LIQUID INVESTMENTS
MICHAEL FRIDJHON: Ex Animo’s clutch of local New World wines a real corker
Cape-based sommelier offers a selection of finely made wines, pure, linear and fresh from avant-garde producers
Stability is a defining feature of Old World wine-producing countries: the established order of a long-established region, such as Bordeaux, is unlikely to change dramatically. The New World, on the other hand, thrives on flux. Wine drinkers are more fashion-oriented; they are always ready to abandon last year’s favourites for next season’s "must-haves". For wine distributors seeking to assemble an edgy but viable selection, life is a balancing act. They need producers who enjoy a level of recognition but are still not seen as part of the vinous establishment. They also need a few "wild cards" to offer an alternative aesthetic reality. David Clarke is an Australian sommelier now living in SA. He and his wife Jeannette run a distribution business called Ex Animo Wine Company, which has a line-up of generally avant-garde producers. Very few of the wineries he represents were in business when he arrived in the Cape. Most don’t own the vineyards from which they source their grapes. Some...
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