SA Rocks

Some good friends of mine love Woolworths’ Zezty White and Juicy Red so much – that they have named their ski boat “Zesty”.

That and they know that the only gift they will ever receive from me will undoubtedly be a box of Zesty!

As the names suggest, the two ‘house’ wines from Woollies are just that – Zesty and Juicy. They come at a great price and are great buy’s if you looking for a midweek quaffer or affordable wine to share with friends over a braai/at the beach.

The ‘box wine’ versions of these two winners are brilliant – they come in sleek and stlyish 3L boxes that will fit nicely into the coolbox or into the extra small space in the boot.

Give them a go and let me know what you think – and look out for Woollies’ Italian wine range too, some good stuff in there for good prices.

Cru Master

Popularity: 4% [?]

Whether wine comes in a papsak, a bottle with a fancy label, with award stickers, a cardboard box or a jug – well it doesn’t matter!

The real allure of wine, contrary to the Cremora Ad, is more about what’s inside than anything else.

It’s like the search for that perfect wave: obvious to find at J Bay but who knows you may just experience a killer set at Camps Bay (unlikely I know but you get my drift)!

So I urge you to forget about the fancy labels, award stickers and household names and seek out new and less obvious wines – it makes the journey so much more interesting!

Here’s a different approach to wine that I recommend you try: BlankBottle

I bet you’ll find some real gems – and you may even find owner Pieter Walser’s approach refreshing!

Let me know about a great wine you’ve had recently – the more South African wine we drink and profile the better!

Cru Master

Popularity: 6% [?]

Interested in great wine that’s much cheaper than normal – and naked?

Get Wine

That’s all I really have to say – check it out.

Cru Master

Popularity: 4% [?]

Diemersdal Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2006

I am not a huge Sauvignon Blanc fan – but this wine really won me over:

It really was mouth watering. Fresh and herby with some ripe sweetness and touch of tartness that was just right and not to overt. I guess you could say this wine is beautifully balanced.

The nose was wonderful and one thing I loved about it is that what you smelled you actually tasted in the wine too. Too often I find, and particularly in Sauvignon Blanc, that on the nose the wine is insatiably intriguing – but then when you take a sip it’s acidifyingly awful and all the flavours are masked beyond comprehension.

Haha, there you have my qualms about Sav Blanc – but the Diemersdal SV Sav Blanc 2006 is sublime – I wholeheartedly recommend it.

(Oh and when it was paired with a pesto pasta – phenomenally good.)

Cru Master

Popularity: 4% [?]

Bliksems – this wine is seriously good and one of the best value for money out there.

Camberley Philosophers’ Stone

This wine delivers on so many fronts that I’d be happy to pay R100 a bottle.

Fortunately it goes for only R50 – and that my friends is one of Bonnie’s Best Buys by a county mile. Not even Harry Potter himself could make a wine this good.

So give the farm a ring (021 8851176) and get your hands on a case of 6 or 12 – cause this is a wine you can whip out for a fancy dinner, take to restaurant, crack open at a braai, have a glass of after work and have as your companion while you while away an African sunset – it’s magic and fits in everywhere.

Enjoy and if you can keep this little gem a SA Rocks secret!

Cru Master

Popularity: 4% [?]

Right nothing elaborate today – just a simple suggestion:

Go and buy some Raka wines.

Their entire range is seriously good and consistently so – one of my favourite wineries!

Look out for the following trio: Raka Biography Shiraz, Raka Figurehead, Raka Quinary

Cru Master

Popularity: 6% [?]

No more than fifteen minutes from Cape Town sits a wine farm with one of the world’s greatest views: De Grendel

I think I should repeat that: it’s only fifteen minutes away (head out on the N1 – take a left at Plattekloof and then a right into De Grendel Estate – it’s that easy).

Not only is De Grendel conveniently close to Cape Town for all us wine enthusiasts – but it boasts some seriously amazing facilities and even more impressive wine – as I learnt an evening or two ago!

The lovely folks at De Grendel are hosting awesome, intimate, wine experience evenings at their estate whenever you or I feel compelled to get a group of friends together and pay them a visit.

Last week about ten of us were treated to a fantastic wine experience evening:

First we were given a little history lesson about the farm, it’s origins and it’s recent progression into wine making with Charles Hopkins at the helm.

We were then taken through the uber, uber impressive cellar and given a run down of the wine making facilities.

Then once we were all sufficiently drooling at the mouth – we tasted our way through the entire range of De Grendel wines and enjoyed a delicious dinner.

For an estate that has only been producing wine for seven years – the wines are brilliant and it’s definitely a label to watch as it forges on into the years ahead!

What was really appealing about this experience is that we all sat around a table and discussed the wines: their tastes, their smells, the right occasion for them, their feel, how they were made – and all this with an entire cellar to ourselves and two warm an welcoming members of the De Grendel ‘family’! Brilliant!

Thats not all – we were treated to some soup, breads and coffee and some of us were even awarded bottles of wine as prizes for our contribution to the session!

It’s this type of interactive experience that wins you loyal followers and encourages conversation about your wine and estate – so well done to De Grendel – I’m looking forward to another evening there soon!!

If you and your friends are interested in one of these great evenings – drop Alan Sherratt a line: alan@trafficonline.co.za

Enjoy and let me know how your evening there goes!

Popularity: 5% [?]

I tell you I’ve fallen in love with this great wine.

Springfield Whole Berry Cabernet Sauvignon

Classical berry fruit flavours will grab your taste buds, but above all it is the soft textured nature of the wine (that not many Cabernet Sauvignon’s posses) that’ll make this wine immediately lovable.

The rich, velvety fruit flavours of the wine keep you coming back for just one more sip…and another…and another….until you think you have it sassed out… but not quite… so you have to open another bottle – just to make sure

And so it should be with wine – subtle nuances that keep you coming back for a second guess! Perfect for a romantic dinner or a night spent near an open fire in good company!

I also love the way in which this wine is made – using old traditional methods. It’s a great wine with a great story behind it. It seriously rocks.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Pinotage is making a huge comeback.

In the recent past, writers and critics alike have been giving it a bad rap – labeling it a varietal with little potential and no depth in character.

Well that has seriously changed and many writers are faced with having to eat their own critical words!

The change in fortune can be attributed to a few very important factors (some of which I may very well have left out so feel free to add to them!):

The outstanding quality of Pinotage now being made by a vast majority of wineries

The outstanding quality of Pinotage that a select few wineries have always and continue to make (keeping their hopes of Pinotage alive and in turn teaching other hopefuls) – Kanonkop and Beyerskloof take a bow.

The formation and great work of the Pinotage Association

Some positive press about the varietal (Gary Vay-ner-Chuck of Wine Library TV recently went stark raving mad about Kanonkop Pinotage!)

The ardent support and work of die hard fans of Pinotage – Pete May of The Pinotage Club take a bow here.

Stormhoek – the success of Stormhoek and their Pinotage in particular should be heralded and recognized as a major perception changer.

Well I’m off home to have a half jack of Beyerskloof Pinotage (thanks Beyers Truter!)- enjoy the South African icon everyone!

Cru Master

Popularity: 4% [?]

It’s not often that you hear news like this (and not really rocking), but it’s wine and ‘green’ related so here it is:

Wine Drinker Dies

What concerns me is that there seems to be a link to irresponsible farming methods used within the area (concerning deadly pesticides).

I think it’s high time that the farming communities and local governments got together to outlaw dangerous farming techniques and pesticides.

South Africa’s natural produce rocks all around the world – so let’s make sure that our farming techniques rock too!

Organic all the way – come South Africa let’s set an example that the world can applaud and look up to.

Cru Master

Popularity: 3% [?]