Romanian-born Razvan Macici, Diners Winemaker of the year 2012, must have smiled when he heard the judging category this year was Dessert Wines (unfortified). He grew up in the vineyards of Deaulu Mare in Romania, which is well known for its wines of this style. This was also where Macici started his winemaking career after graduating, with noble late harvest. His late father Mihai’s name is still synonymous with noble late harvest in Romania.

Wine in the blood
“He was one of Romania’s most respected wine personalities,” says Macici of his father. “He was a researcher, winemaker and author of numerous scientific publications and wine books. He was a role model to me in many ways.” His mother Eleanora was as involved in viticulture and his sister Irinel has a masters degree in viticulture and oenology. So it is fair to say winemaking runs in Macici’s blood.

The winemaker says that he doesn’t set out to win awards, but rather to make good wine. “But obviously, it is always an affirmation for all of us as a team when we do get recognised for our efforts.”

One of those efforts took the form of Nederburg’s Private Bin Eminence 2007, a wine made exclusively for sale on the Nederburg auction. Macici also received top honours for two other wines at the awards: the 2010 and 2011 vintages of the Winemaster’s Reserve Noble Late Harvest.

Macici visited South Africa as a young pioneering winemaker in 1994, fell in love with the country and moved here in 1997. He has been the cellar master at Nederburg since 2001. Following another of his mentors, Günter Brözel, he has taken the Nederburg brand from strength to strength.

Dessert wine comeback time
What does Macici look for in a good dessert wine? “The goal is always to achieve complexity and a fine balance between sweetness and acidity. Without acidity, such wines could be overwhelming, cloying and fatiguing. It’s the acidity that keeps them lively.”

Historically, dessert wines have featured in literature and have been served on the tables of Europe’s finest. In recent decades, dessert wines have lost popularity worldwide, but Macici believes that is all changing for the good.

“All over the world there is a growing rediscovery of these wines, and I think it’s starting to happen here, too. And dessert wine doesn’t have to be matched exclusively with dessert. There are wines you can enjoy with main dishes and pâtés, and, of course, with certain cheeses.”

The decline in dessert wine is blamed on the improvement in technology and winemaking for regular dry wines in the 1960s and 70s, while the quality of dessert wines stagnated. Dessert wines were often too sweet and unbalanced.

But Macici believes South Africa is starting to produce great dessert wines locally. Apart from the wines from the Nederburg stable, he would like to celebrate other wines, too. “Like the superb Fleur du Cap dessert wines, the famous Vin de Constance, and some of the delicious local straw wines.”

That the Diners Winemaker of the Year competition identified dessert wines as a category for the first time in its 32-year history says a lot for the future of these wines. And with dedicated winemakers like Razvan Macici at the helm of reviving the popularity of dessert wines, this may be the summer to uncork a chilled bottle with a luscious fruit topped pavlova, or a platter of local cheeses and pâtés.

By JD Haasbroek

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