Jean-Vincent Ridon

Name: Jean-Vincent Ridon
Company: Signal Hill Winery
Position: Winemaker

What was your reason behind choosing South Africa to start your own winery?

South Africa offered a legitimate history of successful wines, but a possibility as well to create something new, especially after the lifting of the sanctions. When I arrived in 1996, so much had to be done to build up the industry to international standards; and it was an exciting challenge.

After considering Chile, Argentina, and Australia, South Africa was offering the best potential for my projects, a wonderful quality of life for my children, and the same time zone as Europe.

South African wines have been growing in popularity. How do you think they compare on the world stage - next to France, Italy, US, Argentina etc?

South Africa is still a dwarf on the international market, with all respect, compared to countries like Spain, France and Italy. The total acreage of South Africa is the size of one region like Bordeaux.

On the quality side, we can definitely compare with pride with the rest of the world. South Africa produces more and more wines scoring over 90 points in the international rating, and this is a strong drive for the legitimacy of our marketing.

What are your future plans for Signal Hill Winery; do you see yourself expanding?

We are closing the Church Street operation. This part of the CBD is not ready yet, and the continuous work is deterring even the tourists. I think we need to reconsider such a public venture only after 2010, when the infrastructure work will be completed.

We moved closer to the Waterfront but still in the CBD. Signal Hill will then be only open by appointment, but will remain the only winery in the city, cultivating the only vineyards of the City Bowl: Clos d'Oranje.

You make wine the traditional way - feet stamping on the grapes and stirred with wooden oars. Why did you choose this over modern techniques?

We have made wine successfully for 6,000 years... you do not need to be a rocket scientist to make great wine; you just need a good terroir, a good climate and some common sense.

Modern technology is always here as a back up, and I use it when I consult other wine producers. So it is a choice, not a lack of knowledge, that makes me choose the traditional methods, and because I make only small batches. If I was managing a big winery, I would use more technology to make my life easier... but not necessarily the wine better.

Some people dream of buying a wine farm. Do you think it can be a good investment opportunity?

It can be in the long term, and on a patrimonial value, but do not expect to make more money from wine... the price of the land in South Africa is for the moment still too expensive, due to various structural factors.

That being said, I managed to have a few French wine people investing in South Africa. I am an estate agent as well, specialised in farms, and we signed 80% of the foreign deals over the last few years.

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