Living the vida nova
Cliff Richard explains why he chose to grow grapes, not figs
Guardian | 05-09-2008
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Why wine? Well, when I bought this 28-acre farm in the Algarve back in the 90s, I inherited the farmer and he suggested growing and selling figs. Then I met David Baverstock, a winemaker from Australia who had taken a defunct Portuguese wine company called Esporão and turned it around: it now makes 8m bottles a year. He said we could plant vines, so the choice was either figs or bottles of wine: there was no competition really.When we first began growing, one wine book said of the Algarve: "It bottles headaches for tourists." So I called our wine Vida Nova, "new life", because it brought new life to the farm and I hoped that, if the wine was successful, it would bring new life to the local wine industry. It seems to have worked: there are now two or three wineries here. For me, the wine is not a great money-spinner, but it is hugely enjoyable, and we've built up a good catalogue of wine. We even won a bronze medal in the International Wine Challenge in 2005.
The weather here is perfect for making wine: it's cold in the winter, but not frosty, and then the grapes enjoy a long, hot summer (as do I - the vineyard is my favourite place, very therapeutic). Weather plays such an important role in producing good wine, and choosing when to pick is very scientific. If the grapes aren't ripe enough, they won't contain enough sugar and the wine will be low in alcohol.
Having a vineyard has taught me a lot about wine. For example, I know that when tasting, you should swirl the liquid around in the goblet, to let the air get to it. As you swirl, the amount of clear liquid that sticks to the side of the glass indicates how much body the wine has.
Wine is a subjective thing, I have tried wines that are the best of the best, but I didn't like the taste and never bought them again. I prefer red - our signature wine is a shiraz, with a soft velvety taste - but I also enjoy white and rosé, which we drink with lunch. I'm a stickler for the old rule that red wines should be drunk with red meat and whites with fish and white meats.
