Sowetan's wine and dine expert Len Maseko chats to master wine-maker Tariro Masayiti

NEDERBURG has been chosen as the Winery of the Year in the Platter South African Wine Guide, with an unprecedented five of its wines earning five-star ratings in the 2011 edition.

The accolade is given "in recognition of a wine growing team who are ambassadors par excellence for South African wine".

• Nederburg wines honoured with five-star ratings are:
• 2009 Ingenuity White, the third vintage in succession to earn a Platter five-star rating;
• 2007 Ingenuity Red, Nederburg's Italian blend;
• 2009 Winemaster's Reserve Noble Late Harvest;
• 2009 Edelkeur sold exclusively on the Nederburg Auction;
• 2009 Private Bin D253 Sauvignon Blanc/Chardonnay.

Nederburg's hugely popular 2010 Foundation Lyric was voted Platter's "Superquaffer".

Cellarmaster Razvan Macici says: "Earning the title of Platter's 2011 Winery of the Year is the most fantastic way of marking my first decade on the farm. It is a true tribute to the collective efforts of the team. We have made expression of terroir a priority and have tried to produce consistently delicious, well-balanced wines."

Macici works - among others - with Tariro Masayiti, who makes the white wines under his direction. Following are questions posed to Tariro and his response.

Len: To what would you attribute the latest success of Nederburg wines in the Platter's Guide listing?

Tariro: We have a very thorough and extensive infrastructure, starting with a dedicated plant nursery where vine material is propagated for our own vineyards and our supplier growers. We have a team of viticulturists working very closely with all our growers. We plan our wines in the vineyard, matching viticultural practice and management with the intended wines and to give us precisely the quality of fruit we are looking for. We also have a very well-equipped cellar that allows us to simultaneously focus on mainstream and niched, connoisseur wines. And most importantly, we apply the same assiduous attention to detail in the case of every wine we make.

Len: What has been particularly challenging to you, making the Ingenuity or Manor House range?

Tariro: They are both very challenging but for different reasons. The Ingenuity blends give us enormous scope for innovation and creativity, while the Manor House collection of varietal wines is about optimal varietal expression. With Ingenuity our goal is to extend taste possibilities and with Manor House we are trying to reflect the very best varietal characteristics of the fruit in a multi-faceted way.

Len: With so many different white wines in the Nederburg range, are you personally involved in the making of all of them?

Tariro: Yes, but we have a strong team with everyone giving of their best.

Len: You're always teased about being a black white winemaker, is it your ambition to venture into the reds in future?

Tariro: My ambition is to keep on improving. There is still so much scope for me in terms of what I am currently doing.

Len: How do you see your future in the wine industry; in other words, what is the next level in terms of your career projections?

Tariro: If I look back I never could have imagined some of the exciting projects in which I am involved today. I believe that there will be future projects beyond my current imagining. I think there is still so much opportunity for me to grow and learn and express that in the wines I make. I would also like to find ways of bringing more people into our industry, not just in terms of career opportunities but as far as consumers are concerned, to make wine more engaging for them.

Len: What are the challenges of making single-varietal wines such as the Manor House range, for which there's deliberate strategy to source grapes of the same year from different farms?

Tariro: Using fruit from a variety of vineyards, each with its own specific fruit profile, allows you to make multi-dimensional wines that are exciting and interesting to make and hopefully exciting and interesting to drink.

Len: The idea behind the Ingenuity wine range (creating a range comprising multi-varietal blends) was rather ingenious. Was it your idea? With hindsight, what has making this range taught you?

Tariro: When you blend across varieties you create a whole new spectrum of flavours. There's a huge thrill in the challenge to bring them together in a way that expresses their compatibility but also with a certain tension that makes for complexity and intriguing drinking. If I think of Ingenuity White, made from eight varieties, it keeps on revealing new aspects of itself every time you encounter it. When you taste the first sip, it offers crisp fresh fruit. The next sip gives rich complexity. A third sip might suggest a whiff of citrus character. It is a demanding wine in that it deserves your attention. It is also fantastically versatile with food.

Len: Which varietal tends to bring the best out of you, the one that you're passionate about?

Tariro: Sauvignon blanc is the variety for me that speaks most clearly of its origins and the way it is handled in the cellar. It's also a grape you cannot hide behind. Some people say it is the easiest grape to understand but that belies its many nuances and possibilities. You have to approach it with humility and then it gives of its best.