Welgemeend Soopjeshoogte, Paarl
Published: 04 Mar 04
Sara Steer finds out how Welgemeend blended a little history and geography into its second label Bordeaux-style wine.
Barrelling along the Old Paarl Road (R101) between Klapmuts and Paarl, with the wind whipping my hair and a 10 ton truck trying its level best to get closely acquainted with my rear bumper, I shot straight past it.
Turning back, I discovered a small blue plaque and a signboard bearing Welgemeend's original name, Soopjeshoogte. According to the faded lettering on the rather incongruous plaque, it was erected by the Simon van der Stel Foundation in commemoration of the construction of "Die Ou Kaapse Hardepad". This was the original road between Cape Town and Paarl, in use from the second half of the 19th century until the national road (N1) was built. As for the name Soopjeshoogte, well there's nothing hoog (high) about the immediate environment (unless you count the molehills)…and who or what was Soopje?
"A Soopje is a tipple," explains Welgemeend cellarmaster Louise Hofmeyr.
As it turns out, Soopjeshoogte was indeed the highest point on the road. In days gone by, it was used by travellers who would stop at Eerste Rus and then at Soopjeshoogte for a tipple on their way from Paarl to Cape Town - a journey that could take the whole day and was obviously thirsty work!
Welgemeend's second label Bordeaux blend was dubbed Soopjeshoogte when it was first released 12 years ago.
"I always thought it's a pity it's not a nicer name to call a wine. But then I realised the connotation is quite apt. A lot of people like it and now it's affectionately called Soopjes," Hofmeyr explains.
Her father Billy purchased the farm in 1974 with the dream of founding a South African Bordeaux blend. In the early days he remained a full-time land surveyor while his wife Ursula tended the vineyards. They produced the first Bordeaux blend in South Africa in 1979. Then simply called Welgemeend, the wine was a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot. The name was later changed to Estate Reserve.
In 1992 a second label Bordeaux blend called Soopjeshoogte was introduced with the aim of improving the quality of the Estate Reserve. "Initially the Soopjes was produced in very small quantities - just the wine we didn't feel comfortable bottling as the Estate Reserve," she says.
The word Soopjeshoogte is a guaranteed tongue-twister for most foreigners, as is the name of the estate. "But I don't want to change it," says Hofmeyr. "I'm very pro having SA flavour and staying true to our heritage. All these new names sound too Australian."