The Irish believe that fairies are extremely fond of good wine. The proof of the assertion is that in the olden days royalty would leave a keg of wine out for them at night. Sure enough, it was always gone in the morning. - Irish Folklore

Its moments like these that really make wine and friends an unbeatable combination.

Earlier on in the week I received a message from a good mate of mine inviting me to his 25th Bday celebrations. I was told to arrive empty handed as all was taken care of.

After polishing off a couple beverages and watching what looked to be half a cow being meticulously braaied, I began to question and curse myself ‘why on earth did I not bring a bottle of red?’ I noticed a similar look on the faces of all who were there. We couldn’t believe it…….NO WINE!

After scraping through a couple more beers and ending what was a 15 hour hang over from the night before, it was as if a higher being had descended down and just walked into the room. Like Craig Jamieson holding the Currie Cup above his head - my friend walked in with a 5ltr Bottle of 1987 Meerlust Rubicon.

Life at that moment could not have been better.

After huddling in a circle with a couple friends and swirling the wine around getting as much air into that baby as possible we preceded to drink it. Words like ‘Oh my…’,‘you kidding me..’, ‘I’m not even swallowing it’s so smooth’ was all that had to be said. Silence prevailed for the next 5 minutes as we all took in the moment.

My friends and I stood there all night and demolished this trophy of a wine.

The wine was silky smooth, and had tannins that broke away at a snails pace leaving your mouth begging for more. The wine was surreal and the moment even better. I have claimed the rest of the bottle and once the last drops of heaven our safely in my belly I will make a lamp out of the bottle and let the light shine on it every day and every night.

Zonnebloem Cab Sav 1980
Alphen Cab Sav 1980
Meerlust Cab Sav 1984 Magnum 1.5l
Kanonkop Paul Sauer 1991
Glen Carlou Les Trors 1993
Beyerskloof Pinotage 1995
Nederburg Private Bin Cab Sav 1997
Warwick Trilogy 2004

Do you think some of these would be worth buying/opening!?

Cederburg Shiraz 2007

At about R140 a bottle it’s not cheap but it’s incredible value for what you get. In fact I don’t think there is better Shiraz for the price. Powerful dark fruit flavours, spice, and dark chocolate (lindt 70% from vida e).

Cape Rock SMV 2007

Available for R110 from Vino Pronto this wine should have a small cult following. Beautifully packaged in a weirdly shaped bottle. Bit of spice, liquorice, velvet,  violet perfume.

Kleine Zalze Cellar Selection Chenin Blanc Bush Vines 2009

Incredible value at about R35 a bottle. This wine delivers way above it price point and is great for summer occasions. Fresh tropical flavours: peaches, apricots and melons all livened up by fresh, mouthwatering  acidity.

Steenberg HMS Rattle Snake Sauvignon Blanc 2009

This wine will either knock your socks off or leave you terrified. The flavours coming out of the bottle are as vicious as a snake bite. Herbs, grass - mouthwateringly good.

Graham Beck Brut Rose NV

Possibly the best wine I have had this year - subtle pink blush, delicious flambeed strawberry and guava jelly flavours with dense bubbles. A sure winner if you’re trying to impress or seduce a lady!

Give them a go this weekend and let me know what you think!

Wine Times - South Africa’s first wine news aggregator - came onto my radar a while back and I’ve been watching it’s progress for a while now - with a hint of disdain I must admit.

The only reason I came across it was because one of my posts appeared on their site - and then another - without my permission.

Now I do see the benefits to having a site like this and I do think it’s a worthwhile initiative.

BUT.

You cannot simply aggregate wine writers posts without their permission - is it legal for me to create an aggregated newspaper full of articles published in the Argus, The Cape Times and The Witness without letting the journalists know?

Furthermore and I think this is my biggest problem with the initiative - Wine Times aim to make money off the site through Google Adwords and Grape Fuel Wine Sales.

So basically they drive traffic through my posts and other wine writers posts - which in turn drives eyes to the Google Ads and the wine sales division of their site.

Sure, my posts being listed on their site will drive traffic to my site - I get that - but I was never asked whether I wanted my posts to be aggregated and I’m not sure I approve of others making money off the back of my posts. Then again, perhaps I should just move with the ‘times’.

I welcome comments on this topic  - am I overreacting? Do you agree with me?

Ps. Perhaps I should start a website that aggregates wine news aggregators around the world - with a little help from my tech friends it should be up in no time at all. I wont have to write a thing and I’ll earn a handsome passive income.

It is amazing what clever packaging can do for a wine (a pity then that most South African wine labels are so boring).

Jam Jar Sweet Shiraz 2009 by Cape Classics has hit all the right notes in this department and is flying off the shelves both here in South Africa and most importantly in America.

It even featured on NBC’s Today show - view clip here.

It’s hard not to notice the wine on the shelves when you are walking through Pick n Pay (where it sells for R39) - the packaging is unique, fun, nostalgic and a welcome change to the ‘wine label scene’ here in South Africa.

Now what about the wine? Is it any good?

I personally think you could mix water, food colourant and sugar together and end up with a similar result but that’s not the point.

This wine is unashamedly sweet, different and fun - and it has hit it’s intended target market with sugary aplomb.

For those who complain that the wine market is over saturated - dare to be a little different.

For those who have tried the wine - what do you think of it?

As a wine lover I know I spend a great deal of money on wine -and as my interest in wine grows so do my spending habits.

We don’t need to drink wine, it is a luxury that you and I have a passion for - although I might argue that it’s one of life’s necessities!

Anyway my point is that sometimes it’s worth giving up a portion of that luxury to give to those less fortunate - and in particular to those that cannot fend for themselves.

I found a really awesome charity called the Peninsula School Feeding Association the other day and I thought it would be worthwhile alerting you to it.

They have been around since 1958 and you can read all about them here.

Below is their mission:

To combat the prevalence of hunger in children attending schools or other educational institutions in the Western Cape, through school feeding and development initiatives, that will promote self-sufficiency and household food security.

Our Aims Include:

1. the reduction of short-term hunger
2. the provision of school feeding to enhance children’s ability to learn
3. increasing learner attendance at school
4. the promotion of parental participation at school
5. the promotion of food/vegetable gardens to improve household food security

I think it is an amazing cause as it persuades kids to attend school, gives them much needed nutrition and relieves the burden from parents who cannot afford to provide for their kids.

I remember how terrible it was leaving my lunch box at home and having to go just one day feeling hungry - it’s not cool that this is the daily struggle of many in our country.

By contributing just R235 you will feed one kid for an entire year - which is about the price of one case of Tassies - so I think as wine lovers we can all do without for a day or two and find enough give away.

Click here if you’re interested in donating!

I hope it’s something that speaks to you as much as it did to me and further more, I hope you will tell your friends about it. If not, then that’s fine too, each to their own - skip to the next post!

So what should I go for -  I’m looking for some advice because there some weird and wonderful designs out there, all at varying price points.

Is it even necessary to have a wine decanter or is it just another one of those wine snob “makes my wine appreciation look fancy” type of accessory?

I’ve seen some at Mr Price that go for about R15 or so - it’s just a simple glass jug but should do the job.

Then again it’s hard to ignore the beauty of something like this - A Riedel Cornetto which costs R1200.

But quite easy to ignore this stupid design - have you ever tried to pour wine out of one of these - awkward and tricky to say the least (and they are surprisingly popular - why?)

What decanter do you use at home - if any at all?

The Cru

To all the wine folk - can you recommend one bottle of wine I should try at the moment?

LAvenir1
@thecru try something you haven’t tried yet : -)))

foodie_za
@thecru this one… http://yfrog.com/32nh6kj (via francoisbotha) #Hedonist Swartland Red 2008

underinfluence
@thecru Chateaux Ausone 1996

The Cru
@underinfluence im not a wine snob like you so recommend soemthing i can buy in the local supermarket or wineshop!!

spitorswallow
@thecru Warning wine snob ahead http://wyn.cc/k676d Wine recommendation: Nico van der Merve - Mas Nicolas 2003 http://wyn.cc/lth8e

underinfluence
@thecru Haha! I got the desired effect. Lismore chardonnay on the whites and Shannon vineyards Merlot

HarryReginald
(try that again) Lismore and Shannon? Only if @underinfluence is your wine store. @thecru How about De Grendel’s The Winifred

underinfluence
@harryreginald @thecru ok ok! Two oceans pinot noir. Do it!

The Cru
@underinfluence @harryreginald how about some tassies-wonder what the latest batch tastes like.id love to try some old vintages - seriously

underinfluence
@thecru @harryreginald I used to decant a bottle for six hours every Wednesday at university (my night to cook). Spaghetti did the trick!

Make of it what you will!

To stalk me on Twitter click here.

Can you make money from wine?

(Click above link to read full Fin24 article)

I have some friends who have dabbled in some wine investment funds in the UK and they have made some good money out of it. In fact one or two of my friends aren’t even wine drinkers and even they bought some Bordeaux First Growths for investment purposes.

With Kanonkop having recently sold 600 bottles of their Black Label Pinotage 2006 for R1000 en primuer - it begs the question: is South Africa ready to enter the En Primeur market? do we have the wines for it? do we have the market presence for it?

What do you think? What wines could you see being sold en primeur in South Africa?