South African Wine Regions of Note
June 2, 2011I don’t know about you, but I always seem to have a tendency to forget about South Africa. Not that the wines are bad, but they certainly have their high and low points…<cough>…Pinotage…<cough>…
I’m not just going to pick on Pinotage (a crossing between Pinot Noir and Cinsault), but I think it’s fairly obvious that South Africa had the big plan that it was going to become the grape that was finally going to put them on the map. The wine map that is. This along the same lines of what Pinot Grigio is to Italy, Malbec to Argentina, Plavac Mali to Croatia…you get the idea!
Unfortunately, Pinotage hasn’t exactly turned out to be the gold mine that was hoped for, and producers have started focusing their efforts towards Syrah, Cabernet and Bordeaux grape varietals in general.
Probably because they are indeed still finding their identity, South Africa is just one of those wine producing countries that doesn’t seem to get too much attention, either in the wine press, or indeed on restaurant wine lists.
In South Africa, the higher quality wines are from regions generally closer to the Atlantic and Indian Ocean’s coastline. Towards the interior, as you can probably already imagine, it gets extremely hot and produces wines that tend to be rough and overripe.
There are more than a dozen wine producing regions in South Africa, but the following are the three better regions known for producing a generally consistent standard of wines. If you haven’t already noticed in wine, there are a lot of generalities thrown around!
Posted in News | Tagged Cinsault, Constantia, Muscat, Paarl, Pinot Noir, Pinotage, South Africa, Stellenbosch | Leave a comment //
How to Open a Bottle of Wine, Courtesy of Basil Fawlty
June 2, 2011 Posted in Funny | Tagged Funny | Leave a comment //How to Evaluate a Food and Wine Pairing.
June 1, 2011
I think it should go without saying that everyone has a lifetime worth of experiences and knowledge relating to food tastes and characteristics; but most of us don’t necessarily pair wine with meals on a daily basis.
As a result, it could be stated that the general population lacks a decent ability to match appropriate wines with particular foods. Because of this, we generally have a shortage of good advice that people can use in everyday situations. In reality, there are very few wine choices that will totally ruin a meal, but good choices can raise the experience of a meal from enjoyable to memorable.
It’s a given that wine accompanies food, and food is always constantly looking for the perfect wine match. However, to fully understand the term ‘to accompany’, we must realize that this is the perfect "coming together” of both elements, where one does not mask the other, but where there is the best possible representation and expression of both. Synergy if you will!
It’s important to remember, there are no perfect food and wine pairings that everyone will love!
An example of a simply awesome pairing would be the marriage of Sauvignon Blanc from the Sancerre region of France, with salty 
raw oysters. But this doesn’t work if you have someone that doesn’t care for oysters, or Sauvignon Blanc for that matter!
A lot of people use the idea of “…forget convention!!! If you want to pair red wine with fish, then you go right on ahead”.
I can agree with this up-to a point, however once you have experienced a perfect wine pairing, it may cause you to rethink that statement.
With the food and wine pairings that I have been running on this website, I thought it was worth a little insight into the framework that I use to assess the outcome of the wine pairing itself. It’s my slight attempt at making this whole thing that ever so slightly “academic”!
I’ve tried to simplify it as much as possible, in order to make it something you can use yourself, either in your own home or out to eat at a restaurant.
This Week In Wine – May 28th 2011
May 28, 2011
English sparkling wine should be called Champagne, says Camilla
English sparkling wine should be called Champagne, according to the Duchess of Cornwall.
The quality of English fizz is so good the drink "is champagne" the Duchess declared, echoing what many in the English wine trade believe, but showing scant regard for complex and strict European food labeling laws.
The Duchess’s comments came as she and the Prince of Wales toured the Denbies Wine Estate in Surrey, which last week won an award for producing the best rose wine in the world.
After taking a sip of the rose Charles turned to his wife and asked: "What does our resident expert think?" and she replied "It’s very good" and said a few moments later "That’s so good it’s absolutely delicious."
Click here for the full story.
My Thoughts
Oh, I’m sure the French are going to LOVE this one! I’ve been reading a lot about English wine lately, and more precisely how much the quality has improved, even just over the last few years. Comparing it to Champagne is a little bit of a stretch though, and that’s me talking without even tasting it!
I’ll promise you this though; I’m visiting England this year in August and I’ll definitely give you a video review of some “English Sparklers” whilst I’m over there. If it doesn’t match up to Champagne, I’ll be having some choice words with my good friend Camilla…
Posted in Funny, News | Tagged Auctions, Bordeaux, Champagne, China, England, France, Health, Sparkling Wine | Leave a comment //
Mer Soleil Silver Chardonnay – Ceramic Bottle Edition!
May 27, 2011
Wine: Mer Soleil “Silver” Chardonnay 2009
Place: Santa Lucia Highlands, Monterey, California
Grapes: 100% Chardonnay
Retail: Around $23
The Mer Soleil Duo Paired with Coronation Chicken Salad with Mangoes and Almonds
May 26, 2011
Since today is/was #ChardonnayDay on Twitter, my day has been very much planned accordingly around the worlds most popular white grape.
You’re forgiven if you aren’t yet clued in as to what #ChardonnayDay is actually all about; it’s new to me too!
The event essentially revolves around Twitter, with wine drinkers throughout the Twitterverse (yes it’s a word) all gathering either online or at various organized meetups to drink and “tweet” tasting notes and opinions with respect to the various Chardonnay’s they are imbibing.
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