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.



Wednesday, 9 May 2012

Chardonnay Blind Wine Tasting

On the 3rd of May I held a Chardonnay Blind Wine Tasting event at the Cape Town Club, behind the Mount Nelson Hotel. The venue is beautiful all lit up at night, and the dining room hall is the perfect setting for this event.

We started the evening with String of Pearls Mouvedré (Rosé) MCC and Semillon MCC from Francois Lagarde. Both these MCC's were lovely and ideal as the arrival drink. With everyone coming straight from work, these refreshing, beautifully flavoured MCC's were just perfect.

The Cape Town Club provided the canapés for the guests on arrival. These were very tasty and a great way to start the night of wine tastings.

A total of 40 people attended this month’s event. Many were "not Chardonnay drinkers", but they came open minded and willing to try Chardonnay to see if perhaps they could be converted in to a Chardonnay drinker.

There were eleven Chardonnays to try on the night, which we tasted in two flights. We started with unwooded Chardonnays, and then went on to the lightly wooded Chardonnays, finishing with the wooded Chardonnays.

After trying all eleven wines, we did a vote on which wines were liked the most. #4 won the most votes with 26 votes, #6 came in 2nd with 25 votes and #11 placed 3rd with 22 votes. We tried wines ranging from R32.50 to R200 a bottle on the night, and #4 which won the most votes was Rooiberg Chardonnay at only R32.50 a bottle. Remember this is a blind wine tasting event, so the guests do not know where the wine is from or how much it is. Therefore this is a non-bias wine tasting event. #6 was Delaire and #11 was Uva Mira. It yet again goes to show, that price does not always determine the most liked wine.

This was another exciting night, full of surprises and a fun evening. These events are catered for novice to intermediate wine drinkers. So if you don't know the difference between a Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc, or can't smell what the winemaker says you should smell, then you will fit in perfect with these events. They are fun, interactive and a great way to be exposed to different wine each month.

If you would like to be added to my database and possibly attend one of these blind wine tasting events, please email me on westerncapewineries@gmail.com.

Cheers,
Chrissy

No comments:

Post a Comment