Cape Exclusive wine event- This time of the year is traditionally the "season" for wine shows, one after the other till around October, the poor wine makers pouring out litres of wine in the hope that a couple of drunk people will remember the wine and then go out and buy it, it is especially hard for the premium brands as purchases for these wines are reserved for the select few who can afford to splurge, they are most unlikely to hang out at wine shows though. It is also most annoying for the wine makers when long cues of people try to taste only the most expensive wines, with no interest in the content, the wine making techniques or anything of consequence, and it's merely a matter of being able to say that they have had such and such a wine to impress their mates.

I have often lamented on the futility of such wine shows and thus did not expect myself last night to find any wines that would be highly recommendable, in the fog of tasting and talking, however, as a somewhat experienced wine taster, I was delighted to taste two new wines from the Overgaauw estate that mightily impressed me, the one was their new Chenin Blanc and the other was their Semillon (the likes of which I have never tasted), it would certainly fool most experienced wine tasters in a blind tasting, the most wondrous fruit, good balance and length, the price of both these wines are in the R40 range and highly recommended.

I was once again impressed by the Oak Valley wines, the Sauvignon Blanc was most delicious, with a flavour profile very unlike anything that I have tasted from Elgin recently, none of that really in your face acidity that leads to an instant sinus attack.

If you are having a fun day around the pool and want to start of with something even more fun, the Brampton Rose was a delight, a seriously tootie fruity wine with a colour perfectly matched to that of maraschino cherries. I would recommend a block of ice if you don't lean towards the sweeter of rose styles. A good picnic wine that will go well with most strong cheeses, made with Rhone varieties, unlike so many Pinotage Rose wines. Fabulous with sun dried tomatoes, goats cheese and Parma ham

As a non-drinker of Pinotage I made a point of tasting some of the top Pinotage, I found the Southern Right too fruity and too bitter, simultaneously. However the Kanonkop Pinotage was very good as usual, showing such elegance and finesse that one might mistake it for a French wine from a top region.

Join in the tasting fun in the next few months and remember to respect the wines and the winemakers and to at least make an attempt to record your favourites so as not to waste all the time and effort that the wine makers have expended to attend the wine shows so diligently.

And remember, bottles of tasting stock cost the wine farms a lot of money, so don't be greedy :-)

Maud