Krone Borealis is one of South Africa’s best
known brand of MCC (Methode Cap Classique) sparkling wine, highly successful with a significant
retail as well as HORECA operations presence.
Motivation behind my
questions?
Simple, these will be
questions sommeliers and wine service staff will experience on the floor or
when conducting tutored MCC’s, Cava’s, Champagne and other sparkling wine tastings
/ dinner’s, further more experienced diner’s and wine fundis either local or
visiting international tourist, who knows and follows South African wines, will
want to know the real story about Krone Borealis 2010 vintage Brut and at a time
when South African wines internationally are garnering more and more attention
and respect, label clarity and precision is THE most significant importance and
assurance for consumers and wine buyers alike.
1 - Methode Cap Classique (MCC) is a very dynamic
category on local and increasingly international wine lists one of the top 5 selling
wine style locally and internationally it is being more and more embraced, there
could potentially be serious ramification and potentially damaging brand “MCC” and
quality bottle fermented South African sparkling wine with irreversible consequences,
over the short to medium term, if not the long term, how will, this situations created by Krone Borealis
2010 vintage Brut be communicated to local and international customers, wine buyers, sommeliers, restaurateur, hoteliers?
2 - If I’m not mistaken, transfer method is not an
accepted feature of MCC regulations / legislations? A process use in the production of 2010 vintage Krone Borealis,
then why was it bottle, labelled as “handcrafted” and sealed with a cork
stamped with the words “Cap Classique” ?
3 - Transfer method is an accepted means of sparkling
wine productions for bottles smaller than 750 ml, e.g 375 ml or 200 or 187 ml
it is also used for bottles larger than 1500 ml, however does this legitimately
warrant “Methode Cap Classqiue” (MCC) labelling for 750ml bottle?
4 – If we have to believe the various news channel article, relating to the above abd referring to possible bottle explosion during the second fermentation of 2010
Krone Borealis Brut, we must asked ourselves that surely after all these years
of MCC productions, Krone production team should by experience know prior to
induce a second fermentation which bottle to use as well as the correct
proportion mixture of yeast and sugar to create the necessary carbonation level
and pressure and use appropriate bottle that can withstand second fermentation
pressure in bottle?
5 - Did a similar situation happened in previous
vintages of Krone Borealis vintage?
6 - Was the initial bottle use in 2010 vintage from
a new supplier, hence being possibly inferior in quality, leading to possible
bottle explosion?
7 - Could the initial bottle use was meant for
the production of “spumante / carbonated sparkling wine”, which is marginally thinner
and withstand lighter pressure? But then again “spumante” type bottle have a
different neck and closure lips, which would not have been possible to use
crown cork use for second fermentation?
8 - Will the industry, going forward defined a specific
MCC bottle grade, able to withstand pressure derived from second fermentation,
so as to avoid this happening again in the future?
