Hi there

Life is looking bright and the 2005 vintage Sauvignon Blanc from SA are fabulous. Lots of fruit again for a change, not too austere and more palatable than last year if your inclined to finish the bottle on your own. 2004 S/Blanc were more food driven and hard to consume copious amounts off when alone.

Wine of the week-Tasted a really good red wine on Tuesday which even complimented the pickled fish if you can believe that! It's called Terrace Bay 2001 from Vergenoegd and made by John Faure also a Cape Winemakers Guild member. Retails at around R65 a bottle. Their Cabernet 2000 astounded me, it was so smooth and velvety it could have come from Pomerol! Try it you won't be sorry.

We are having a fine tasting tonight with some Alsace, Pomerol, Marlborough and CWG Auction wines and even an Ernie Els. Sorry you can't be there, our wine club still has space for around 4 people for any interested parties. Can't give you too much info on the wine as it's a blind tasting!

Upcoming wine events
1 October- Saturday A Chardonnay and Pinot Noir Exclusive at Makro Centurion from 10.30am-1.30pm
5 October-Wednesday BIG wine festival at Makro Centurion- Over 200 wines to be tasted.
6 October- Thursday A fabulous gourmet dinner with actress Illse Roos and her family wine farm Mooiplaas at the new country venue, Robert Broom Restaurant. Tickets are limited. Call 082 809 3454 to book.
26-28 October- Winex, JHB's biggest wine show with over 300 wine farms! Not to be missed, takes place in Sandton at the Convention Centre across from Sandton square, tickets through computicket.

Question? What is the oldest wine you have ever had? Red and White?
For me the oldest white is Gaston-Huet Vouvray 1924 and the oldest red was probably around 1970 or so. Both fantastic. Drinking older wines teaches you so much more about wine and the way it is a living product that evolves in the bottle. Try it, keep one or buy something old if you can find it.

I had the opportunity this weekend to taste some fabulous Pomerol and Vouvray wines. Also picked up the word 'fabulous', sounds so much better than 'nice' doesn't it?

The chance to taste Chateau Petrus 1986 and Le Fleur Petrus made me break the bank a little but it was worth it. The food at the Park Hyatt hotel were the function was held was overwhelming for my Afrikaans palate and Italian food lover. I am not sure that the Vouvray went with the basil dominated desert but it certainly went with the herbaceous red wines.

The food was fusion deluxe and had me so confused that someone had to help me decipher the menu :-) Although all around me the Le Fleur Petrus was declared the favourite I have never experienced a nose on wine like the Petrus, totally out of this world with fruit flavours not common to red wine as I know it. The balance and elegance of all the Pomerol's were amazing even the more fruit dominated ones were fantastic. I will give you a full update of what was tasted and my tasting notes next week or maybe tomorrow if I get a chance.

A few of them did remind me of some SA wines though and thus my wine of the week has to be;
Cederberg Cabernet Sauvignon-fruit driven yet fantastically elegant from the SA West Coast
De Toren Fusion V- A blend of Bordeaux varieties fused to perfection, smooth and elegant. Voted one of the best red blends in the world.

Event of the week- must be the inaugural Soweto wine festival, the first of it's kind in the Townships of SA.

Happy drinking and remember life's too short to drink bad wine!