It’s class all the way...
vineyards close to the ocean, with a long growing season which allows for ripe fruit with good concentration and a balanced acidity.
Waterkloof's red in the Seriously Cool range is the cinsault, a variety which originated in the south of France. In the Rhône and Languedoc. It's used mostly in blends for its spiciness and aromatics.
Here in South Africa, it was famously cloned with pinot noir, creating pinotage.
The Seriously Cool Cinsault is made from 40-year-old bush vines, with low yields and ripe fruit with intense flavours. It's “Cool” because it is made for enjoyment at a low temperature - 13°C - and because it's grown on cool slopes. These are both easy drinking wines for summer.
Avondale is another producer for whom going the all-natural and biodynamic has paid off well. “Approved by Mother Nature”, co-owner Jonathan Grieve has farmed for more than six years without the use of any synthetic fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides. Guided by their principles of (Soil is life), Grieve believes that healthy soil produces healthy plants. His Bio-LOGIC farming principles are said to have revitalised the soil and returned it to the pre-agricultural state.
All the natural fungi, microbes and organisms are returned to the soil. As a balanced living, organic system, the soil maintains and balances itself. Ducks eat the snails, bacteria consume downy mildew, ladybirds and wasps kill mealy bugs, and nitrogen-rich cover crops are used to bind free nitrogen from the air into the soil.
They have recently released a vintage Mèthode Cap Classique, the Armilla Blanc de Blanc 2009, which had extended lees contact, rendering this lively bubbly beautifully structured, fresh and full-flavoured.
The Avondale logo, the Armillary sphere, refers to an ancient astronomical instrument and represents Avondale’s holistic approach.
The Armilla is produced from chardonnay grapes, organically grown on vines ranging in age between eight and 20 years. It sells for about R200 a bottle.
Further afield, in Elgin, Shannon Vineyards produces an elegant five-clone merlot, the Mount Bullet.
Never mind that infamous Sideways quote by the aspiring, unsuccessful scribe and wine snob Miles Raymond, played by Paul Giamatti – “No, if anyone orders merlot, I’m leaving. I am not drinking any f*** merlot!” – merlot, being softer and less tannic than its Bordeaux blending partner cabernet sauvignon, is a very exciting variety.
Shannon, which is renowned for pinot noir (which simply adores the cooler climate Elgin valley), produces viognier to smaller quantities, but their sauvignon blanc, the Shannon Vineyards Sanctuary Peak, calls for a seafood picnic under a beach umbrella.
This new world-style sauvignon blanc has a “dash” (11 percent) of semillon thrown into the mix, to round out the acidic notes of sauvignon blanc with a bit of oiliness, and complexity.
If you prefer a fruity, slightly fuller, more rounded sauvignon blanc, the Sanctuary Peak sells for about R105.
I don’t subscribe to wine snobbery, believing much like Keith Floyd believed, that what you cook with ought to be good enough to drink. And, after all, it’s a matter of personal taste weighed up against affordability.
The Wolftrap range, produced at the Boekenhoutskloof Winery in Franschhoek, which was Platter’s 2012 Winery of the Year, is excellent value for money for the quality.
Their white – a blend of viognier, chenin and grenache – and their red, another Rhonestyle blend of syrah, viognier and mourvedre – have proved massive successes.
A recent release is the 2014 rose – a blend of syrah, grenache and cinsault – that is quaffable and versatile. The range sells for less than R40 a bottle.
I’m no follower of fashion or mad about popular culture but it seems that some things are here to stay, much like fashions, and that pneumatic hip hop star, Nicki Minaj, who is apparently rather comfortable – not because of her fabulous singing abilities but rather her business acumen.
Minaj co-owns Myx Fusions, a fruitinfused moscato drink, which is blended with natural fruit juices and flavours.
Shamelessly, or opportunistically, she apparently punts it in no less than three of her tracks. Bubblegum pop, anyone?
I digress: moscato, a sweeter variety, pairs wonderfully with spicy foods and is hot in the 20 to 30-year market.
I’ve recently written about their range of Portuguese varieties, but De Krans has now also tapped into this market with their Moscato Perlé 2014. It’s low in alcohol (just 9 percent), full-flavoured natural sweet perlé wine with honeyed, spicy flavours and a fresh taste. It sells for about R40 a bottle. Here’s to happy – and responsible – quaffing! ● You can follow me on (@ or e-mail me at gmcrouth@gmail.com