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October 21, 2005

The complexity of Chenin Blanc. Many a wine drinker in South Africa are still confused about the concept"Top Chenin" although I must say that the hard work the Chenin Blanc Association has been doing does show some response in that more customers tend to buy Chenin and not automatically assume they are sweet cheap wines like they used to be in days gone by. Off course most SA Chenin still shows marked residual sugar of as high as 16g/l. If you take the natural acidity off the wine into account and if it's had some lease treatment or wood fermentation then you can't go wrong. Even if none of that fabulous stuff has been done to the wine, the natural acidity and sugar almost always seem to be in good balance. It's off course makes it a fantastic wine to have with spicy foods like Thai Green Curry. Try Rudera Rudera and Rudera Robusto or Flagstone Strata Glass Carriage and the Mulderbosch Steen of Hout (Chenin on Wood) for wooded elegance and longevity.

Then there are the everyday drinking Chenins that sell for very little, around R20-R30 a bottle and are made for quaffing around a barbecue on a hot summer's day nicely chilled. If you have never tried sparkling Chenin's, I have come across a Vouvray Tete Cuvee at a very reasonable price. Should be fabulous with sushi. Try Simonsig and Knorhoek for good value and off course Du Toitskloof, winner of best value farm in SA.

Question of the week? What is your favourite everyday drinking wine and is it due to price only or other reasons.

May your weekend be filled with fabulous wine.

1 comment:

  1. For red, my favorite everyday wine has become Two Tone farms from California.

    I change my everyday reds all the time, but I am becoming increasingly fond of Chenin Blanc, and I love the one from South Africa.

    As a matter of interest, what do you pay for (local) wine in South Africa?

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