Hamilton Russell Vineyards (HRV) - I attended a wine evening last night at Casalinga Restaurant in Muldersdrift, hosted by Anthony Hamilton Russell. We started with a Southern Right Sauvignon Blanc, which was delicious, well balanced cool climate flavours. The Chardonnay followed, 2007 vintage, I must say that I was surprised by the mandarin character of such a young Chardonnay, not wholly unpleasant though, but as always a heavy serious wine that improves with food. The food being a seafood risotto, which was superb, I haven't tasted such nice fresh prawns in a while that was so well prepared (I was told afterwards that they were steamed).

HRV produces only Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, the Sauvignon Blanc and the Pinotage belonging to the Southern Right stable. I was surprised by the Pinotage, it was far more gentle and elegant than I expected, and a serious improvement on previous vintages. Anthony said in his opening address that it was one of the most undervalued wines of RSA, and I tend to agree with him. Certainly on par with Kanonkop.

The Pinot Noir was as always very good, albeit too young. I have always found HRV Pinot to be a bit too hard for my personal preference, but the wine certainly opened up during the course of the evening and I would recommend that you decant it for a good while before consuming, I would dare to say that it might even be one of those wines that taste better on the second day.

The Gorgonzola Cheese warrants a special mention. Lovely creamy texture, and not too overpowering, made from goats milk and from a small little shop on the West Rand close to all the rose farms, wonderful.

And as always I had splendid company...

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

Financial Mail Wine Business Awards- I was privileged enough to share the stage with some illustrious wine personalities to judge the first ever FM Wine Business Awards recently. Great party, by the way. What does it mean though, wine business? Do South African wine makers even have a clue? With a few exceptions, I don't think so. Traditional methods no longer work, I personally never watch TV except sport, in real time, recording programs and watching them later saves time and also allows me to skip through the adverts. Motorists on busy highways are inundated with large banners advertising products and barely notice them anymore, unless they are catchy and stand out, or controversial. And who gets time to read magazines anymore, most professionals, which you have to admit has the know how and money to buy wine, read academic periodicals and maybe a favourite lifestyle mag, I have magazines from February that I haven't read yet, so by now old news.

The low cost marketing award was one of the categories that I had to judge, and boy oh boy, it was shocking to see what some wine farms perceived a marketing campaign to be. Reps on the road and attending wine shows, I think it has now been proven that these don't work. Wine shows are for people to get pissed and forget your name the moment Elvis has left the building.
So what do we do? Well, first you need to know what you are selling and to whom you want to sell, restaurant sales are not a means to an end and few people remember the wine they had the next day...I speak from experience, "May we please have that wine with the duck on?"-which turns out to be a porcupine and a Shiraz not a Pinotage.

I am asking you the consumer, how you would like to have wines promoted to you, that would make an impact on your buying patterns? And not just a spur of the moment purchase, but a lifetime of commitment to a particular wine farm (if they keep the quality up, most people keep buying the same wine even though it has become undrinkable).

In the world of U-Tube, Facebook and My Space, wine makers should be making catchy videos of harvest, people enjoying there wines and even posting videos of boring wine shows. Get it out there man, the youth of today are moving onto coolers faster than you can say Breezer! We need to get them back and fast, by 30 no self respecting person should be drinking coolers, they should be sipping delicious and well made wines, talking with authority about the wine and the variety.

Start spreading the word...wine must conquer the SA drinking population...we are behind boys and girls.

Well done to Stormhoek by the way, the winner in the low cost marketing category, I look forward to some more innovative wine marketing from the dynamic Mr Graham Knox...

Happy wine shopping...time for some Rose, I think... :-)

Wine 101

At a recent wine tasting I realised again how many wine lovers are eager to learn more about wine but often feel intimidated by the subject, and the sheer volume of knowledge that it seems to require to master the art of tasting wine. It certainly is daunting, but not impossible to achieve. A few basic steps and some dedication will soon bring its rewards.

To start of with, you need to start smelling. Everything from the grass in your backyard to the mushrooms in your soup. Absorb and concentrate on smells as you walk through fruit and veg shops, sniff the avo, touch the fresh herbs and smell your fingers, think of the aromas around you and store them away in your memory bank, flowers, lavender, spices. When you eat, at home or in restaurants, try and identify the different herbs and spices used. Read the menu and see if you can pick up the flavours of the food as described in the description. Have a basic wine book on hand and start reading the descriptions, it will seem like Greek at first but will slowly become part of your vocabulary and will make wine tastings a lot less foreign.

Start with a wine book like the John Platter and read the description of the bottle of wine you drink regularly, then go and find the fruit and spices the description refers to and smell them. Next open your bottle of wine and see if you can recognize the flavours. If you can't at first, don't despair, practise makes perfect!

And above all attend as many tutored wine tastings as possible.

Happy tasting

Wine on holiday-now unlike Europe, we steam in the coastal sun here in RSA during Christmas holidays. So unless you plan on putting your prize red wines in the fridge to chill it beyond the required 18 degrees, I would suggest you go for dry rose or some low alcohol, low calorie spritzers.

We have some really good Rose in RSA at the moment, Jordan is getting good press for their current release, although I haven't tasted it as yet, hint hint :-). My favourite is the Mulderbosch Cabernet Sauvignon. I was recently given a bottle of the Juanita Cabernet Sauvignon. Excellent quality of wine, yet a little too fruity for my personal taste. If you are a fruity white wine drinker, this will be a good wine to get you onto dry rose and eventually light bodied red wines.

I, on the other hand have been consuming white wine spritzers in serious quantities, sparkling water, with any of the cheapest bottles of wine on the menu. I therefor (drum roll) have to vote for the Bellingham Johannisberger-or this is what the restaurant manager told me it was. I am however not sure if this was indeed the wine I had, as it seemed off dry and Johannisberger changed its name to Legacy a few years back. Any way, it made a fine spritzer, better than the Graca which, yes I actually ordered in a restaurant.

Spritzers are a great way to avoid the inevitable sinus attack from cheap whites, is low in calories and prevents you wanting to go to sleep after lunch when you should be watching your kids in the swimming pool. My spritzer of choice however has to be Drostyhof light, as it comes in 5 litre boxes and is already fairly low in alcohol.

Whatever you are having, always keep the champers on hand, and a good well chilled white with a bit of residual sugar for all the curries and seafood you should be having if you find yourself in Cape Town or the South Coast.

Hope you had some happy holidays.

Winex 2007-I went to Winex this year for the 1st time not being directly involved in any wine buying on a retail scale. So I, like the majority of people there, went to Winex to taste some wine and to have a good time. Buying was not a priority. To the frustration of most winemakers, I would assume! What a bun fight to get to the Ernie Els!! And not because it is the one wine that all thinks is the best wine, but rather because of its price tag. Very few South Africans will buy wine at around R500 a bottle. They were not interested in how the wine was made, what was in the bottle or even to chat to the harassed wine maker, who just held out his arm and kept pouring until the wine ran out eventually!

Which begs the question, are wine shows of any benefit to the wine farm? Wine tasting samples are after all not free, and the table at the show is not free and the staff has to get paid and has be put up in suitable accommodation. All in all an expensive exercise for, what seems to be, very little marketing benefit.

I'm sure that across the globe wine shows don't differ much, unless they are dedicated to the trade and the trade is there with the serious intention of purchasing wine for reselling.

So why do we have wine shows? Above all in the hope that you will get lucky and the consumer will leave the show having noticed and tasted your wine, and hopefully buying it in future. Not all wine farms waste their money, I would think that De Toren probably can attribute their meteoric rise to the the top in part to their showing at Winex. But then they did not just leave it to the odds in the hope that they will get noticed. Their stand is always very visible (they traditionally have taken the first stand at the front door) and are always nicely dressed, and above all they maintain contact by collecting details of those who taste and send email newsletters to them.

Wine awards (except maybe Veritas) does not reach the man on the street, only 20 odd thousand people read Wine Mag SA, and the rest of the market has very little exposure. Wine dinners have become common place even on the outskirts of Gauteng, and to my mind still remain the best possible way of marketing your wine in a controlled environment. And certainly costs far less than attending Winex!

All in all, I have to admit that I think South African wine marketers are not reaching their target markets effectively. Wine consumptions per capita in South Africa is declining, and no wonder, alcoholic fruit beverage industry excels at reaching the younger markets.

Maybe the fragmentation in the SA market can be blamed for this. As the smaller wine farms do not have the capital or necessary skills to do this effectively.

Wine Regions should try and stand together, pool their resources and fight for the young affluent market, especially under black South Africans, most of them eager to learn about wine, and with the disposable income to match.

South African wine farms can learn a lot from the one farm that has excelled at marketing itself, Stormhoek, it is however interesting to note that they have done very little direct marketing to the SA market, and this is speaking from a consumers point of view. What I know about Stormhoek comes from their wine blog and my retail days, and I would not have known of their wine blog if my brother had not sent me a cartoon from it! They are however hugely successful in the UK.

Above all, I write about wine marketing as I see it. The farms may disagree with me and feel that they can't possible do more. If you have noticed any good wine marketing recently please feel free to froward me the details.

Have a good wine week.

Cape Winemakers Guild- The Guild has received a lot of press lately from around the world. They achieved very good results for most of the entries in international competition 90/100 and more and had a record wine auction, which saw more international buyers showing an interest.

What a pity then that the local news channel, on reporting on the auction, end up only showing the private labels of the individual farms and not the traditional white and red label of all auction wines. Look out for these wines on the Makro wine shelves soon, as far as I know they are one of the few retailers brave enough to stock these wines.

The lack of sales and interest from retailers is partly the fault of the CWG, and partly that of retail. The CWG concentrates too much on attracting buyers to the auction instead of trying to familiarise local wine consumers with the wine and the huge investment potential in these wines.

Retailers for the most part, are ignorant on what the CWG wines have to offer, or simply do not have sufficient educated staff to promote the wine during peak wine buying seasons like Christmas.

I still believe that you can pick up any bottle of wine with a CWG label and be assured of quality. And yes, maybe the wine is not necessarily better than the farm's flagship wines, it is not because you are getting ripped off but merely because the quality of the individual farms are exceptionally high.

One has to however, remember that the CWG is all about individual achievement and not so much about terroir. As the winemaker moves on, the CWG label moves with him. Definately not the French way of doing things. There is merit in this though, as it should inspire winemakers to achieve great results no matter where they are and what the terroir has to offer. The individual will be required to bring the best out of any terroir.

Be brave this Christmas, and go for some of the best, albeit fairly unknown wines of South Africa.

Wine in Parys-I have been coming to Parys my entire life. Literally, as I was born in the local hospital. The fact that I was born here is maybe ironic, as Paris-France is translated into Afrikaans as Parys. So I was born in a town that translates into something French, and alas, I do love French wine.
So, it was with great pleasure that I saw a wine tasting being advertised as I drove into town on my way to my dad's house. I didn't waste any time to visit the website ASAP. www.vaalwineroute.co.za
Different restaurants along the Vaal River were presenting some fine wine indeed. And the two I visited had some damn fine food as well. The wines I tasted included a Haute Cabriere Pinot Noir, De Wets Hof Pinot Noir (both, in my view very bad examples of Pinot Noir), Morkel-a host of their wines, but man, the Atticus is damn good! Another two wines that impressed me was, Meinert Merlot (as always) and the Grande Provence Cabernet-must be old clone, loads of mint, absolutely fab! The De Wetshof Sauvignon Blanc was damn fine as well, totally overpowering all that comes after it.
If you have never been to Parys, it used to be a dusty old town with nothing happening for a hundred miles, but with the development of the Vredefort Koepel as a World Heritage site, and the Nicky Price Golf Course that's on its way, this sleepy riverside town is hip and happening, although i would still recommend having some hip and happening friends accompanying you!
Favourite restaurants-O's-great view of the river and Feast, very modern, nice food and goodies (bought some great herbal tea).
See the wine route map for directions. Close to JHB. Wine tasting on till 19 August 2007 from 12:00 till 18:00, every Saturday, Sunday and public holiday. Plenty Guesthouses.

Wine in your blood or rather blood made from wine- I guess that would be a good description of my love of wine. If it's in your blood it stays there. My current job has zero to do with wine, drinking on the job is certainly not a good idea and will seriously impair your ability to be successful, as with most jobs I suppose. Yet I am looking for ways to talk about wine, teach people about wine and the great thing is, people love to listen. As everybody wants to learn more about wine who has ever had an impressionable wine pass their lips. Wine inherently has a sense of mystery about it, a little like a woman I guess, just when u think u know them well, they change.
In South Africa our wine consumption per capita is declining steadily and a recent reader poll of Wine Magazine found that they would like to see the SA wine market grow rather than have exports grow. How many of those people are actively promoting wine consumption in SA? Start a social wine club at your house, organise a wine function for charity and so much more. Just think of the jobs we will create and the visibility it will give our wines, not to mention the fun you will have.
Wine farms need to find more inventive ways to market their products, the traditional methods of advertising are stale and boring. We have a huge and untapped market ready for business, but scared to buy, as the very purchase itself is intimidating!
So go out there and advertise the very product you love so much as it could only improve the quality of that which you love to drink.

Happy drinking.

Champagne in any manner or form-It might be my affinity towards Pinot Noir and Chardonnay which makes me love Champagne as well. I had slush puppy Moet Rose last night. And no, it wasn't intentional and you might say, damn why ruin a good champagne that way? And I will answer and say:" it was fab and refreshing and certainly gives a new edge to a champagne cocktail if you should feel like spicing up the Kir" (for those who don't know- a champagne cocktail is, normally, white Champagne, cassis and a marachino cherry, yes as simple as that!). No ice was added, it was just left in the freezer too long by hubby, who can't handle warm champers.

Talking about Champagne though, it's that time of the year again when it's the drink of choice. And also the time of the year when people ask for Champagne and they mean sparkling wine (Champagne being from Champagne region France, although I don't think the US has these regulations). In South Africa I have great pleasure in taking them to our French Champagne section and watching the look of astonishment on their faces as they are confronted by prices which are ten times more than the cheap carbonated stuff, flogged by the hundreds off thousands by JC Le Roux. Although in all fairness, JC has tried to redeem themselves by making Scintilla(spelling?) and Desiderius, although I personally find Scintilla far better than the more pricey Desiderius and besides the Louis Roederer Crystal rip-off packaging on Desidirius did not 'inderius' them to me either.

Now there is a magnificent Champagne, Louis Roederer Crystal, if you've never had it, you haven't had the best, but good hunting as it's very scarce in SA. I would try Norman Goodfellows after trying everyone else, as they also charge premium for the availability! Around R1000 more than the rest per bottle, this was the case last year in any event, not sure what the situation is now with stocks. Contact Makro and find out from Jacqui at the Woodmead branch.

For those of you you lucky enough to live in the USA or the UK, enjoy and save me a bottle!

Other local stuff worth trying is Graham Beck and Pierre Jordan, although I have personally always found Pierre Jordan, from Cabriere Estate, too dry with not much flavour-and that goes for their whole range. I want all sparkling wine, not vintage that is, to have the fruitiness and complexity of a Veuve Cliquot Yellow Label.

If you want to go foreign, try Freixenet-lovely and biscuity-from Spain, in the well known black bottle, and try some of the English ones, had a very good one from Denbies the other day,Greenfields-around 20 pounds a bottle., very light and elegant with a good acidity.

I am not familiar with any Californian Sparkling Wines , as they are not freely available in South Africa, but would love to hear your thoughts on them, so please forward me your tasting notes. I am still happy to swop a case of South African Wine with a case of USA wine if anyone would like to take me up on my offer.

Other than that I am looking forward to some holiday drinking with my family. Good wine with fine people. Hope you have the same experience.

Have a bubbly few weeks till Christmas.

Why do we drink wine? I don't like being drunk. I like being relaxed but not drunk. Two small children and a big car to drive home, not worth it! But I looove wine. I love the smell of wine, the taste of elegance and finesse in good reds and the velvety smoothness of a well made Rioja, Pinot Noir or a superior blend, like the CWG Auction Shiraz from Bredell. (Making myself thirsty here :-)

So how do you drink great wine and not get drunk. You stay home! Or you choose quality over quantity and savor every sip. And this is exactly where my problem lies with South African wine drinkers in general. They want to guzzle volume and compromise on quality. And probably most other wine drinkers the world over.

There is nothing better than savouring a good sip of wine. Smelling the wine, ooooh nothing better than a good nose on wine-Pinot Noir comes to mind! Your mouth watering from the very first sip. The flavour lingering in your mouth, and your tastebuds tingling. And your stomach crying out for good food! Most amazing is how a good wine improves with every sip and improves ten fold when matched with the right food.

I would rather have a beer than drink bad wine, and have done so often at weddings or functions with shocking wine options.

So, moral of the story, remain sober, drink slowly and drink well made wine.

Why do u drink wine?

Pinot Noir-Apparently this is the grape variety most commonly featured in blogs. No wonder, who does not want to wax lyrical about Pinot Noir? Ok some of you might prefer the more robust flavours of Syrah or the more tannic structures of Cabernet, but for me their is only one love. I have come to realize that I love to taste good wine, like we all do but alas, I prefer to drink Pinot Noir. Even bad Pinot is better than most other wines. I recently had a bottle of Chamonix Pinot Noir 2002, although not bad and very drinkable , it had a little too much ripe fruit which crippled the elegance but otherwise a fine drink (R54 at Bootleggers Fourways). I also bought a bottle of Fryers Cove Pinot Noir but have as yet not had a chance to sample it. This is from the new area, Bamboes Bay, and it would make an interesting addition to an appellation tasting of SA Pinot Noir wines. As far as I know they are in a cooler climate similar to those of Bouchard Finlayson and Hamilton Russell. The Fryers Cove is very well priced, only R71 retail.

Talking about Bouchard Finlayson, the 2004 vintage is to die for. Recently went to a tasting at a restaurant in Sandton and loved it! I have subsequently ordered some for home consumption and yum! It was also interesting to note that if you cannot finish the bottle (or for that matter the second bottle) the same night, it keeps very well and improved dramatically on the second night and was still good on the third night (sorry, slow drinker, small children and all!). Probably due to the excellent vinification methods used and the use of oak that preserves the wine well even once opened.

Well, all I can say, if you haven't yet had Pinot Noir, buy some now! It's not for everyone but if you have a keen sense of smell, you will never forget the delicate flavours of a good bottle of Pinot.

Happy drinking!

PS If you haven't watched the movie Sideways yet, rent the DVD and get a bottle of Pinot!

Wine Mark Ups in restaurants-I came across an article in www.jancisrobinson.com were wines in restaurants were debated and their profitability discussed. It was stated that the areas discussed (UK) used mark ups of 60%-70% and food costs at 22%-25%. I find it disgusting that South African restaurants can have mark ups of 150% to 250% and get away with it. If consumers stand together and refuse to pay exorbitant prices for wine that was not even stored properly or matured at the restaurant's expense, with a few exceptions, like Browns and The Butcher Shop and grill, than what right do they have to make more money than the wine farm itself? and most of the time the wine lists are atrocious with so few good wines available and only wines from one or two suppliers with loads of cheapies selling at premium prices.

Guys, you need to take your own wine! If we refuse to buy high priced wines and all take good quality wine with us we will still save money. If your retail price for a bottle of Chardonnay is R100, hypothetically, then the restaurant price will be R250 (more or less as the restaurant will not be paying retail prices) so if you take that bottle of wine with you and pay R50 corkage, you still save R100, the price of the second bottle!!

I always like to suggest to retail customers that they have a so called "restaurant rack" in their cellar were they keep the wines from R100 upwards and take these wines with them when they dine out. You will off course have your own benchmark and can take something a little cheaper but remember that if you take a cheapie you will be saving far less and have to drink bad wine with good food (maybe have a separate set of wines for your franchise sojourns)

So we hope to see you shopping up a storm and buying nice wines to dine with.

Maud

The public's ignorance-I had two very amusing comments this weekend regarding wine and thought i would share it with you. In a country like South Africa were our rugby players are gods, one such a former World-Cup-winning player is Kobus Wiese. Over the weekend while consulting for a wine store in Fourways, a lady came in and asked for Weisser Riesling. I then showed her our local selection and she chose the Hartenberg which she then told was owned/made by Kobus WIESE. I said "No 'mam this is not so, I know the winemaker and the owner and it's not Kobus Wiese, to no avail, she left with a bottle of WIESE-Riesling and I'm sure the winemaker will be happy he made a sale. Hopefully she will like the wine and continue buying it when she one day realizes her mistake, if ever!

Another amusing incident was in the local newspaper in the area were i live where I have to admit wine knowledge is very sparse. The article went along the lines of two people who got very sick after they discovered "glass" in their wine. I personally thought that the volume of wine caused the vomiting not the glass but to any event the winefarm answered the query by stating that when wine goes through temperature fluctuations crystals can be formed in the wine. They were of course talking about tartrates which are mostly found in white wines that have been over chilled and on the corks of red wines especially ones that have matured in the bottle. So no, I doubt if the two sick gentlemen were sick from drinking wine and the article ends off with the negative connotation that what happens if others drink wine and get glass in their wine! As if we don't already have a shrinking per capita consumption of wine!!

As I said at dinner on Sunday, it is our responsibility as wine lovers to educate this world on wine and that includes your ignorant friends.

Happy teaching.

Maud

The public's ignorance-I had two very amusing comments this weekend regarding wine and thought i would share it with you. In a country like South Africa were our rugby players are gods, one such a former World-Cup-winning player is Cobus Wiese. Over the weekend while consulting for a wine store in Fourways, a lady came in and asked for Weisser Riesling. I then showed her our local slection and she chose the Hartenberg which she then told was owned/made by Kobus WIESE. I said "No 'mam this is not so, I know the winemaker and the owner and it's not Kobus Wiesse, to no avail, she left with a bottle of WIESE-Riesling and I'm sure the winemaker will be happy he made a sale. Hopefully she will like the wine and continue buying it when she one day realizes her mistake, if ever!

Another amuzing incident was in the local newspaper in the area were i live where I have to admit wine knowledge is very sparce. The article went along the lines of two people who got very sick after they discovered "glass" in their wine. I personally thought that the volume of wine caused the vomiting not the glass but to any event the winefarm answered the query by stating that when wine goes through temperature flactuations christals can be formed in the wine. They were of course talking about tartrates which are mostly found in white wines that have been overchilled and on the corks of red wines especially ones that have matured in the bottle. So no, I doubt if the two sick gentlemen were sick from drinking wine and the article ends off with the negative connotation that what happens if others drink wine and get glass in their wine! As if we don't already have a shrinking per capita consumption of wine!!

As I said at dinner on Sunday, it is our responsibility as wine lovers to educate this world on wine and that includes your ignorant friends.

Happy teaching.

Maud

WINE FAULTS-Brettanomyces - Two of the most common faults in wine besides oxidation and still not recognised by most consumers. The damage this does to the image of a wine is tremedous as a buyer who is unfamiliar with a corked wine will just never buy that wine again. Brett on the other hand can have the effect of enhancing the nose of the wine in certain instances by adding dimension to certain flavours but in the long run kills the nose and complexity of the wine. A Brett nose can be described as 'barnyard, leather, clove and strong spice to medicinal and animal' (From Purely Pinot Noir). To tell you the honest truth it still confuses the hell out of me! As the above are smells that I actually like in wine but they can luckily also be caused by lactic acid bacteria and acetic acid bacteria. It is found especially in Shiraz and Bordeaux blends. Cellar hygiene is essential to prevent Brett and strangely enough it is more common on new barrels. So next time you see them scrubbing barrels, jump in and help!
Cork taint-Now cork taint on the other hand is foul, no matter how you look at it, it just does not improve with age or enhances any phenols (flavour compounds). 10% Of the recent Trophy hopefuls at the Trophy Wine Show were found to be tainted by TCA (cork taint) and Michael Fridjion rightly asks how South Africa remains so committed to an archiac, inadequate and unreliable closure (Grape.co.za see link)
Another reason SA wines are stuck in the dark ages are due to the monopoly that Consol has on the supply and distribution of bottles. Ken Forrester (big Chenin Blanc producer) was apparently forced to export in bulk and bottle in Europe were Stelvin (screw-cap) closures are far cheaper due to the fact that no bottles were available in SA by Consol and that it was an urgent order for a UK retailer that only accepts wines under Stelvin closures. Maybe if more SA wine drinkers start returning their corked and oxidized wines retailers in SA will also start demanding Stelvin.
Oxidation is something that does not ruin the wine completely for most people but I find it unpleasant and get irritated thinking that another possibly brilliant wine was ruined by cork combined with poor storage. It just kills the nose and general complexity of the wine for me. It essentially is how wine under cork mature as oppose to a slow anaerobic process under Stelvin but has a negative influence if it happens too quickly.

So don't be scared, buy Stelvin and get a fresh well preserved wine, especially if you're travelling. Don't want to get to the other side of the world with a corked wine!

See ya.

Riesling and Rose-In South Africa there is still much confusion under the public as to what these really are. What I mean by this, is that we used Riesling as a vehicle for cheap sweet wines for many years and Riesling is still seen as this. Not the good quality Rieslings from Alsace and Germany but rather flabby excuses for wine. This has been the same situation with Rose. Luckily Rose, like Chenin Blanc, is trying to improve their image. This can be attributed mostly to the red wine glut of recent years which has seen winefamers scrambling to find outlets for leftover red wine grapes. Now there are a few good quality rose's around, of particular note is the Mulderbosch Cabernet Rose which is just delicious and easy to drink. If you want something ice cold for summer, try Beyerskloof Pinotage Rose, although not of outstanding quality it is a great thirst quencher. Boschendal Blanc De Noir has been around for as long as I can remember and is certainly not a four star wine but worth tasting to see what the populace in SA are so mad about, mostly expatriate Germans I have to confess from retail experience and also found on almost all wine lists.
So what am I trying to say? Try a good dry Rose with your next purchase, especially if whites give you sinus and it's too hot for red and do try some good Rhine Riesling or if you want to splash out on some Alsace, as this is almost the only international Riesling you will find worth drinking in South Africa, Hugel is freely available at most premium wine stores. Their are some very good Noble Late Harvest(dessert wine) made from Riesling so go shop around and experiment. Exellent with camembert cheese.
I've made myself thirsty now!! Happy tasting.

Riesling and Rose-In South Africa there is still much confusion under the public as to what these really are. What I mean by this, is that we used Riesling as a vehicle for cheap sweet wines for many years and Riesling is still seen as this. Not the good quality Rieslings from Alsace and Germany but rather flabby excuses for wine. This has been the same situation with Rose. Luckily Rose, like Chenin Blanc, is trying to improve their image. This can be attributed mostly to the red wine glut of recent years which has seen winefamers scrambling to find outlets for leftover red wine grapes. Now there are a few good quality rose's around, of particular note is the Mulderbosch Cabernet Rose which is just delicious and easy to drink. If you want something ice cold for summer, try Beyerskloof Pinotage Rose, although not of outstanding quality it is a great thirst quencher. Boschendal Blanc De Noir has been around for as long as I can remember and is certainly not a four star wine but worth tasting to see what the populace in SA are so mad about, mostly expatriate Germans I have to confess from retail experience and also found on almost all wine lists.
So what am I trying to say? Try a good dry Rose with your next purchase, especially if whites give you sinus and it's too hot for red and do try some good Rhine Riesling or if you want to splash out on some Alsace, as this is almost the only international Riesling you will find worth drinking in South Africa, Hugel is freely available at most premium wine stores. Their are some very good Noble Late Harvest(dessert wine) made from Riesling so go shop around and experiment. Exellent with camembert cheese.
I've made myself thirsty now!! Happy tasting.

Champagne-Nectar of the Gods or just good marketing? Probably a little bit of both. I'm doing a Bubbly tasting this weekend and looking forward to it BIG TIME as I'm a great lover of Champagne and Sparkling wine for that matter but then of course it has to be made according to THE METHOD. Secondary Fermentation, disgorgement and of course the magic yeast cells in the bottle to start of with and let's not forget the remuage, that age old French Tradition of turning the bottles until they virtually stand upright to move the yeast cells to the neck of the bottle, now replaced by mechanical cages in the New World. http://www.champagne.fr/en_fini_video.html A video of this process is available on this link. The official Champagne website.

I don't think that a Method Cap Classique as they are called here in South Africa could ever quite have the complexity of a real French one unless they are aged and meticulously made with of course the right grapes. A lot of Sparkling wines are not always made from Chardonnay, Pinot meaner and Pinot Noir. I have had some marvelous examples from Vouvray made from Chenin with a touch of sugar for the not so dry palates.
South Africa has some good examples in the form of Graham Beck, Jacques Bruere and Simonsig- all former Cap Classique Champions. If you find yourself in Franschoek though the farm not to be missed is Haute Cabriere with some 5 different Cap Classiques and a traditional subrage done at every cellar tour.

As I always say, be adventurous and try something new, not only the well known brand names! and happy drinking.

What's in a glass? I was going through a book last night on the Riedel dynasty and wondered why we are so enamored by glasses. Any host/ess will tell you that a nice glass is essential but in wine it is not just the colour and shape of the glass that is important but also the thickness of the lip and the ability to swirl the wine and admire the legs.

Why does the size of the lip matter? Besides for the fact that no one want to drink good wine from a glass that reminds you of a cheap water glass, you also don't want to interfere with the way the splendid liquid enters your mouth and hits your tongue on impact. And who wants to drink out of a red glass even if it does match your theme? Keep those for the water, how can you admire a fine claret if you can't see it? How can you judge sweetness and alcohol if you cant's see the legs?

The one part were Riedel has gone against common belief is when they designed a tasting glass that actually has a space in the stem for your wine and creates a gentle stream when brought to your mouth, nice to watch! And good to taste from as well. The best way to get your favourite glass though is still to try all your own glasses and see which one does justice to your favourite bottle.