Wine Recommendations

I have noticed, in my age group particularly, that people purchase wines either based on price or because they purchase the same wine regularly and are therefore almost wired to purchase the wine they know time and time again. For this reason I am setting myself a challenge which will hopefully educate others on the joys of different wine varieties,the multitude of wines on offer in each variety and which wine I recommend based on value for money and overall enjoyment


What the challenge entails:

• Tasting of 7 wines through 7 days.
• At the end of each week I will chose one of these 7 wines to recommend according to value for money and overall taste and enjoyment.
• Each week I will taste a different variety or cultivar
• Information and recent ratings on each wine will also be included as well as average price per wine

It is my hope that at the end of this process, more people will understand the different wine varieties and what they have to offer as well as understand that often, price does not equal quality

The challenge starts on Monday May 31st! Cheers!

Platters ratings are very important as a bench mark, but together with that, I have made my own personal rating system described below:


§ - Wines that fall short
§§ - Drinkable, just not too enojoyable
§§§ - Easy drinking, lazy day wines
§§§§ - Great quality wine
§§§§§ - Outstanding wine, something to save for special occassions



Sauvignon Blanc or Sauvignon Plonk

Week one of my wine tasting challenge has come to an end and boy has it been a challenge! I was amazed at how many different labels of Sauvignon Blanc are on the market. My decision on which seven to buy therefore took quite some time!


I decided on the following seven as I wanted to sample wines from different regions and districts, as well as sampling wines that until then were unknown to me. So here they are, the lucky seven, with their platters rating shown. (Prices are quoted from Pick ‘n Pay at time of tasting).

1.)  Darling Cellars Bush Vine Sauvignon Blanc  §§§§
      2010 (Darling) R34.99  (3 stars)
2.)  Rooiberg Sauvignon Blanc §§§§
      2009 (Robertson) R32.99
3.)  Fish Hoek Sauvignon Blanc §§§
      2009 (Swartland) R33.90
4.)  Hill and Dale Sauvignon Blanc §§§
      2009 (Stellenbosch) R33.99
5.)  Brandvlei Cellars Sauvignon Blanc §§§
      2009 (Worcester) R32.50
6.)  Lutzville Sauvignon Blanc §
      2009 (Lutzville Valley) R35.99
7.)  Savanha Sauvignon Blanc §
      2009 (Western Cape) R31.99


So here they are, the good the not too bad and the ugly:

The Rooiberg Sauvignon Blanc and Darling Cellars Bush Vine Sauvignon Blanc came out tops for me. They showed more complexity (link to glossary) than the rest and a good balance between fruit and grassy flavours and acidity. Balance is very important in wine, it is almost akin to the foundation of a building. The Darling Cellars Bush vine was rated by wine magazine as exceptionally drinkable and well priced. This I definitely agree with.

The not so bad options are the Fish Hoek, Hill and Dale and Brandvlei Cellars (BC) Sauvignon Blancs. Very easy drinking with typical Sauvignon Blanc green and fruit flavours.

Criticizing wines was not the purpose of this challenge, so I am not going to knock the final two wines that I tasted, to me they just did not compare to the others and did not deliver. So for me the Lutzville and Savanha Sauvignon Blanc happen to fall short. That said, this is my personal opinion and as we all know, wine tasting is very personal and a good wine for one person may not be for another.

All-in-all these 7 wines are very reasonably priced and are wines to enjoy at a braai or on a lazy Sunday afternoon, (i.e. Quaffers) not something to give to anyone if your aim is to impress!

Proudly Pinotage
This week I set my taste buds to work on finding the best of the Pinotage's on offer. I chose the 7 below as firstly they all were priced between R35 and R55, and secondly they came from a variety of different regions, allowing me to get and all round taste of what this proudly South Africa grape variety has to offer.

Pinotage was bred as a cross between Pinot noir and Cinsaut (Cinsaut is known as Hermitage in South Africa, hence the name of Pinotage) and is South Africa's signature variety, hence my choice to try it out first.
So here are the 7 choice picks (rated from best to worst) along with their Origin, Platter's rating and average price:

1.) Pederberg Pinotage 2009
     W.O Agter Paarl area
     R45.99 (3 stars)

2.) Beyerskloof Pinotage 2009
     W.O Stellenbosch
     R49.99 (3.5 stars)

3.) Simonsvlei Lifestyle Pinotage 2008
     W.O Paarl
     R36.95 (2.5 stars)

4.) Barista Pinotage 2009
     W.O Western Cape
     R54.99 (3 stars)

5.) Fish Hoek Pinotage
     W.O Swartland
     R33.95(3 stars)

6.) Spier Pinotage 2008
     W.O Stellenbosch
      R46.50
     (3 stars)
7.) Goudini Pinotage 2009
     W.O Goudini
     R39.99 (3 stars)

The Pederberg and Beyerskloof Pinotage were both great wines. At first I was rather sceptical as they are from the 2009 vintage and this shows that they have not been matured in barrel for a well-rounded finish, or even barrelled at all, but as soon as I tasted them I knew I had been too swift to judge. They are very balanced wines, the Beyerskloof showing a slightly sharp tannin but nothing that spoils the taste and smoothness of the wine itself. The Pederberg was smooth and went down a treat as too did the Simonsvlei which i think is great value for money at a steal of R36.95 a bottle.

Now onto the Barista coffee-chocolate Pinotage. This style of Pinotage seems to be gaining popularity and I can understand why. Why would you want a cup of coffee and a chocolate when you can have them both beautifully coupled together in a heart warming glass of red? Here is the problem though; although the Barista has a distinct coffee and chocolate aroma or nose to it, this smell does not follow through to the taste and one is left feeling rather cheated. All in all though it is a nice wine that can easily be quaffed down with a Roast.

The Fish Hoek and Spier Pinotage, although rated 5 and 6 are not bad wines at all. They are both well balanced and show typical Pinotage characteristics with ripe plums, strawberry and jammy notes. These wines, in my opinion, are average but good value for money.

Lastly the Goudini Pinotage. I am not sure whether I bought a bad bottle or my taste buds and sense of smell had gone on holiday throughout the week, but this wine to me was not a wine at all. The nose was nothing like that of a Pinotage and it tasted of slightly alcoholic coolade! I felt that I was being rather harsh on the poor makers so I got a second opinion on this wine; that too was less than flattering. So I am sorry to say but the Goudini Pinotage does not get a pleasing recommendation from me.

• Best buys of the week: Beyerskloof and Pederberg Pinotage
• Must try: Barista Coffee Pinotage

Surely Chenin Blanc

This week took me back to tasting white wines and the wine of the week was Chenin Blanc. I have to admit that given a Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc to taste, I was never really sure of the difference. That all changed this week as I was able to appreciate the different flavours that are characteristic of the variety.

Chenin Blanc wines offer a great balance of acidity and fruity flavours reminiscent of a fresh fruit salad and are very versatile. This all obviously depends on the quality of the wine. So it was up to me to sort the top of the crop from the not so hot. Below are the seven wines tasted, rated according to what I thought was the best value for money and the most Moreish.

1.) Backsberg Chenin Blanc (R34.99) 3 stars
     Stellenbosch

2.) Perdeberg Chenin Blanc (R31.99) 3 stars
     Agter Paarl

3.) Du Toitskloof Chenin Blanc (R29.99) 2½ stars
     Breede River Valley

4.) Robertson Chenin Blanc (R27.99) 3 stars
     Robertson

5.) Welmoed Chenin Blanc (R26.99) 3 stars
     Stellenbosch

6.) Rooiberg Chenin Blanc (R30.95) 2 stars
     Robertson

7.) La Capra Chenin Blanc (R34.99) Not Rated Currently
     Coastal Region

The Backsberg Chenin really impressed me with a wonderfully fruity finish and lively acidity making it a very well balanced wine. Definitely something to have with salads, seafood or even a malay curry dish. It is very reasonably priced at R34.99 as well as being rated 3 stars in Platter’s. Definitely a wine to consider.

As I have seen over the past few weeks, Perdeberg wines always deliver on price as well as quality. Their Chenin Blanc is no different. Perdeberg wines to me are a win-win situation, so when in doubt, opt for Perdeberg.

The other wines tasted were OK quality and good value for money, but there was nothing inherently special about them. That said they were wines that could still be enjoyed, just maybe not the next day so much.

Lastly, La Capra. This wine was the second most expensive and I had high hopes for it. But those were all shattered when it came to tasting it. The volatile acidity in this wine was very apparent and it was actually quite hard to drink. Maybe it is just my taste, but I will not be buying this wine again. It has wonderfully interesting and different label but that’s about it.

These wines can be drunk on any occassion, maybe something more preferred on a warm winters day though or ideally suited for a beautiful Cape Summers day.

Besy Buy: Backsberg Chenin Blanc                       Best all-rounder: Perdeberg Vineyards