Greywacke (and Greywacke Jones)

Greywacke stones along the Haast River in New Zealand

Greywacke (pronounced “grey-wacky”) is a drab, grey stone—technically, a sedimentary rock–made up of layers of very hard, clay-based, muddy grey sandstone criss-crossed through with layers of argillite (a type of mudstone) and grains of quartz, feldspar, and other small rock and mineral fragments. The term Greywacke can refer to the entire rock (or boulder), the sandstone base of the rock, or—especially in the case of wine enthusiasts, a type of soil derived from the stone.

In case you are wondering how such a plain looking rock acquired such a crazy-sounding name, “wacke” is the German word for sandstone, and the term (Grauwacke) was first used to describe rocks located in the Harz Mountains of northern Germany.

Greywacke soils do well with viticulture. The clay-derived portion of the stone weathers into clay-based soil, which is appreciated for its abilities to remain cool, retain vine nutrients, and retain water. The rock and mineral fragments remain behind in Greywacke soil to counter the clay with coarse-grained gravel, providing aeration and drainage. And, of course, some of the rocks stay behind on the top of the soil, absorbing and releasing heat.

Greywacke boulders on Te Mata Peak (Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand)

This gravelly soil is most notably found in the vineyards of New Zealand; which makes sense as hard greywacke stone makes up a large part of the Southern Alps as well as the smaller mountain ranges of New Zealand’s North Island. The famous “Gimblett’s Gravels” soils of Hawkes Bay, as well as large swaths of Marlborough, Gisborne, Canterbury, and Nelson are all Greywacke-based. Greywacke is almost considered the “national stone” of New Zealand (or would be, if New Zealand ever decided to have a national rock, according to The Encyclopedia of New Zealand.) Click here for a map of Greywacke in New Zealand.

Fans of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc (which I certainly am) will no doubt recognize the name Greywacke in terms of a New Zealand wine brand, produced by none other than Kevin Judd – the beloved original winemaker at Cloudy Bay. Kevin continues his string of winemaking successes at Greywacke, producing a range of wine including a delicious albeit typical “zesty” Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc as well as a native yeast-fermented, lees-aged, oak-influenced Sauvignon Blanc (“Wild Sauvignon”) that has become a staple at both my Sunday night dinners and my Intro to Wine Classes. Other Greywacke wines include Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Pinot Noir, and even a late-harvest Riesling—all delicious.

Detail of greywacke soil in Algarve, Portugal

Greywacke bedrock and soils are found in many parts of the wine world, including the Algarve region of Portugal; Germany’s Mosel, Ahr, and Mittelrhein; the Western Cape of South Africa; California’s Russian River Valley; and the Barossa. The term “Greywacke” is used often in the context of wines and vineyards from all over the world, as well. Cosa Obra Wines in the Russian River Valley has a “Greywacke Vineyard” located within the Russian River Valley AVA, about where the Russian River makes it westward turn towards the Pacific Ocean. In Australia’s Barossa, Thorn-Clarke Winery, very much into the soils, produces a Shiraz labeled as “Shiraz on Cambrian Greywacke Soil.”

About that subtitle: There is a character named Greywacke Jones in “Slinky Malinki,” a children’s book by New Zealand author Lynley Dodd. Greywacke Jones is a mischievous grey kitten who hangs out with her pals Slinky Malinki, Hairy Maclary, Butterball Brown, and the rest of the gang. So now you know.

References/for more information:

• Robinson, Jancis and Julia Harding: The Oxford Companion to Wine, 4rd Edition. Oxford, 2015: The Oxford University Press
• http://www.winereviewonline.com/Gerald_Boyd_on_Greywacke.cfm
• http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/rock-and-mineral-names/page-1
• http://greywacke.com/
• https://www.amazon.com/Slinky-Malinki-Hairy-Maclary-Friends/dp/0140544399
• https://www.cosaobra.com/winery/vineyards/greywacke
• https://flexiblelearning.auckland.ac.nz/rocks_minerals/rocks/greywacke.html
• http://www.thornclarkewines.com.au/wine/2008-shiraz-on-cambrian-greywacke-soil/

The Bubbly Professor is “Miss Jane” Nickles of Austin, Texas… missjane@prodigy.net

The Murray, the Darling, and the Alps of Australia

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Murray Darling (as serious wine students certainly will know) is a wine region in Australia. Known primarily for Chardonnay but also widely planted with Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon, it is a big region–the second largest (by geographical area) in the country.

The Murray Darling wine region transcends political boundaries to an extent, as it straddles the borders of two states–Victoria and New South Wales. The New South Wales portion of the region is considered to be part of the Big Rivers viticultural zone–which makes total sense as it is named for the longest and the third longest rivers in Australia.

The longer of the two rivers–the Murray–is the longest river in Australia, clocking in at 1,558 miles (2,508 km) long. The source of the Murray is in the Australian Alps, and from there it flows down the western side of the mountains, twisting and turning across the inland plains and forming part of the border between the states of New South Wales and Victoria before it reaches the state of South Australia. From there, the Murray heads southward for almost 200 miles (315 km) before it joins the Southern Ocean (also known as the South Pacific Ocean) at Lake Alexandria.

Kosciuszko National Park, Australia

Wait a minute–did she just say the Australian Alps? Yes, she did–and that’s the thing that led to this post. Before doing a bit of digging into the background of the Murray Darling region I had no idea that Australia had its own Alps.

The Australian Alps, it turns out, are part of the Great Dividing Range (now it starts to make sense). The Alps are the highest mountain range in Australia, and the only place in Australia that receives deep snow fall every year. Mount Kosciuszko, the highest point in Australia (7,310 feet/2,228 meters above sea level) is part of the Alps system. There is even a system of Alpine National Parks, understandably  a center for skiing and other mountain sports in Australia.

So–back to our rivers. The source of the Darling River is also in the Great Dividing Range, yet far to the north of the Murray in the northern portion of New South Wales. The Darling River, the third longest river in Australia, flows south-southwest across New South Wales to the border of the state of Victoria, where it joins the Murray.

map via: http://www.murrayriver.com.au

The combined Murray-Darling catchment system provides irrigation for one seventh of Australia’s total landmass, including most of Victoria, New South Wales, southern Queensland, and parts of South Australia. This area is of great agricultural significance and has even earned the nickname of the “food bowl” of the nation. The agriculture output of the Murray-Darling Basin includes dairy, citrus, stone fruit, livestock, cotton, almonds, and over half of Australia’s cereal crops.

Of course, of great interest to me are the grapes, as a great majority of the wine regions of New South Wales and Victoria–as well as a portion of South Australia–fall under the water catchment of the Murray-Darling. The importance of these rivers (as well as the other rivers in the basin, which include the Lachlan and the Murrumbidgee) really cannot be overstated. We can thank these rivers for Hunter Valley Semillon, Mudgee Cabernet, Rutherglen Muscat, Heathcote Shiraz, and Murray Darling Chardonnay. Thank you!

References/For more information:

• http://www.wineaustralia.net.au/en-PH/wine-regions.aspx
• http://hqaustralia.com/murray-darling-basin/
• http://www.murrayriver.com.au/about-the-murray/murray-darling-basin/#agriculture
• http://www.murrayriver.com.au/river-management/murray-darling-basin-commission/#basinmap

The Bubbly Professor is “Miss Jane” Nickles of Austin, Texas… missjane@prodigy.net

The Icy Benguela

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I’ve been curious about the Benguela Current for a while. My original curiosity about the Benguela Current was about the name —how did it get that very cool name? It seems it all begins with Portuguese sailors in the 1500s.

In the Age of Discovery, Portuguese Sailors—known for skill and courage in ocean navigation —often sailed the long and arduous ocean journey around the continent of Africa to Asia. During such voyages, they had to fight against two mighty ocean currents: the icy Benguela current that flowed northward along the coast of Africa while they were trying to sail south; then, after they rounded the Cape of Good Hope, they sailed north while fighting the warm and southward-flowing Agulhas Current. If the journey was successful, they reached Asia and accessed the famed Indian Spice Routes. Such accomplishments helped the Portuguese form their empire, which at various times included parts of Africa, the Middle East, India, South America, and South Asia.

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The namesake of the Benguela Current (as it is now known) is a city in present-day Angola.  The area surrounding Benguela, due to its location near the coast and a well-traversed deep bay, has been a center of commercial trade since ancient times.  While there is no written record of the history of the area before the arrival of the Portuguese in 1546, it is believed that the area was formerly known as ombaka, which means, literally, “commercial (or ‘market’) port.” When the Portuguese colonized the area, a town was founded and named São Felipe de Benguela (Saint Philip of Benguela) after King Philip II of Spain and Portugal.

So back to ocean current: the icy Benguela Current flows from the Southern Ocean near Antarctica and moves north along the west coast of Africa. It reaches as far north as Angola (close to the city of Benguela, in case you missed that point) before it turns west and heads to South America. The Benguela Current is part of a large circulating ocean current known as the South Atlantic Ocean gyre. The western edge of the gyre is known as the Brazil Current; the Brazil current flows southward down the coast of Brazil, then turns east and flows across the ocean until it reaches Antarctica. From Cape Point in South Africa (at about 33°), the cold portion of the current known as the Benguela current flows northward along the west coast of Africa to the area around Angola/Benguela (about 16°S).

            Cape Agulhas…pick your ocean!

Near Cape Point, where a portion of the cold Benguela Current of the Atlantic meets the warm south- and west-flowing Agulhas Current of the Southern Pacific Ocean, the waters become wild and turbulent. It’s a common practice while on vacation in Cape Town to journey down to Cape Point, take a short hike, get your picture taken by the sign, and stare out to sea at the “place where two oceans meet.” (Hey, I did it.) However, the truth is that the ocean currents actually intermingle for hundreds of miles in either direction—both east and west of Cape Point—and that the “point where two oceans meet” is likely to be anywhere between Cape Point and about 100 miles west at Cape Agulhas (which is actually the southernmost point on the African continent and worth a visit as well).

From the department of I thought this was a wine blog:  Good point. All I can say is that my curiosity concerning Benguela Current peaked while studying the wines of South Africa. The winelands of South Africa’s Western Cape are cooled by the moist fog and gentle breezes generated by the Benguela Current, which also generates the not-so-gentle south-easterly wind known as the “Cape Doctor.”

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Super-sharp students of wine might also have perked up with the mention of Cape Point, which is the former name of the Cape Peninsula wine district; and Cape Agulhas, a wine district located in the Cape South Coast. Cape Peninsula is a small area located on a narrow, rugged area just south of Cape Town and east of Constantia (both wine regions are easily accessed via taxi or tour bus from Cape Town). Cape Peninsula produces snappy, cool-climate white wines and is particularly adept at Sauvignon Blanc. The terroir of Cape Agulhas, about 100 miles down the coast, is also markedly maritime—distinctly cool and breezy—and known for a crisp, snappy style of Sauvignon Blanc, apricot-and-lemon laced Semillon, and a unique cool-climate style of Shiraz.

References:

• http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~feegi/benguela.html
• http://oceancurrents.rsmas.miami.edu/atlantic/benguela.html
• http://www.pbs.org/edens/namib/earth2.htm
• http://www.brest.ird.fr/personnel/ppenven/publications/

The Bubbly Professor is “Miss Jane” Nickles of Austin, Texas… missjane@prodigy.net