South African wine

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Well Happy National Wine Day to you! In this space, we like to celebrate that holiday every day, but it’s always nice to have an extra special day to celebrate, don’t you think?

I celebrated wine big time last week at an absolutely beautiful South African wine tasting and Braai with Cape Classics.

What’s a Braai, you ask? It just means a meal cooked over an open fire outdoors or a casual get-together where food is prepared over an open fire outdoors. The Boston Harbor Yacht Club on a breezy but blue-sky day was the perfect location for the Braai, and the wine was definitely flowing.

wine tasting

I drank a lot of South African wine in Tanzania, and South Africa has long been at the top of my wine travel list. In fact, long ago a colleague offered up his vineyard property for our wedding. We decided that logistically it would be impossible for our families to all fly there, but wow was that tempting. . . 

wines of South Africa

This event was a pour-your-own-wine setup with many, many wines to taste. It got crowded fairly quickly, so I focused on just a few, getting to know new favorite wines while taking breaks to enjoy the grilled feast happening outside.

wines of South AfricaExcelsior Chardonnay

Excelsior Chardonnay – Reminded me a little of a lighter, more refreshing Viognier, with peach notes as well as some tart plum and mouthwatering citrusy acidity.

Indaba Sauvignon Blanc

I tried several Indaba wines, including this Sauvignon Blanc and a Chenin Blanc, and I really enjoyed them and their very easy drinking nature. Once I found out the philosophy behind them, I loved them even more:

Indaba wines are crafted in the Cape Floral Kingdom, the smallest, yet most diverse of the six plant kingdoms. The look and spirit of Indaba reflects both South Africa’s position as a leader in sustainable production and the handcrafted approach found in the country’s art world. A commitment to social responsibility has always been a key part of the Indaba philosophy. A portion of the brand’s global sales is allocated to the Indaba Education Fund, a fully accredited 501c3, which supports early childhood development by providing infrastructure, learning materials and teacher training at schools established for wineland workers’ children.

Indaba wines offer great flavor and value, are bright and fruit-forward, and perfect for festive occasions and with food. Yum.

DMZ Cabernet Rose

DMZ Cabernet Rosé 2015 – Like many of the wines at the tasting, this rosé had some beautiful mineral notes, along with flavors of juicy strawberries, perfect for celebrating summer, of course. These wines, also like many of the others, are a great value.

Kanonkop Pinotage 2013

A Kanonkop vertical tasting of five vintages of Pinotage, along with their exclusive, amazing Black Label was one of the highlights of the tasting. Pinotage is definitely not a grape I am super familiar with, but I want to get to know it more! It’s a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault, and Kanonkop is a pioneer of making incredible wines with it. Think dark berries, cedar, cocoa. . . perfect for a cool day, though I bet really nice slightly chilled on a warm day as well.

I wish I had taken better notes as I tasted through! Wine tastings are always a juggling act of tasting, note taking, photos, mingling, and in this case, pouring. I need more hands for these events!

Kanonkop Pinotage

Outside of the yacht club, the Braai was ablaze with plenty of meat being cooked for wine tasting attendees. If this is how South African’s do a BBQ, I want to visit even more. The smoky grilled meat paired well with every single wine I tasted. With the whites, the mineral notes played along nicely with the spices and flavors, and wines like the Pinotage had that nice bit of smoke, perfect as a BBQ wine. I also tried a Cabernet Franc that I absolutely fell in love with; so much spice, but I didn’t get a photo or mark it down. Hopefully I will be able to retrace my steps somehow. . .    

Braai Braai

   

The yacht club was a beautiful spot for a wine tasting, combining two of my favorite things in one. The variety of wines was an education for sure, and a yummy one at that. I know I will be seeking out South African wines for summer boating and BBQing.

Thank you to Cape Classics for inviting me to this event and sharing their beautiful portfolio with all of us!

Tags: Boston, Boston blogger. BBQ, events, South Africa, South African wine, wine, wine blog, wine tasting

There was a lot of South African wine poured along our journey in Tanzania. A lot. The weather was blissfully hot, in the 90s  every afternoon, and after dusty days bumping around in a safari vehicle, all I wanted was a cold glass of South African white wine by the pool. Thankfully, I got my wish pretty much all the time.

Robert's Rock Chenin Blanc/Chardonnay

After four days camping in the Serengeti (more to come on that, lots more) I wanted cold white wine and the pool more than ever before. This Robert’s Rock Chenin Blanc/Chardonnay blend has a little bit of everything I want in a summery white wine. It’s bright with dry mineral notes, flinty, I would say, but with bursts of tropical fruit and a gentle toasty coconut-vanilla finish. For a value wine, there’s a lot going on. This is a great food wine, and as we experienced, a great pool wine.

Ngorogoro Farm Valley Lodge I have always wanted to visit South Africa for a safari and wine tasting, and my time in Tanzania, both my love for the landscape and people and my love for the wine, made South Africa even higher on my must-visit list.

If you could visit any wine region, what would it be?

My other two top wine region trips are Mendoza, Argentina and Sicily.

Tags: chardonnay, chenin blanc, South Africa, South African wine, wine, wine of the week

Happy Wine Wednesday!

As I ponder the future of this little blog, I realize that I want to keep it around and to keep engaging with the wonderful food, wine, and travel blog communities I have come to love. I honestly feel like they are a part of me, and every time I consider scrapping the blog, I rethink it and realize every post doesn’t have to be a book or some amazing meal.

Wine of the Week will pop up on Wine Wednesday whenever I have a wine I really want to share, which will more than likely be a weekly occurrence. There may even be more than one wine! I love receiving wine recommendations, and while I’m not an expert, love giving them.

So, without further ado, I bring you my first wine of the week, a 2013 Mulderbosch Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé.

Mulderbosch

Yep, we went there. In this frozen tundra of a world, we went for a South African Rosé. Sometimes pretending it is warmer and nicer out does the trick to get you out of a seasonal funk. This wine was a great winter Rosé, but I can also see it being an ideal boat wine when the time comes. What I loved most about this wine was the minerality that it brought forth throughout the entire experience. It’s nicely acidic with subtle fruity notes, think citrus and slightly tart cherries. You can’t beat the gorgeous color either! This would be perfect with a simple meal of sandwiches or some sort of grilled seafood, or of course, all on its own when snuggled under a heated blanket.

South Africa is one of my dream wine destinations, so while I wait to have the time and money to travel there, I will happily explore South African wines!

I hope you enjoy my wine of the week posts, and as always, feel free to leave your wine of the week in the comments!

Tags: rose wine, South African wine, wine, wine recommendation, wine tasting, Wine Wednesday

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