2020 The FMC

It was a great pleasure to sit down with Ken Forrester again and chew the fat. We tasted the wines, toured his winery, walked around the lake where he pointed out the ducks that waddle through the vineyard each spring to munch away the snails and said hello to Forrester’s mother-in-law who religiously watches every sunset come rain or shine with a glass of wine, presumably her son-in-law’s. It was interesting to speak with his head winemaker, Shawn Mathyse, one of the few Black winemakers in the region. He told me how he was born on a wine farm and benefitted from an NGO that helps aspiring wine farmers of color. He’s achieved a great deal from humble beginnings and clearly earned the respect of Forrester and fellow winemakers. Forrester has been at the forefront of the South African wine scene for many years and seems to know everything that is going on, full of tales from yesteryear. His portfolio remains diverse, catering for the masses, from his “Petit” single varietal range that at ten dollars a pop is an absolute steal, up to his iconic labels such as The FMC and Dirty Little Secret. I also had time to taste his more experimental, limited production “Misfits” range crowned by a glorious Grenache that at $20 per bottle…well, I had to check that it wasn’t missing an extra zero. Alongside the likes of Rosa Kruger and Eben Sadie, the South African wine industry would be in a very different place without Ken Forrester.