Genesis of Genevieve with MELISSA NELSEN.
We are in the middle of a government enforced lockdown here in South Africa where the sale and movement of wine is, at least for now, forbidden. So to keep ourselves busy we have decided to release a new podcast episode every day during lockdown.
A quick note on the quality of the audio, we are in lockdown at the moment in South Africa and we are relying on the internet to record these podcasts, and they don’t always behave. We have done what we can to make it listenable as possible.
Today on the podcast we have Melissa Nelsen, lady behind Genevieve – a wine brand that specialises in MCC. Traditional method sparkling wines in South Africa are called Method Cap Classique, which is quite often shortened to the initials MCC. There are production and ageing laws surrounding the use of this term, but as of yet no restriction on varieties allowed.
Based in the Overberg (Bot River), Melissa is a bit of a rare example in South Africa in that she only produces sparkling wines, and that she restricts her fruit sourcing to one region. Commonly, MCCs in South Africa are labelled as Wine of Origin Western Cape, thus allowing the sourcing of fruit from all over the winelands. Melissa allows herself no such flexibility.
We chat about how Genevieve got started and the evolution of the style so far. We also chat about her upcoming projects of a MCC Rosé and a re-release of an old vintage later in the year.
I give you Melissa Nelsen.
