Welcome to the Western Cape Wineries - a kiwi's opinion blog

I originally set up this blog to help foreigners have an enjoyable experience when visiting the western cape wineries in South Africa.

I realised that it is very difficult for a tourist to choose where to go and which wineries to visit, when you have 600+ wine producers to choose from.

When I first moved to SA December 2010, my palate struggled to adjust to SA wine, b
ut after living here for a while and after visiting over 100+ wine estates, I have found many wines which I really like and can highly recommend.

Admittingly, when you come from another country it is hard not to compare the wine in SA to what you are used to back home. However, once you realise they are not the same (they have their own characteristics due to the different soil, climate etc) and appreciate their wines for being SA wines, it will improve your opinion and experience of the wines immediately.

If you are staying in SA for a while, don't dispair, your palate will change, and you will soon find yourself liking SA wine over your home countries wine!!

I hope my blog will help wine lovers have an enjoyable wine experience while in SA.

Please note: I am not a wine connoisseur. The comments I write about the wine is mostly for my own benefit of having them on record.



Friday 11 April 2014

April 2014 Blind Tasting Notes

Today I was invited to participate in a blind tasting for a restaurant who was deciding which wines to list.

This was a very interesting exercise. It was insightful to see how this restaurant decides which wine to list, through a blind tasting, voting, and finally on discussion of price, varietal (or blend) and the name of the wine.

We tasted 26 wines from 9.30am - 12pm, including MCC, White, Rose and Red wines.

The ones which stood out for me were the following:

Colmont Brut from Franschhoek. I had never tried this before and was really impressed!! This wine was for me the most memorable out of all the wines we tasted. I highly recommend buying a bottle if you see it on a wine list or at a bottle store.

De Bos Unwooded Chardonnay from Bosman winery. I liked this wine and it is a very reasonably priced Chardonnay.

Dornier Rose, I am a big fan of this wine, I buy cases of it at a time and here it was in a blind tasting, where I didn't know that was what I was trying, and, I thoroughly enjoyed it. This wine is truly value for money and deserves more credit and attention!! It sells for less than R50 a bottle at cellar door!!

Air Hawk Wooded Sauvignon Blanc. This had a very interesting nose, had beautiful fruity citrus flavours. I was informed this wine is one of Nederberg's wines. I would definitely consider buying a bottle if I saw it on a wine list or on the shelves at a wine shop.

Granny Smith (Boland Cellars) Nouvelle. So it turns out Nouvelle is a grape varietal (just like Chardonnay is a grape varietal). It was my first time trying a Nouvelle wine and I liked it.  There were green tones, but they were light, so I still liked it. I usually can't stand green wines. It has a fun loving label, which is an old lady wearing a floatation ring/tube device around her waste. You know, the rings you blow up and use in a swimming pool? Anyway, nice wine, and it's very low in price. So if you are looking for a fun, easy drinking white, then this is perfect.

Vrede en Lust White Mischief had lovely flavours and a lovely finish.

Jakalsvlei Pinotage was light in colour, had an interesting nose, was soft and light on the palate, was a little sweet, I liked it. The price of this wine is low and therefore this wine is value for money.

Glen Carlou Cabernet Sauvignon had a nice nose, colour, was soft and I liked it. It was a little dry though.

Allee Bleu Shiraz had a lovely nose, was soft and pleasant.

Vansha Red, apparently from Ridgeback, had good colour, was soft and smooth, and had a nice flavour to it. I really liked this wine. The price on this is also low and therefore a value for money wine!!

Dornier Tempranillo was pleasant, had nice characteristics and I liked it.

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