Episode 48 – The Three Graces

Followers of The Foundry may already be familiar with the long-standing relationship between Chris Williams and our Rick. The pair go back a long way, although Chris has yet to learn that Rick isn’t called ‘Rich’. Only Rick’s late mother was ever allowed to call him that…

Chris owns no vineyards, so all the grapes sourced for The Foundry are from bought-in fruit. But whilst Chris has made a point of vinifying and releasing single varietal wines, The Three Graces represents a departure, since this is the first red blend ever to come out of The Foundry cellar.

The decision was prompted by the arrival of a tiny parcel of first-crop Graciano grapes, located in the southernmost part of the Swartland.

Graciano (the name is said to derive from the Spanish word Gracia meaning grace) is believed to be a native of Rioja. It’s considered a high-quality cultivar but was almost dying out in the region due to its low yields. It’s a tough, thick-skinned variety which can add finesse and age ability to a blend, notably in Rioja Gran Reserva wines. It is grown almost nowhere else. Until now that is, although Rick can find no current evidence of any other Graciano (or Graciano blend) being commercialised from vineyards established in the Cape.

Having purchased the grapes out of simple curiosity, Chris had never considered what he might do with the resulting 500 litres of wine. So, it was in March 2025, and whilst sitting around the kitchen table on the farm, that Rick was presented with a sample and asked to share his opinion.

By now, wine had been fermented and then aged in a single barrel and a small clay amphora, before being blended. It was now sitting in a tank, awaiting its fate.

The wine was good, but clearly not a stand-alone wine, so Rick sent Chris off to the cellar to draw samples of his Grenache – both white and red – grumpily mumbling ‘let’s see what we can do with this, then…’

Garnacha Tinta is an important component in Rioja, typically accounting for around 30% of a blend. Generally lower in alcohol but high in tannin and colour, it allows the wines to mature gracefully.

The addition of just 5% Garnacha Blanco to the blend, was as much of a blatant commercial decision as a practical one, allowing Rick to work on a Spanish-themed release.

Playing around with the use of the word grace, the title ‘The Three Graces’ appealed to Chris’s growing interest in Greek Mythology, where the Three Charities or Graces, the daughters of Zeus and Eurynome, were considered the goddesses of charm, beauty and creativity.

And so, with a title decided, we have exhibited our own creativity, in taking inspiration for the label design from another Spaniard: Pablo Picasso (B. Málaga 1881), who himself became infatuated with the mythology surrounding The Three Graces.

Between 1947 and 1971, Picasso designed 633 different ceramic works in clay which included vases, pitchers and jugs, illustrating them with classical imagery of mythological creatures alongside numerous explorations of the human figure, most notably in the form of women.

Our own interpretation (as seen through the eyes of our very own ‘Picasso’, aka ‘Fast’ Eddie Haumann, label designer, artist as well as being Rick’s partner in the Liberator project), comes from the clay amphora used by Chris in which to age his wines.