Wine of the Week 65: Pieter Ferreira Cap Classique Blanc de Blancs 2021

Pieter Ferreira likes to say he narrowly escaped a career in dentistry. As it turns out, he still ended up in the business of smiles, as South Africa’s foremost cap classique specialist.

Growing up surfing the waves in Durban, he studied microbiology and plant sciences before wine came into his life. Mentor Jan Boland Coetzee secured him an apprenticeship with Achim von Arnim at Clos Cabrière, where he spent seven formative years.

Franschhoek is also where he met his future wife, Ann. A few vintages later, while working in Champagne, he proposed on a park bench with a bottle of Dom Pérignon 1978.

A sparkling maestro

Back home, he was scooped up by Graham Beck in Robertson in 1990. He never went for a formal interview. He simply walked into a meeting, and over a few glasses of chardonnay, came out as a winemaker.

Pieter spent more than three decades there, becoming known affectionately as ‘Mr Bubbles’. Under his stewardship, Graham Beck was chosen for many landmark occasions, including the inauguration of President Nelson Mandela in 1994 as well as an event with Barack and Michelle Obama in 2008.

When retirement loomed at 60, Ann joked Pieter wouldn’t survive a week without making bubbles and suggested his own label. With Graham Beck’s blessing, the first Pieter Ferreira Cap Classique was bottled in 2022. When the retirement age shifted to 65, it gave the project time to take form behind the scenes, with Ann very much at the helm.

“We produce what we like to drink,” says Pieter. “If we can’t sell it at least we have something to drink at home!”

Boutique bubbles

Fruit comes from seven distinct geographical sources, with a particular affection for limestone-rich Robertson chardonnay. Fermentations are mostly stainless steel, with a touch of pièce champenoise barrels for structure, and long lees ageing that builds precision, texture and complexity.

“The biggest challenge of running a boutique bubble business is cash flow, and accurately judging the pace of sales,” says Ann. “Responsibilities are new to Pieter,” she adds with a laugh.

“I’m Ann’s sole employee,” Pieter quips. “And trust me, my work is cut out for me.” Adding, “Ann is an incredible grafter and understands the market and the people in it, which is a huge plus factor for us.”

They’re also relishing the freedom to design their own time. “We finally have the space to travel, take road trips and cook together,” says Pieter.

There are several projects in motion, including a Pinot Blanc Cap Classique from 39-year-old vines, further Blanc de Noirs releases, and a single-vineyard Old Vine Project chardonnay.

Category innovator

At the 2026 Wine Harvest Commemorative Event, Pieter received the Wine Advancement Award, recognition for a category he has long championed. Bubbles, he says, are in his blood. Over the years, as chairman of the Cap Classique Producers Association, he extended the minimum lees ageing requirement from nine to twelve months, established annual peer-review base wine tastings, launched biannual technical seminars to international standards, and, with the Cape Wine Academy, developed the Cap Classique Academy, open to all.

Now the name that has achieved so much stands proudly on the bottle, continuing to drive the category forward.

Pieter Ferreira Cap Classique Blanc de Blancs 2021

This would not look out of place in a line-up of fine Champagne: precise, finely cut and beautifully tailored. White citrus freshness gives way to crushed sea-salt salinity, anchored by bready autolysis. The palate is long, textured and strikingly fresh, with age-worthiness in spades. Citrus and white fruit continue along a seam of taut, white-hot acidity, tempered by fine bubbles and a persistent mousse that finishes chalky and dry. Pure class.
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