{"id":17968,"date":"2023-12-11T11:36:30","date_gmt":"2023-12-11T09:36:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/getitmagazine.co.za\/joburg-north\/?p=17968"},"modified":"2024-05-28T16:06:17","modified_gmt":"2024-05-28T14:06:17","slug":"sip-sip-hooray","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/getitmagazine.co.za\/joburg-north\/blog\/2023\/12\/11\/sip-sip-hooray\/","title":{"rendered":"Sip, sip hooray"},"content":{"rendered":"

Julian Naik loves wines … and enjoys nothing more than sharing his passion with other would-be vinophiles.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

A few years ago, Julian Naik was happily ensconced in a corporate career, sipping on beer and the occasional big brand wine. Now, as co-founder of Spirits & Bubbles, he\u2019s become an eager advocate for South Africa\u2019s heritage estates \u2013 and he\u2019s eager to share both his learnings and his passion with other would-be vinophiles.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t know your merlot from your malbec? Here\u2019s a little secret. You\u2019re not alone. True, our wines might be highly regarded throughout the world, but for every person who likes to sniff and twirl their glass, commenting on the fragrance of leather and old couch, there\u2019s another whose knowledge stops at the fact that they prefer red to white.<\/p>\n

The problem, says Julian, is that those of us who don\u2019t know much are so intimidated by those who do, that we\u2019re reluctant to ask the questions that will get us ordering the perfect wine, every time. That\u2019s why he loves setting up private tasting functions \u2013 so that he can educate wine lovers, just as his own palate has been schooled.<\/p>\n

Julian\u2019s journey started back in 2014, when he received a call from a friend he\u2019d met during a work experience stint in London. \u201cHe was working for a company that exported drinks to Africa, and was looking for someone who could open a door to the South African market,\u201d he recalls.<\/p>\n

Although Julian didn\u2019t know much about the industry at the time, he was quick to accept the challenge. Leaving his job in risk management, he set up Spirits & Bubbles to import and distribute premier drinks to a market looking for new experiences. The company\u2019s first product was a tequila. Then, it added Masottina, known to produce the world\u2019s best Prosecco, to the portfolio.<\/p>\n

It was when Cape Site Specific \u2013 a conglomerate of winemakers specialising in small batch, site specific wines \u2013 joined Spirits & Bubbles that Julian\u2019s imagination was truly ignited. \u201cThere is something incredibly special about these wines. It\u2019s not just that they\u2019re delicious \u2013 that\u2019s a given. You can taste the love in every bottle \u2013 and the heritage, too, as some of these wines are made by families who have lived on the same farm since the 1600s.\u201d Each sip is redolent of the hospitality of the winelands, Julian adds: \u201cI always joke that I\u2019ll be in trouble if I visit Durban and I don\u2019t pop in on my relatives \u2013 but that\u2019s nothing compared to the grief I receive if I go to the winelands and don\u2019t visit our winemakers.\u201d Nor is a visit just a few hours of chatting and tasting \u2013 often, it turns into an all-day affair.<\/p>\n

This is the spirit which Julian hopes to convey through his wine tastings. He explains that these became more popular during the Covid-19 pandemic … as lockdowns eased, people were reluctant to mix in large groups, but still wanted to enjoy a social occasion. Initially, the company teamed up with restaurants to host small groups, but as word spread, many people started asking if they could host their own tastings at home.<\/p>\n

Julian says that the popularity of the events is on the up, as Joburgers are enthusiastically embracing wine culture. \u201cOnce, we would have stuck to the names we knew. But with restaurants like Acid and Proud Mary creating a platform for smaller, lesser known estates, we\u2019re becoming more willing to try different estates and different varietals.\u201d That\u2019s good news, he adds. \u201cOne of our winemakers reckons that although South African wines are very well-priced at present \u2013 you\u2019d pay around double for a wine of the same quality in, say Napa \u2013 we have only 10 years or so until the industry catches up to the rest of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

The beauty of our market is that \u201cmost South African wines are good \u2013 you actually have to look quite hard to find a bad wine\u201d. But, of course, when you know more, you can make better choices. That\u2019s why Spirits & Bubbles tastings concentrate on getting you to try wines you might otherwise overlook, explaining what makes them taste unique (think terroir, climate and all of those professional sounding things), and giving you a basis of comparison. For example, your tasting usually includes around five different wines (any more than that, and your palate will get too tired to pick up the differences between them), so you can choose different wines from a single estate, or the same varietal from different estates. The choice is yours \u2013 which is kind of the point, Julian explains. \u201cOur events are entirely customisable. You can host your tasting at a restaurant, which is great because we\u2019ll work with the team to create a great food pairing, or you can have it at your house, where it might be more intimate and comfortable.\u201d If that\u2019s your go-to, Spirits & Bubbles can provide the glassware (important, because the wrong glass can change the taste of the wine) and even advise on food \u2013 did you know, for instance, that garlic and chili-laced dishes are a no-no, because these flavours drown out the wine\u2019s properties, while pizza is actually a great pairing food?<\/p>\n

Eventually, Julian would love to establish his own venue to educate wine lovers \u2013 not an academy, exactly, but a place where people who appreciate what goes into each bottle have the chance to meet, mingle and toast. Cheers to that!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Julian\u2019s top three tipples for the festive season<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although Julian would happily recommend all the bubbly in the Spirits & Bubbles portfolio, these bubbles get a special thumbs up for summer sipping:<\/p>\n