Meet Solly Monyamane: ‘Wines can reflect the personality of the maker’
We sat down with our Winemaker, Solly Monyamane, to discover why he is excited about English wine and the role creativity and collaboration play in the Artelium winery.
Solly Monyamane joined the Artelium team over the summer of 2023. In his role as winemaker, he is tasked with crafting our exceptional wines from grapes grown across Sussex. We caught up with him as was blending his first Artelium wines from the excellent 2023 harvest.
What makes Artelium a unique place to be a winemaker?
“The owners, Mark and Julie, said from the onset that they love more contemporary winemaking; wines that are not stuck in specific styles but are searching for quality through innovation. So, I knew from the get-go that if a wine wasn’t good enough, it would not get in the bottle which for a winemaker is great.
“I find the idea of art and wine coming together exciting. The wines we create are not only about exceptional quality but also about being different. Being unique. We’re not trying to make wines that someone else has made before. They are all vintage-specific and we don’t have a particular house style.”
Solly picking out one of his favourite Artelium wines, the Maker’s Rosé 2019.
Is the freedom to be creative important as a winemaker?
“It’s nice to have! Often, when you walk into a position, they have a house style. So, you know what you’re going to do every year. But at Artelium we have the freedom to create a wine that reflects the grapes we get through the door at each harvest.
“Because, at the end of the day, it’s not just about the winemaker putting a stamp on a wine. The aim is to produce expressive wines; whether that is by making wines in the simplest possible way or using different techniques to draw out the full potential of the fruit. So, it is important to use your creative instincts, while staying true to the vintage and place the grapes are from.”
Tell us a bit about your journey to becoming a Winemaker
“I grew up in Pretoria, South Africa. And after finishing high school, I saw an advert for a winemaking scholarship in Stellenbosch. I had no idea what winemaking was at the time. But I had a hunger to study and learn. So, I applied, and I got it!”
“After a few vintages in South Africa, I became a winemaking lecturer for three years and travelled to American, Germany and France to learn about their wines. I then took on a vineyard manager’s job in South Africa, looking after 200 hectares. It was a difficult job, and I needed to make a lot of sacrifices to make it work.”
“But then it becomes more or a lifestyle than a job. Your whole life revolves around wine and the cycles of the vineyard. And it was at this time I really fell in love with viticulture and winemaking, and I knew it was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. “
The Artelium winery in Madehurst, West Sussex
How do you find the solitary aspects of the role?
“I do enjoy parts of the solitary work. I think the wine can take the personality of the winemaker in that you pour your soul into the liquid. I enjoy the idea that in the future people will taste what you have put all your heart into for six, or seven months or even years later. And it will be more characterful because of this solitary time and effort put into it.”
Is all the work solitary?
“No, there are times when I feel I need other people to be involved to help with decision-making. You need people to taste and give feedback to help guide you.”
“This collaboration is very important. You can make a wine and be convinced that it's probably the worst or the best one you've ever made or ever had in the tank. And then someone comes and gives you a different opinion or sort of perspective of how you can look at the same line.”
“It is also my first vintage in England I think every opinion for me is incredibly important in that the people that are going to be drinking the wine mostly are going to be the English people. So, I need to understand how English palates work and what I'm trying to also create on my own. So, there is a balance between those two aspects.”
Solly at Artelium in Streat for a tasting of the base wines for the 2023 sparkling wines.
How do you work with the vineyard team?
“For me, to be the best winemaker, I need to understand both the winery and vineyard. At this time of year, in February, the vineyards go through the pruning process. And as a winemaker, you can taste the new wines and then walk out into the vineyard and see the vines that have produced that wine before they are pruned for the next growing season.”
“You then have a chance to chat with the vineyard manager and discuss which parts of the vineyard might be giving us too many grapes and could be pruned differently. Because, with too much fruit, you sometimes get dilution, so you want to pull back production and focus on getting greater concentration in the grapes that you do grow.”
You mention what’s happening in the vineyard during winter. What about in the winery?
“At this time of the year, the wines start opening up to the winemaker; you begin to get a clearer picture of what the wine will be like in two to three years. Especially when you start experimenting with blends. And that is something that I'm doing a lot now.”
“At this stage, I get to play around and experiment before I make final decisions in April. So, there's a bit of pressure. Whatever you try and experiment with now you must get right. But there's also time to correct what might have gone wrong with the wines.”
Are you excited about the future of English wine?
“Very much. The English wine industry is still young. But the leaps and bounds that have been made is amazing. If you look at the history of winemaking around the world, South Africa started making wine in 1652 or so. 30 years on from then, they were still making vinegar.”
“We have more modern technology available, but we need to learn about what works best in this country. For example, Pinot Gris. In England, it expresses itself completely different to Pinot Gris in mainland Europe. I’m confident Artelium is on track to make some award-winning Pinot Gris. I think it will be a big thing.”
“And then there are the Sparkling wines. There is no doubt that these are now world-class. I wasn’t involved in making the 2018 Curator’s Cuvée for example, but for me, it is one of the best Cuvées I have ever tasted. So, yes, lots to be excited about.”