The wines to keep the peace this festive season
It used to be an early December tradition for editors to suggest to their food and drink writers that a column focusing on holiday season beverages would be “a good idea”.
That was at a time, and in countries, where the myth of cultural homogeneity held sway: it was presumed that people who didn’t celebrate Christmas could never be readers of food and drink pages that rated the best mince pies, the ultimate turkey recipes, the perfect drink to go with your gammon.
While we’ve moved on since then, the one certainty except in formally teetotal homes is that the choice of family festive season beverages determines whether a lifelong vendetta or a lasting peace is achieved between guests shackled together by blood. If you’re certain that you can serve pretty much any old plonk and still gather the same party around your table this time next year, this column is not for you. For all others here are a few suggestions.
For those celebrants looking to spend moderately and buy well, the best deal on Villiera Tradition, Simonsig Kaapse Vonkel and Krone Borealis will more than satisfy the fizz requirement; for white wine you can safely choose the Leopard’s Leap Culinaria Collection Chenin Blanc or Springfield’s Life from Stone Sauvignon Blanc.
For red wine you should consider the Porcupine Ridge Syrah, the Perdeberg Vineyard Collection Pinotage or Nederburg’s Winemasters Cabernet.
Finally, for something sweet to signal the end of proceedings, the Durbanville Hills Cape Honey Bee Noble Late Harvest will do the job perfectly.
So what does upping the festive season shopping spec buy? With cap classique you can obtain the very fine and classically styled Graham Beck Ultra Brut.
If you like your bubbly with a more aged, leesy richness, the Bon Courage Jacques Bruere 2013 will deliver perfectly. For something crisper and more linear, go for blanc de blancs: either the 2019 Klein Constantia or the 2017 Pieter Ferreira. From Pieter Ferreira you’ll also find the perfect rosé fizz for Christmas lunch.
When it comes to white wine the choice is vast. For fine high-end sauvignon blanc it’s hard to beat the Klein Constantia Clara or the Nitida Wild Child. If you like the complexity of a wood-aged sauvignon/semillon blend, look for the Cape Point Isliedh, Tokara Director’s Reserve, Vergelegen GVB, Steenberg Magna Carta, Morgenster White Reserve and Delaire Graff White Reserve.
If you seek a uniquely Cape blend, there’s Muratie’s Laurens Campher or Stark-Conde’s Field Blend. Of course, you can set yourself the “unobtainable” shopping challenge (and spend significantly more than is strictly necessary). Try to find a bottle
THE WORLD OF RED BLENDS IS EXTENSIVE, FROM THE BORDEAUX STYLES DOMINATED BY CABERNET AND MERLOT TO .. THE RHÔNE VARIETIES
or two’of Sadie Family’s Skerpioen, or Alheit’s Cartology — they re superfine and come with enough of a story to fill the inevitable lull in the conversation.
Then there’s chardonnay to be considered: Iona’s single site Kloof, any of Richard Kershaw’s finely tuned wines, Benguela Cove, the Survivor 2022 from the Tradouw Highlands, any of the Capensis cuvées, or the Glenwood Grand Duc — all do the job perfectly. With chenin, the Riedel of riches truly floweth over: Demorgenzon Reserve, Bellingham The Bernard (Old Vine), Ken Forrester’s FMC, Kaapzicht’s Kliprug and Stellenrust’s barrel fermented will all do you proud.
The red wine prospects are equally good. If you’re looking for delicate syrah/shiraz Bruce Jack’s Ghost in the Machine and Trizanne’s Barnard’s Syrah reserve — both from Elim — give you weightless intensity coupled with fragrance and elegance. For fuller-bodied examples, consider the Porseleinberg, Old Road 12 Mile and De Grendel. In the world of cabernet, seek out the Neil Ellis (Stellenbosch or Jonkershoek), Kanonkop, Pasarene Marathon and Erika Obermeyer O.
With merlot (always a bit of a challenge) there’s the classic — Shannon Mount Bullet — but also some neat examples from Jordan (Black Magic), Ridgeback, Delaire Graff and Meerlust.
The world of red blends is extensive, from the Bordeaux styles dominated by cabernet and merlot to those made with Rhône varieties. In the Bordeaux category Glenelly Lady May, Thelema Rabelais, Hartenberg The Mackenzie and the High Road should take care of much of your spare cash. Among the more Rhône-like examples there are Sjinn, Creation’s Syrah-Grenache, Boekenhoutskloof’s The Chocolate Block and Beaumont’s Raoul’s Red. Other red blends worth seeking out include Beyerskloof’s Faith, Rust en Vrede Estate and the Glenelly Estate Wine.
Finally there’s no point in finishing off the meal without a serious attempt at inducing hyperglycaemic shock. There are the obvious candidates — Klein Constantia’s Vin de Constance, Mullineux’s Straw Wine (or the Olerasay if you can secure a bottle), Buitenverwachting’s 1769, Mossop’s Kika, Cluver Riesling and the Delheim Edelspatz.
Port-style wine may prove a challenge at lunch, though Christmas pudding calls for it. Boplaas and Die Krans are the acknowledged masters when it comes to the vintage style. Since tawny ports are more accessible and gentler on the metabolism, you may prefer them — in which case Boplaas is out there with the best while the KWV will never let you down.
At this stage you could attempt what the French call a digestif (for reasons which ought to be painfully obvious). As pot-still brandies go, you can’t beat the Van Ryn’s 15-yearold, the Sydney Back 25-yearold or Tokara’s XO; if it’s whisky that does the trick for you, try the Balblair 15-year-old or the fabulous Abelour 18-year-old Double Cask.
After all this, I suspect, you’ll find your bed beckoning.
Happy holidays, wherever the wine routes lead you.