and economics at Pretoria Technikon instead. Thankfully he wasn't accepted for dentistry, ending up back in Durban at the Citrus Board in the early 1980s.
'There was wine at home when I was growing up. Dad was a distributor for Stellenbosch Farmers' Winery in the 1970s, handling famous brands like Bellingham, Boschendal, and Kanonkop. I first met Jan ‘Boland’ Coetzee [legendary Springbok flanker and former Kanonkop winemaker] playing “barman” as a 15-year-old at one of Dad’s functions for the Maties touring team!'
In 1984 a friend of Pieter's father, an early shareholder in Achim von Arnirn's specialist sparkling wine property Clos Cabrière in Franschhoek, said Von Arnim needed a winemaker and literally put the young man on a plane to Cape Town.
He was offered the job, despite no winemaking qualifications. 'I was so unsure that, on the way back to the airport, I popped in at Vriesenhof to ask Jan for advice. He just said: "It doesn't matter. It’s an experience that counts. Take the job.'
Seven vintages with maverick, colorful Prussian Baron Von Arnim involved Pieter in the planting of mountainside vineyards, the hewing of a submerged hillside cellar, and the creation of the Pierre Jourdan range of Cap Classiques, pioneering local bubblies à la méthode champenoise in the 1980s.
'I've always respected Champagne for what it is, but I think Cap Classique is a beautiful alternative.'
In April 1990, Jan, the man Pieter calls his 'guru', was back. The redoubtable Graham Beck, coal-mining magnate, yacht-building tycoon, owner of racehorse studs in Kentucky (USA) and Robertson (SA), was getting into wine. Not any old wine; classic sparkling wine and in an area not known for it at all. Said Jan in characteristically sententious style: 'You're the man.'
Pieter didn't hesitate. 'I enjoy challenges. People in the industry laughed when they heard all about our plans for making bubbly in Robertson.'
The avant-garde design of the colorful Graham Beck winery out in the rugged Rooiberg veld, decorated with wife Rhona Beck's adored Edoardo Villa outdoor sculpture, was nearly as much a talking point as the champion Cap Classique sparkling wines Pieter started making.
Beef fillet with polenta and salsa verde recipe by Pieter Ferreira paired with The Ridge Syrah wine....
Seared salmon with olive oil and caramelised vinegar dressing recipe by Pieter Ferreira....