|
When
chatting to our winemakers, I am usually
green with envy. They have the most
wonderful stories of wine tastings in exotic
and historical places. Lugging bottles of
cabernet sauvignon to the Dorchester Hotel
in London or chenin blanc to the Ritz in
Paris. Wine and dining, and rubbing
shoulders with the crème de la crème of the
wine and food world. Fantastic cuisine,
consumed in Michelin starred diners.
Well, I am chuffed to say that I have also
just returned from leading a wine tasting in
a place that may also be exotic to some. The
place was De Aar in the Karoo, where the
Stellenbosch American Express® Wine Routes
was invited to present wine tasting lectures
during the Karoo Festival.
|
Well, I think that during this
experience I may just have put one
over some of the most widely
traveled wine makers from the top
wineries!
The approach of the Karoo Festival
is, well, pretty honest and direct.
Cuisine plays and extremely
important part, with the regional
speciality being a roasted whole
sheep’s head. Hundreds of these
glutinous golden brown things are
consumed during the festival. And
there is not reason to scoff. I
mean, is there not a highly prized
French delicacy called tête de veau,
being nothing other than poached
calf’s head?
Then, with mouths shining and greasy
from the sheep’s heads, the locals
turned out in droves for the
tasting. The wine was tasted
(drank!) with relish. The people
were refreshingly forthright with
their opinions and were not in the
least hesitant to ask basic
questions with fear of embarrassing
themselves. And it
would seem as if the people of the
Karoo can’t wait to visit – or
revisit – Stellenbosch to take a
closer look at the wine industry. We
look forward to hosting them, for
around a sheep’s head and a shiraz
we became friends for life. |
 |
This
local marketing, using a generic regional
approach, to get our own communities thirsty
for wine-knowledge, is crucial.
 |
THE Cape
Winemaker’s Guild hosted their
post-harvest report at Glen Carlou
recently. Adi Badenhorst from
Rustenberg covered the Stellenbosch
region, using inputs from other
Guild Members in the region.
“Stellenbosch
had one of the earliest harvests
ever and the manic rush to bring in
the early varietals paid off with
promising results. Later varieties
such as Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon,
Cabernet Franc and Shiraz benefited
from the cooler weather allowing
slower ripening. There is general
excitement about the whites with
great flavours, textures and lower
sugars than in previous years.
Fabulous fruit characters with
accessible tannins can be expected
from the reds and blending will be
an exciting challenge with the early
varietals showing higher acidity as
opposed to the later riper, rounder
wines. Chardonnay also looks
excellent.”
So the hellish
heat at the beginning of the season
seems not to have had the last say
on the harvest, and we have some
great wines to look forward to. I
also hear that bulk buyers are
falling over each other to get hold
of 2007 sauvignon blanc. Those that
do, are paying premium. |
|
|
EVERYTHING is on track for this
year’s bigger and better Stellenbosch Wine Festival
on 2, 3, 4 and 5 August. One of the changes will see
us moving away from the previous situation where all
the wineries were lumped together in the hall and
the food stalls being relegated to the adjacent
tent. Both venues will now have wine and food
stands, which will lead to a better spread of
visitors.
In the week leading up to and
during the Festival, exclusive dinners will be held
at Bilton, Webersburg, Jordan, Overgaauw, Waterford,
Ernie Els and Simonsig. We are delighted that Wine
Magazine will once again take ownership of the
lecture facility and an exciting programme is in the
making.
Details are on
http://www.wineroute.co.za/festival.asp |
 |
|
 |
ON the wine
launch front, Eikendal launched their maiden Brut
Rosé.
This
frivolous and intensely fruity carbonated wine, is
an exuberant medley of Merlot, Shiraz, Cabernet
Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc to which it owes its
cheerful coral blush. Eikendal Brut Rosé unleashes a
refreshing wild berry infusion with an invigorating
spirit to outlast any party whilst bursting with
fine, frisky bubbles.
The new
Eikendal Brut Rosé is perfect for any day, anytime
enjoyment and with its reasonable price tag,
deservedly a ‘must have item’ for the fridge.
This
sparkling wine is available from R38 per bottle,
directly from the Eikendal Cellar or at leading wine
outlets and selected supermarkets nationwide. |
|
Keep the news rolling in. I am off to
the tourism Indaba in Durban, hoping to
help fly the Stellenbosch flag as high
as it can go.
Until next time,
Annareth Jacobs
CEO Stellenbosch American Express®
Wine Routes
|
|
|
