Lars Maack says the farm was offered to his family over drinks in a pub, for about the price of a double garage in Germany. Today Buitenverwachting, known in the US as Bayten, is one of the best-known Sauvignon Blanc estates in Constantia.
Recorded in the vineyards at Buitenverwachting, on the back slopes of Table Mountain, Matt Weiss talks with Lars Maack, who took over the estate from his parents in his twenties. Lars explains how the farm moved from Riesling to Sauvignon Blanc, how his family found cuttings when apartheid had closed South Africa off, and how the Atlantic and Indian Oceans keep Constantia cool enough for Sauvignon Blanc while its warm winters trouble Chardonnay. He compares Constantia and New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, shares his favorite seafood pairings, and makes the case for opening a meal with dessert wine and salty food. He also tells the story of Constantia's sweet wine, once prized by Europe's royal courts, and how the region lost its winemaking before replanting began in the 1980s. The conversation closes with his son stepping into the day-to-day running of the farm, home to the families who work it.
Buitenverwachting means "beyond expectation" in old Dutch. The estate was once part of Simon van der Stel's original Constantia farm, and the Mueller family revived it in the early 1980s.
Mentioned: Buitenverwachting Sauvignon Blanc, Beyond, the 1769, Chenin Blanc, Riesling, Chardonnay, Sancerre, Marlborough, Franschhoek, the Cloete family, Groot Constantia, Klein Constantia, Vin de Constance, Simon van der Stel, Muscat de Frontignan, Muscat d'Alexandrie, phylloxera, the Dutch East India Company, Napoleon, Kanonkop, kingklip, snoek, Table Mountain, Stellenbosch, Cape Classics.
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Buitenverwachting: buitenverwachting.com
Instagram: @buitenverwachtingwinetasting
The Wine Centric Show: winecentricshow.com