Developing the city’s wine palate
The Holden Manz Wine Estate is located in Franschhoek in the Western Cape and is an exclusive grower of red wine grapes
POLOKWANE – Wayne Buckley, marketing manager and director of Holden Manz, recently visited Polokwane for the launch of the Holden Manz Polokwane distribution.
He talks about wine in general.
“I grew up in the Cape and I lived in Johannesburg for a few years as well. I have always had a big passion for wine. I was offered an opportunity to be part of the winery, which I grabbed with both hands. In my personal cellar I enjoy Franschhoek wines and focus on boutique wineries in our region” he says.
The winery just started to distribute their elite wine in Limpopo. They only produce 120 000 bottles of wine annually.
“Limpopo is a market which has been neglected by wineries. Larger conglomerate wine merchants retain most of the market here and not much effort has been made by boutique wineries to expose our brands outside of the major cities. We see massive potential in Limpopo and would love to see our brand expand into restaurants, hotels and, obviously, into households.”
As all good wine drinkers know, there are combinations of wine and cheese that go well together. Wayne tells more about this by saying rosé goes very well with salmon, chardonnay is fantastic with lightly spiced fish, red wines are incredible with game meat, duck and steak; and the winery’s Good Sport Dessert wine is perfect with chocolate.
Wine is a social practice which is universal, that is why it is so popular.
Wayne explained that people who know nothing about wine can start by drinking white wine.
“The trick is to try a variety of wines and soon you will evolve and find your preference. To develop your palate, you have to practice with lots of wine tasting. Experiment with different wines. Many people are scared of wine as they think it’s an advanced aspect to know about, you will be surprised how quickly you can evolve your palate.”
Wayne says the difference between a corked and capped wine is that cork is best for wines that age while screw caps are best for wines made to be drunk soon after being bought.
“For cleansing your palate, savory biscuits or cheese is always a winner.”
