Blank Bottle

Pieter Walser’s Blank Bottle wines are surely South Africa’s most idiosyncratic. Walser makes these small-batch wines – almost 50 different cuvées each year – from grapes sourced from across the country, using long-term relationships with growers in Stellenbosch, Elgin, Swartland and elsewhere. He eschews most additives, primarily using natural yeasts and small French oak barrels. More unusual still, he deliberately avoids mentioning grape varieties on his labels, to encourage consumers to approach wines without preconceived notions – hence the Blank Bottle name. Instead, each label carries a QR code and the message: ‘Pour a glass; sip on it; think for yourself; when you’re ready, scan the QR code; read/listen/view the story.’ He also designs and makes unique labels using techniques including woodcuts, line, pencil drawings and stencils. In any given year, Walser might harness 100 tonnes of grapes from 60 vineyards, spanning 35 varieties. Despite this breadth, his wines are beautifully considered and focused: some of the most exciting we try each year.