I’m a white blend fan – white wines in general really, but blends in particular. It’s a category that South Africa does particularly well, which is hardly surprising given our huge diversity of terroir, and therefore our unique ability to merge ‘old world’ austerity with ‘new world’ fruit.

The Great White Tasting, an annual event intended to raise the bar on white blends, and to encourage media and trade understanding of the category, took place this year in a workshop format; and what a privilege it was to be involved. In addition to working with a passionate team led by Adoro’s Ian Naudé, the calibre of the speakers and winemaker response were better than we could have imagined.

Peter Fischer of Chateau Revelette in Provence and Trio Infernal in Spain, aside from being a super chap, spoke very well to the topic. Of greatest interest to me were his comments on how his growing experience had allowed him to dabble with organic wine production – and to say no to fertilisers sales representatives. Of greatest joy to me was his Trio Infernal blend, whose exotic smoky character kept me coming back for more. That and Eben Sadie’s exquisite Sequillo White, which I happily have in ready supply at my local Manuka store.

It was encouraging to see the number of winemakers taking part; the overwhelming majority of whom were our key target audience – those being the young and upcoming white blend initiates. If next year’s event serves its purpose half as well, it will have been worthwhile indeed.

Love it or not, everyone is talking aboutcoffee Pinotage. The creators of the original version, Diemersfontein, certainly got it right when they devised the idea of launching each vintage with a ’sneak peek’ party for loyal fans.

Pinotage on Tap has acquired a reputation as a must-do festival. Its favour amongst bloggers, who openly adore the wine, see posts ramp up to fever pitch in the weeks before the event, with pleas for tickets hitting twitter and other social spaces.

And what’s not to love – the Pinotage is indeed on tap, the canapés are plentiful, the bands are cult and the atmosphere is electric. The well-loved hippo is the site of acrobatics that have to be seen to be believed, increasing in entertainment value (if not skill) as the afternoon wears on.

At the end of the day it’s all about thanking the brand fans who see the wine sold out months before each new release. It brings to bear the importance of establishing a connection in a unique, persevering and authentic way.

Riesling isn’t a cultivar that’s captivated me. Vague recollections of disastrous examples from early drinking days led me to think the wines were probably best for stripping red wine stains created by better-tasting counterparts – til I read Edo Heyns’ article in a recent issue of Wineland. His comments on the rise in quality of South African examples were happily front of mind when I saw him at an industry meet a few days down the track. Interest piqued, I volunteered to help organize a tasting for a small group of friends.

A tasting of this nature is surprisingly easy to arrange. An excellent deal was offered by Anne de Jager of Nice on the R44, Edo sourced the samples, and Carl Schultz of Hartenberg – himself a Riesling winemaker of CWG fame, kindly offered to host.

Carl almost managed to upstage the wines with his informative and passionate presentation, but the wines really shone across the board. ‘Diesel’ is not a descriptor that tantalizes most, but there is something very engaging about a lanolin-like nose that follows through to a dry-belying sweetness on the palate. Two wines in particular stood out for me: the Thelema Rhine Riesling 2008 and the De Wetshof Rhine Riesling 2006. The Weisser’s didn’t do it for me, though Lukas Wentzel of Groote Post, who was seated next to me, would probably attribute that to my nationality

The life of a PR consultant is frenetic at best (read: NOT glamorous most of the time!), so it’s hard to find the time to take a day away from the office. Still, I didn’t hesitate when I heard about the Swartland regional tasting arranged by the resident lads.

To say the array was interesting is an understatement at best. The wines were simply exceptional and a great indication of some of South Africa’s most promising terroir. Classic Rhônal cultivars seem to fare especially well, featuring strongly in blends andweighing in beautifully from the mid-palate to the lingering end. Chris and AndreaMullineux’s awesome Syrah is one of my very best, a wine that I’ve had the privilege of tasting before with his cousin Bron.

The Roundstone Syrah, while decidedly different in profile, showed a Swartland-characteristic minerality punctuated by gorgeous and generous dark fruit.

Eben’s Columella was clearly a star of the show, though I must confess that Adi Badenhorst’s excellent red blend had me coming back for seconds and thirds. (Along with his entertaining tales of parrots aplenty…the opening conversation going something like this: E: “Hi Adi, that red blend looks interesting, think I could try some of that?” A: “Sure, here, let me pour – so, what sort of parrots do you have in Australia?” Adi if you’re reading this I’d REALLY like to hear more, please send some pics along!)

Well done to Eben and Chris on arranging an excellent showing of palates that are well endowed with personality; the rustic Bar Bar Black Sheep was a truly suitable choice, though next time maybe they can hold the tuna and anchovies

Eben Sadie’s tastings are a convoluted exercise in philosophy and culture that are fairly apt given the complexity of his wines. His recent Under the Influence session at the Roundhouse in Camp’s Bay held all of the entertainment value that I’ve come to expect; with the unexpected bonus of the Terroir Al Limit wines.

As with all things Sadie, the story is as different as the wines are superb. In Catalonia you either support the donkey or the bull: and this is a matter of national pride. Bumper stickers give hint of their owners undying support for a single, unified nation (the toro, or bull); or the independence of Catalonia (the burro, or donkey). So passionately does Eben reside in the latter camp that his Spanish donkey, Freda, is just as important symbolically as she is as the vineyard’s resident plough.

The wines themselves are just superb. The Arbossar is what I would have expected from a Spanish Sadie wine, and the Torroja is a close second, especially given its price tag. At R480 per bottle this may not be a wine to share – at least not as far as I am concerned! – but it can certainly be justified as a special occasion wine. The Arbossar comes in at R890 and beyond my range although it may be, it’s truly well priced.

Further information on both can be found at the Wine Cellar site.

It’s hard to know where to start when rating a seminar like the Wine Tourism Conference that took place last week. The level of international expertise was pretty high on the agenda to me, and I promise that’s got nothing to do with my country of origin!

The talk by Robin Shaw from the Winemakers Federation of Australia was up there with the best. Robin spoke about the simple things that the smallest cellar can do to keep the visitors coming back to hear and sample more. This can include clear signs and warm facilities, or training staff to direct clientele to the best that the region offers.

The panel discussions focussed on similar ideas, and the recurring theme was this: it’s all about the people, people! Wine cellars who focus on their valued clientele are the ones who prosper whatever the state of the world economy.
So get out there and smile guys, learn about your route and make your visitors glad that they chose to stop by!

At a vertical tasting on Friday of Frans K Smit, the über-premium newbie from Spier Wines, the penny dropped on why Jeanri van Zyl of WINE magazine likened the wine to Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’. Deep, intense and complex, the wine is an experience with a story to match.

As Frans points out, a vertical tasting isn’t really fair until the wines are fully developed, owing to the structural variation that naturally occurs between vintages. The maiden vintage, 2004, was produced in a cooler year, with a characteristic softness of tannins and fresh acidity. Compare it with the 2005 and the wine that you thought was unbeatable is completely overshadowed by this, a blockbuster wine. 2006 was cool again and the wine is crisp and fresh – with probably the greatest ageing potential of all.

The common factor between them all is the substantive mid-palate weight. This, Frans says, heavily depends on harvesting the grapes when they are optimally ripe. No surprises there; but what was interesting to me was the importance of colour in deciding when to pick. This is a system that Frans borrows from winemakers in Aus, who have found a direct relationship between the ripeness of the grapes and the colour they show. The deeper the colour, it goes, the better the wine will be.

So there it is – the things that you learn…