50 Shades sparks interest in Napoleon's sweet elixir

A passing mention of Napoleon’s favourite sweet wine – Klein Constantia’s Vin de Constance – in E L James’ novel 50 Shades Darker has sparked unprecedented interest in the South African sweet wine. The 2004 vintage appears in the second novel of the 50 Shades erotic trilogy at a masked ball attended by protagonists, Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele.

The elixir is enjoyed with the third course at the event, paired with sugared-crusted walnut chiffon candied figs and maple ice cream. According to The Telegraph, restaurants in the US have begun staging Fifty Shades evenings with replica menus. The sweet wine’s cameo has also led to daily requests to try the 2004 vintage at the estate in the Constantia Valley near Cape Town.

"We're asked every day by people coming into our tasting room about the wine appearing in Fifty Shades Darker," managing director Hans Astrom told The Telegraph, adding, "We were surprised to discover that Vin de Constance was featured in the book, but as a result many new people are discovering one of the great wines of the world,” he added.

The Constantia valley is the oldest vineyard region in the Cape with vines first planted in 1685. Napoleon is said to have drunk a bottle of Vin de Constance a day while in exile on the island of St. Helena, and every day in the week leading up to his death. French poet Baudelaire claimed that only the lips of his lover surpassed the “heavenly sweetness” of South Africa's “honey-coloured” Constantia wine.

And in 1811, the golden elixir was prescribed for Jane Austen's heroine Marianne Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility for its "healing powers on a disappointed heart.” Michelin-starred chef Michel Roux Jr. of Le Gavroche has even written a cookbook devoted to the wine. "Vin de Constance’s romantic qualities were recognised by Jane Austen, eulogised by Baudelaire and have now been taken to a new level by E L James,” co-owner of the estate, Charles Harman told the DT.

Production of Vin de Constance ceased at the end of the 19^th century after a Phylloxera epidemic swept through the Contantia Valley. The sweet wine was revived 30 years ago when the Vin de Constance vineyard was redeveloped. Up to 30,000 bottles of Vin de Constance are produced per year, depending on yields. The wine is now selling as fast as the estate can produce it, at around £35 a bottle in the UK. The 50 Shades trilogy has sold 65 million copies worldwide.

Napa’s first “dog winery” launched by Boisset

Pampered pooches prick up your ears – the ever-flamboyant Jean Charles Boisset has launched Napa Valley’s first “dog winery” featuring kennel spaces and wine-barrel dog beds in an ode to his beloved French bulldog. As reported on db.com, Frenchie Winery, named after the bulldog he gave to wife Gina Gallo (above), forms part of Raymond Vineyards; a St Helena winery Boisset bought three years ago.

Housed in a large white shed at the back of Raymond’s biodynamic garden, the winery boasts an enclosed play area for visiting hounds, and five individual kennel spaces for them to sleep, complete with luxurious wine-barrel beds. Above the kennels hang paintings of Frenchie in various historical guises, from Napoleon to Louis XIV, and even cross-dressing as Marie Antoinette.

The thoughtful Boisset has also installed a “Frenchie cam” in the shed, so owners can keep a watchful eye on their dogs while they’re in the Raymond Vineyards tasting room. “It’s like daycare, it’s awesome,” dog owner Elizabeth Schroeter said after a recent visit. “We treat the dogs the same as humans. I want to create tasting paces where people – and dogs – can have a blast,” Boisset added.

The Frenchie range comprises three wines: Marie Antoinette Chardonnay ($18), Louis XIV Cabernet Sauvignon ($30), and Napoleon ($30) – a red blend. The labels feature paintings of Frenchie dressed up as the three historical figures. Boisset’s move is shrewd, aiming to attract a portion of America’s 46 million dog owners that don’t want to leave their canines at home when they go wine tasting.

Dog-friendly wineries are already popular in California, with Napa Valley boasting 96 that welcome four-legged friends. Burgundy born Boisset looks after the American arm of Burgundy-based wine empire Boisset Famille des Grands Vins, founded by his father in 1961. In 2009, he married Gallo’s chief winemaker Gina Gallo, cementing one of the most powerful wine family unions in history. The pair have one-year-old twin girls. 

Vin de Constance to take on Sauternes

South African estate Klein Constantia’s new managing director is on a mission to pit its flagship sweet wine – Vin de Constance – against the best wines from Sauternes. “We want to benchmark ourselves against the best sweet wines in the world and go up against the likes of Château d’Yquem in the quality stakes,” Hans Astrom told the drinks business during a visit to London this week. Astrom plans to achieve this by focusing on strict selection: “We’re averaging around 15 hectolitres per hectare for Vin de Constance, which is incredibly low, so our prices will have to reflect this leap in quality,” he said. 

“We’ve started picking the Muscat de Frontignan berry by berry, so no sub-standard grapes sneak into the wine. We want to separate the good eggs from the rotten eggs,” he added. Astrom is unafraid of getting rid of wines from the estate’s portfolio if he doesn’t deem them good enough. “We’re discontinuing our Riesling next year for exactly that reason. I’d rather have a few high quality wines that a load of mediocre ones."

To assist his quality quest, he’s enlisted the help of go-to viticulturalist Rosa Kruger, who has worked for the likes of Eben Sadie, Solms-Delta and Rupert and Rothschild. 2012 will be the estate’s latest harvest in 30 years. “All the Muscat for Vin de Constance is still hanging on the vines a month later than it should be, it’s a risk, but if it pays off we’ll have one of the most concentrated wines we’ve ever made.” The company is expecting an abundant harvest this year, resulting in around 30,000 bottles of Vin de Constance compared to last year’s 10,000.

“Despite its name, the yields for Vin de Constance are very inconstant and vary hugely from year to year.” Astrom was made managing director of the company in January by new owners Charles Harman and Zdenek Bakala. Once voted Sweden's best sommelier, before joining Klein Constantia he was general manager for Hess Family Estates. Now installed, he’s keen to shake thing up, believing the family-owned company had become complacent.

“It’s easy for family companies to relax and fall into routines. It’s better now it’s not South African-owned. The new owners wanted a cage-rattling renegade and I’m on a mission to wake up the sleeping beauty, blow the dust off and restore it to its former glory,” he said. One of his big aims is to build up the Vin de Constance back catalogue by buying back old bottles at auction. “The farm didn’t save any wines so I’m having to buy back our liquid history. We’ve managed to get hold of a few bottles from the 1800s,” he revealed.

Astrom reports surprising levels of interest in Vin de Constance in France, given its own supply of Sauternes. “I have people writing to me every day wanting to taste Napoleon’s favourite wine. The Napoleon connection is a great sales driver for us,” he admitted. The French emperor was said to have drunk Vin de Constance every day in the week leading up to his death. Klein Constantia lies in the Constantia valley – the oldest vineyard region in the Cape. 

Croatian wine to crack global market

Croatian wine has “risen phoenix-like from the ashes” and is set to make a big impact on the international wine market, according to one of the country’s top producers. “The quality of Croatian wine has improved dramatically over the past few years and we’re witnessing the rebirth of the country’s wine tradition at the moment,” Mladen Rozanic of Istria-based winery Roxanich told the drinks business.

“We’ve got a big wine culture that people don’t know about, but they’re starting to catch on,” Rozanic added, predicting a bright future for Croatian wine in the international market. Croatian wines have something different to offer. They’ve got an attractive Mediterranean character,” he said, citing white variety Malvazija Istarska, Borgonja – a descendent of Gamay brought to Croatia by Napoleonic soldiers in the early 19th century, and red grape Teran as the top three indigenous varieties of Istria to watch.

With around 33,000 hectares under vine, Croatia plans to crack the global export market when it enters the European Union next year. It currently exports only 5% of its annual production of 60m litres. Releasing his first commercial vintage in 2008, Rozanic is enjoying experimenting with different grape varieties. His Ines in White 2008 is a blend of seven different white grapes: Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Vermentino, Prosecco and Tocai Friulano.

“I planted test rows of each of the seven varieties just to see how they performed in our terroir. Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc have adapted best to the climate and soil,” he revealed. Rozanic is passionate about ageing his wines for as long as possible in barrel before releasing them onto the market. His whites are aged for three years in 3-year-old French oak, and his reds four years. “Ideally, I’d like to age my reds for seven years before releasing them onto the market – five years in barrel and two in bottle,” he said.

Passionate about small-scale production, all of Rozanic’s wines are made naturally, with only a small amount of sulphites added. “I like the purity and honesty of natural wines. Wine is one of the oldest traditions of human civilization and it deserves respectful treatment,” he said, adding, “I believe in letting the terroir speak, but I also like to see a winemaker’s signature in his wines. I like to be present in my wines.”

Wines of Rapture at Quo Vadis

Supine on a striped sofa in the appropriately titled “Petting Room” of Quo Vadis in Soho, I’m surrounded by leather, lingerie and literature. Resplendent in his signature Burgundy suit and immaculately clipped beard, the dashing, debonair and dangerous Wine Chap, formally known as Tom Harrow, is holding court, explaining to his captive audience that smell is the most powerful, underrated and sensuous of the senses. “We’re drawn to potential mates by their smell – Napoleon went wild for the smell of Josephine’s unwashed body,” he asserts, “and I have it on good authority that I smell great. A dab of Grappa behind each ear and I’m good to go.” Exuding an almost Neanderthal sexual energy, Harrow cuts a swaggering figure in the room. His sidekick, Cecelia, a full-lipped Swede in a raspberry beret and scarlet velvet plus fours, is here to showcase her wares from erotic emporium Bordello, affectionately known as the “nipple of Shoreditch.”

The small square room is accessorised with candy stripe carpets, regal red curtains, art strewn walls and a bookshelf heaving with oddities. The low-slung wooden table in front of me is well seasoned with erotic paraphernalia, from a leather whip fastened with a pair of fur balls that look like they’ve been pilfered from a well-endowed squirrel, to a pastel pink copy of A Compendium of Kisses – an insightful guide to the art of locking lips.

A sprinkling of kinky couples and curious singletons populate the room. Raven haired proprietor Sam Hart perches impishly on the window ledge in the far corner as if hoping to dissolve into the surroundings. We are gathered for Harrow’s Wines of Rapture event, billed as “an inner striptease” celebrating the divine union of Bacchus and Venus. Urging us to use wine – faithful friend of poets and lovers, as a seduction tool, the tasting begins in the land of love (Italy) with Dal Bello Rocca d’Asolo Prosecco, its tongue tingling effervescence compared to the breath of a lover caressing your neck. Light, elegant and delicate, it’s the romantic equivalent of a peck on the cheek.

Foreplay begins in earnest with an unctuous white Burgundy – Domaine Emilian Gillet Vire-Clesse Quintaine 2007, representing, according to Harrow, a “thickening of the juices”. Rich, waxy, honeyed and seductive, there are few things less sublime than the first sip of a creamy white Burgundy. Having lost its primary fruit, brioche and cooked apple notes have made their way to the fore in the liquid embodiment of a lingering kiss. Glancing round the room, I sense the impending urgency of the situation. Lascivious looks are being exchanged and metaphorical clothes are flying off in all directions.

Moving on to the meat of the matter, we tackle Meerlust’s lusty Rubicon 2005, named after Julius Cesar’s historical crossing of the Italian river in 49 BC, and neatly symbolising the point of no return. Weighing in at a hefty 14%, the savage red, full of deep, dark fruit is brooding and sexy; it’s a full-throated roar of a wine, or, as Tom so elegantly puts it, “a man ripping his clothes off and leaping onto his maiden.” Now well oiled, the once timid crowd is engaged in animated banter. The chap opposite me picks up a wooden paddle and spanks his paramour with it, while the couple beside me, who are celebrating their 10th anniversary, appear to be seriously considering the squirrel whip.

Divine intervention follows in the form of Domaine Giraud Châteauneuf-du-Pape; the preferred wine of Pope Clement V. With a nose of lit match, meat, polished leather and musty church pews, it reeks of ecclesiastical vice. “If Bordeaux is your wife and Burgundy your mistress, then Châteauneuf-du-Pape is your dirty weekend,” Harrow quips. Virulently alcoholic and imbued with sweet fruit, the rugged red, with its masculine thrust, smacks of Oliver Mellors from Lady Chatterley’s Lover.

Visibly hot under the collar, and delighting in the debauchery, Harrow launches into an anecdote about the irreverent Italian nobleman Cesare Borgia, who one night swapped partners with his mistress’s 15-year-old daughter mid-stroke. He goes on to explain how a lady’s favourite wine determines how she will be in the bedroom, citing from personal experience that Pinot Grigio girls are pedestrian and predictable, while Barolo quaffers are sexual deviants.

We move swiftly on to the climax – La Giaretta Amarone 2007. Seductively speaking, we’re in the final throws of passion. At 15.5%, this is a beast of a wine. Hedonistic, powerful and concentrated, the lusty liquid brings us to the tipping point, where we dissolve into the mystic bliss of what the French so quaintly call “le petite mort”. At the moment of sweet release, having expended our life force, we transcend the terrestrial and connect with the divine, as our ecstasy takes on a spiritual purity. Post-explosion, we luxuriate in the glorious afterglow with liquid gold provided by delicate dessert wine Château Laurette Saint Croix du Mont 2006. Like the sweet fruit of the gods, the unctuous golden elixir is laced with honeysuckle and almond. This is the cigarette moment – the end of the affair. I’m spent.

For more information about upcoming WineChap events, visit the website