Scanning the shelves in Pick and Pay’s wine section I was stopped in my tracks by the zany, curious label of La Capra Shiraz and on closer inspection discovered this to be one of the new value wines made by Fairview, the much loved and visited Paarl wine farm whose name is linked as much to finely crafted cheese as it is to premium wines.
La Capra wines
That evening we paired our La Capra Shiraz with barbecued ostrich sausage and sirloin steak with delicious results.
Having a chance to review the entire range of La Capra wines at the public launch was a huge bonus which I grabbed with both hands. This gypsy carnival was staged complete with oompah band, gypsy caravan and beautiful fortune teller in the form of Bridget Back, daughter of the renowned wine maker Charles Back, owner of Fairview estate.
Bridget lured us into her caravan with the promise of delightful potions and disappointed we were not.
The Chenin Blanc 2009 is perky and delicious, as are the Sauvignon Blanc 2009, Rose 2009 from Pinotage, and the Chardonnay 2009. A real treat for consumers who want to be more adventurous is that the range includes a Viognier 2009.
My favourite amongst the red wines is the Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 which is amazingly smooth with almost imperceptible oak. This can happily be drunk as an aperitif for those of us who simply can’t get enough red wine. To my mind, the Pinotage 2009, Merlot 2009 and Shiraz 2009 will compliment food really well. Also in the range is Malbec 2009 another more unusual variety wine which I will be scouring the supermarket shelves for.
All of these wines are accessible and perfect for drinking straight away.
Sipping to the sound of the Oompah Band
“What about the name?” I asked the gypsy princess. My Italian being somewhat rusty I had missed the word capra meaning goat, referring of course to the Fairview goat herd from which the very first goat’s milk cheese was produced in South Africa. La rhymes with Ra the Egyptian sun god and Capra also points to the Cape Cap, suggesting a Cape to Cairo connection.
These wines are available at Fairview Estate for the unbelievable price of R200.00 per mixed 6 bottle case. Alternately they can be bought at Pick and Pay supermarkets in the Western Cape for between R35 and R42 per bottle.
We often assume that South Africa’s bulk wine producers such as those owned by the Distell group, do not very often craft wines that come up to the same standard as some of the boutique wineries.
Razvan Macici, Nederburg Cellar Master
This week we had a wake-up call spent in the company of the charming Romanian, Nederburg cellar master since 2001, Razvan Macici. We were privileged to taste (and consume) some of Nederburg’s most exclusive wines which, in our opinion are right up there with South Africa’s best.
The evening’s Wine and Food Pairing was hosted by Andrea Foulkes’ Sidedish restaurant in Rose Street, Cape Town.
To mention a few recent achievements, Nederburg was the most successful producer at the Trophy Wine Show 2009 for two succesive years. And also achieved the highest score in the 2009 Syrah du Monde for the 2006 vintage of the Private Bin R121 Shiraz, sold exclusively for the Nederburg Auction. The wine was one of only two from South Africa on the top ten list, dominated by the French. Shiraz has won for Nederburg the 2008 Lexus WINE Challenge. The Manor House Collection maiden Shiraz 2005 took the IWSC Rosemount Trophy in 2007 for the World’s Best Shiraz.
Since 1975 the annual Nederburg Auction presents some of Cape Town’s finest wines from a host of various producers. Renowned are the Private Bin wines made especially for this event. It was a real thrill for us to enjoy two of the yet to be auctioned Private Bin creations in the tasting line Up.
Razvan grew up in the vineyards of Dealu Mare, about 70 kms from Bucharest where his father, Mihai, made his award-winning noble late harvest wines on the famous Pietroasa Estate in the area. This all made sense when we sipped the Nederburg Winemaster’s Reserve Noble Late Harvest 2009 which has to be the finest desert wine that I personally have enjoyed.
The wines in the line-up were:
2010 FIFA World Cup Sauvignon Blanc 2010 – an instant goal scorer.
Nederburg Private Bin D252 Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon
Nederburg Ingenuity White 2008 – a five star wine in Platter’s South African Wines 2010
Nederburg Ingenuity Red 2007
Nederberg Private Bin R181 Merlot 2001
Nederberg Wine Master’s Reserve Noble Late Harvest 2009
In a recent article on CNN.com, Fairview Estate’s head winemaker, Anthony De Jager chats about the benefits to the South African wine industry that the soccer extravaganza has brought. Also interviewed is winemaker Patrick Sidyiyo who shares his insights into the change in perception of middle-class black people who are turning more and more to wine as their tipple of choice.
A change in format will see 50 different wine farms hosting festival events with visitors having the option of leaving their cars at any of 6 Park and Ride stops in Stellenbosch and travelling via a shuttle service to farms. This is included in the price of the ticket. Socceroos will also have the chance to hop on board a shuttle in Cape Town for a ride to Stellenbosch. Or spoil yourself and take the Stellenbosch Wine Festival Heli-Hopper Extravaganza to visit Blaauwklippen, Skilpadvlei & Zorgvliet for tastings.
A host of fun and wine activities will be offered such as potjiekos at Middlevlei; a de-gorging and landrover 4 x 4 experience at Simonsig; a game drive at Villeria and even 5 a side football kick around in the vineyards at Idiom.
Children will be entertained at Bellevue Wine Estate, Middelvlei and Delvera with pantomime productions; cart rides; feeding farmyard animals; horse rides and lots more.
Tickets for the Stellenbosch Wine Festival are available on-line at R150 per person per day which includes free shuttle service and five vouchers to exchange for special activities at the wine farms.
The Golden Pass, R500 is valid for the entire duration of the festival and includes free shuttle service and twenty vouchers.
Kids under the age of 18 go free accompanied by an adult. For more information on the Stellenbosch Wine Festival, contact 021 886 4310.
The Park and Ride site and shuttle stops are open from 0900 to 17h00 daily.
Shuttle Transfer from Cape Town- On each of the festival days there will be a shuttle transfer departing from and returning to the V & A Waterfront, Clock Tower Center, (where the tour buses make their stops). The departure times are 09h30 and 11h30 and the return times from Doornbosch, in the center of Stellenbosch are 15h00 and 17h00. The shuttle ticket costs R300.00 per person which includes your festival pass for that day. To book you need to contactNorman Stevens on 082 5698299.
Constellation Wines South Africa – brand owner of the award-winning Flagstone Winery and Kumala, the biggest selling South African wine globally – is ready to welcome the world to the Mother City. Flagstone and Kumala will be entertaining local and foreign visitors to Cape Town at The Lookout Village, the prestigious viewing venue in Granger Bay.
Constellation Wines South Africa
The Lookout Village, situated above the Breakwater Parking Garage at the V&A Waterfront, is a rooftop-marquee venue with panoramic views of the Cape Town Stadium and Table Mountain. It is set to become the Mother City’s most sought-after venue for discerning fans of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Jennie Sawdon
The Lookout Village features three distinct venues: Eagle’s Nest, Lion’s Den and Nina’s Wine Bar. Nina’s Wine Bar, sponsored by Kumala, is where visitors can sample, sip and savour some of the country’s premium wines along with sushi and oysters. Flagstone Winery will have a tasting counter at Nina’s Wine Bar, where guests can sample wines and place orders for their favourite vintages.
Scheduled to perform at Nina’s Wine Bar is TJ Johnson, widely considered to be one of the UK’s finest jazz and blues singers. Sharing the stage with TJ is Jennie Sawdon, a trained opera singer and an excellent pianist. She performs throughout the UK with her 6-piece soul-based cover band, the Rough Hill Band, and together they create a performance which is diverse and entertaining to audiences throughout the world.
The Lookout Village is open daily from 11am to 2am. Tickets can be bought at the door at R150 per person per day and entitles you to entry to the venue only. For more information, visit www.thelookoutvillage.com.
Alluvia Specialist Winery in the Banghoek area of Stellenbosch, South Africa, has every reason to celebrate after winning an award as well as receiving commendations from the judges at the Decanter World Wine Awards.
Ilka Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
The Decanter World Wine Awards is the world’s biggest wine competition and it is thrilling to see Cape Town wines holding their own against fierce competition from traditional old world wine producers and emerging countries alike.
Alluvia’s ilka Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 brought home a prestigious medal for the second year in a row. Named after co-owner Delarey Brugman’s twin daughters, Ilse and Karla, this wine scored 18.4/20 – very good to excellent. Andrew Harris, Alluvia’s Wine Business Manager, comments:
All of us at Alluvia are very proud of this achievement. The ilka Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 is an award winning wine with its richness of flavours and velvety elegance. Smart wine buyers and top restaurants will be pleased to know there are still a few cases available before we move on to the next vintage!
Hard to obtain, you may have to take a First or Business Class flight on China Eastern Airlines to sample this winning cab.
Sandy Straw Wine 2009, paying homage to Delarey’s wife, and Ilke Sauvignon Blanc 2009 were commended by the judges.
In total, 9 South African wineries were awarded Regional Trophies and 13 achieved Gold Medals.
For all of the results visit Decanter , select See results here, then Search by location – South Africa.
Cape Town winery, Nederburg, recently released this press release announcing it’s agreement with FIFA to produce and market FIFA endorsed wines.
Nederburg and FIFA have signed an agreement entitling the famous Paarl winery to make and market a range of South African wines for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Cellarmaster Razvan Macici has developed a special edition collection of three South Africa wines for the tournament which are sold locally and internationally. The three limited-edition wines are a Cabernet Sauvignon, a dry rose and a Sauvignon Blanc.
Capitalising on the pre-tournament excitement, the wines have been released worldwide, according to Nederburg marketing manager Rudolph Du Toit. “We have prioritised those markets where there is a strong interest in football but it is possible that distribution could be extended to meet demand.”
The wines are now locally available from selected stockists nationally, as well as from Nederburg itself.
Sold in bottles made from partially recycled glass, they are being marketed until December 2010 and span the 2007 to 2010 vintages. The white and rose are sold under screwcap.
The three wines were selected for their broad appeal, says Macici, but are being made in smaller quantities than the winery’s popular Winemaster’s Reserve Range, as grapes have been sourced from very specific vineyards for this purpose.
“The three wines bearing the 2010 FIFA World Cup emblem carry Nederburg’s hallmark blend of fruit intensity and finesse. They are intense but graceful and are clearly South African in that they have a very clear expression of fruit, but restrained classical styling, making them fresh, approachable and food-friendly. Given our association with such an important sporting initiative, we want them to serve as ambassadors for South African excellence.”
Each of the 2010 FIFA World Cup wines will feature a special facility on the back label that will enable consumers to instantly access information on Nederburg by clicking on an unique QR code with their cellphone cameras. The information will then appear on their cellphone screens.
Fairview’s latest range of value wines is La Capra. The range comprises Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay and Viognier as well as Shiraz, Pinotage, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Malbec.
La Capra presented by Fairview
We decided to try the La Capra Shiraz 2008 and very easily laid the bottle waste. There is are spice flavours galore on the palate like white pepper, clove and nutmeg, and the fruity yet dry flavours remind of eating pomegranates when I was a child. We think this wine goes very well with itself but it was also great with our sirloin and ostrich sausage braai. It’s beautifully balanced and sits on the palate forever after swallowing.
If I wanted to introduce a first time drinker to a Shiraz varietal wine, La Capra Shiraz is what I would reach for.
The quirky label reminds us that Fairview is home to goat herds and produces award winning cheeses.
These wines are available at the unbelievable price of R200.00 ($28.50) per mixed case from the farm.
Fairview’s vine roots go right back to 1926 when Charles Back 1, an immigrant from Luithuana, taught himself to make wine and developed a wine export business based in Paarl. Upon his death he bequeathed a wine farm to each of his sons: Klein Babylonstoren, which is now Backsberg, to Sydney Back, and Fairview to Cyril.
Fairview Shiraz 2008
Charles Back has developed exciting, new viticultural sites across the Western Cape and his wines are renowned for including lesser-known varieties such as Barbera, Tannat, Petit Syrah, Carignan and Grenache.
Fairview lifted a host of prizes at this year’s key international wine awards including gold medals for the Fairview Shiraz 2008 and Spice Route Malabar 2006 at the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, as well as gold for the Cyril Back 2007 at the 2010 Decanter World Wine Awards. Fairview also gathered eleven silver medals from the two competitions, together with the recent International Wine Challenge, marking a remarkable success for the family-run business based in Paarl.
Anthony de Jager, winemaker of the Fairview label and Spice Route’s Charl du Plessis together with their teams can be well satisfied with the results of their hard work and maverick approach to brand building.
Charles Back had this to say about the recent accolades:
“We are selective about the small number of competitions we enter, as the opinions we most value are those of our consumers. However being judged as producing great wine by international experts makes me very proud of our wine making teams and their outstanding contribution to the company’s success.”
Happily for readers, of this blog Fairview wines are sold in 40 countries around the world.
Look out for a review soon of La Capra the latest range, on this blog.
In the Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show, Cape Town’s first winery to produce Viognier wines has walked away with Best Viognier and Best White Wine Overall Trophys.
Bruce Jack, Flagstone winemaker
Bruce Jack, cellar master of Flagstone Winery, crafted Word of Mouth Viognier 2008 from grapes grown in the cool ward of Elim and fermented 20% of the must in oak. The result is an elegant, creamy wine that could stand shoulder to shoulder with a Condrieu, as we experienced at a recent tasting at Steenberg Vineyards.
Bruce, philosopher and writer, was on the path to becoming an academic when he recognised his passion and already extensive knowledge of South African wines and their producers. Happily for us local wine aficionados, he then worked several vintages offshore and completed a degree in oenology at the University of Adelaide in Australia before starting Flagstone Wines.
The first vintage was in 1999 and in 2008, Flagstone was bought by Constellation Wines, the world’s largest wine business, producing, marketing and selling a broad portfolio of wines. Bruce is the winemaker for the Flagstone, Fishhoek and Kumala labels. Kumula on its own produces 31.5 million bottles per year and is the biggest selling of all South African brands overseas.
Two Roads Chardonnay 2002, The Music Room Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, CWG Flagstone Love Handles 2004
His parents are an architect and a music teacher and their imprint on his life reflects in the lyrical, poetic descriptions of his wines and the thoughtful names he has given them. There is a story behind each one. The name Flagstone reflects the first broad-base tax levied by the French government after the revolution – a turning point for society. Word of Mouth is the only way to sell wine as apposed to adverts and award stickers on bottles, not that Flagstone wines are short of these. This name underscores the power of social media marketing that more and more wine makers are embracing. A favourite of mine is Two Roads Chardonnay 2002 named for Robert Frost’s thought provoking poem, The Road Not Taken.
His father’s influence also shows in the present home of Flagstone Winery which is in the original dynamite factory in Strand, Western Cape. On the site is a house designed by Sir Herbert Baker.
One of only 41 South African winemakers to belong to the prestigious Cape Winemakers’ Guild, Bruce has to craft two wines a year which are peer reviewed and qualified to be sold on the CWG Auction. The guild funds from this auction, social development investment for school children in the wineland areas and further education through the Protege Programme.
For all of the Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show results click here.
What a superb neighbourhood this is to live in where our neighbour presents us with a magnificent bottle of wine to say thanks for helping with his boat. Why would we want to be anywhere else?
Zorgvliet Silver Myn Merlot Cabernet Franc 2006
Quaffing this wine as we watched the clouds change colour over the Constantiaberg Mountains we were immediately impressed with the smooth elegance and balance. For me the main flavours were a little spice, sour cherry and mulberry. It is hard to believe that this is a second tier wine of this premium Cape Town producer.
Named Silver Myn because of historical mining that took place in the Banghoek area of Stellenbosch, Zorgvliet aims with this range to pair usual cultivars with unusual ones in high quality blends. Sauvignon Blanc with Viognier and Cabernet Sauvignon with Malbec are two more examples.
At R49.60 ($7) a bottle, this is astonishing good value for money.
Jancis Robinson, OBE, Master of Wine and leading wine authority concurs with the poll findings, pointing out that many of the wineries correspond to wines which have been praised in reviews on her website. Also of note is the fact that many of the these producers are new to the South African wine scene. Some of them barely qualified in terms of the entry condition set by Tim James that the wineries should have marketed at least three vintages to be considered in the rankings.
Jancis also reveals the questions posed on the poll.
What I particularly enjoyed about her article are the comments posted. There is a great deal of positive sentiment amongst the writers towards our local wine industry. Also of benefit to readers in the UK, are pointers as to where the winning wines might be obtained at the moment.
Ace drummer Ginger Baker who has a stud-farm in close-by Tulbagh and who performed at the Riebeek West Cricket Club open day two years ago, you will find if you are really lucky but beautiful wines; a plethera of olives and olive products; live music; olive tours; art; a kiddies’ playground and loads more simply by being in the Riebeek Valley this coming weekend.
Writing on the independant wine blog Grape, Tim James wine writer and judge, compiled with the help of other Cape Town wine professionals a list of South Africa’s top wineries.
The last time that such a poll was undertaken was in 2006. Reviewing the results Tim points out several aspects such as the fact that the top five wineries were in a league of their own; that ten of the Top 20 wineries were not even mentioned in the 2001 poll and that four wineries are complete newcomers to the poll.
From a perspective of production areas the winning wineries represent only one of the five South African wine regions, Coastal Region, and within that only the wine districts of Cape Point, Stellenbosch, Paarl and Swartland. The Overberg and Walker Bay districts where Paul Cluver, Hamilton-Russell Vineyards and Bouchard Finlayson are found do not fall into a particular region.
Parameters were set for the judging so that each winery had to have had at least three vintages of marketed wines.
On the voting panel were wine writers Tim Atkin, Michael Fridjhon, Joanne Gibson, Edo Heyns, Tim James, Angela Lloyd, Melvyn Minnaar, Fiona McDonald, Christine Rudman, Cathy van Zyl, Philip van Zyl.
Retailers: Carrie Adams, Carolyn Barton, Ingrid Motteux, Roland Peens, James Pietersen, Caroline Rillema
Sommeliers and others who took part were Miguel Chan, Neil Grant, Higgo Jacobs, Cathy Marston, Andre Morgenthal, Joerg Pfuetzner, Kent Scheermeyer and Jonathan Steyn.
The ever popular cheese, wine, olives and olive products festival will be happening once again at the idyllic Bien Donne farm near Franschhoek.
South African entertainer Nataniel
From earthy, innovative, artisanal cheeses from tiny producers to those made by South Africa’s dairy giants, they will all be there. More cheeses under one roof than could be imagined. To compliment the cheese will be award-winning wines, breads, pestos, nuts and preserves on sale.
Cooking demonstrations with Cape Town celebrities Soli Philander of Cape Talk radio station, Beyers Truter winemaker at Beyerskloof wine farm, Johan Badenhorst and Sari Magazines‘ food editors will inspire and entertain.
Not to be missed will be performances by singer, songwriter and entertainer Nataniel and the band, BRAWOU.
This is a fantastic event for the whole family. Children will be entertained in their own zone or get up close and personal with cows, goats and sheep while learning from start to finish how cheese comes to be on their sandwiches.
The festival will be open from 10h00 to 18h00 daily and tickets will cost R110 per person on the weekend days and R90 per person during the week. Tickets will not be sold at the gate and must be bought from Checkers or Computicket.
Higgo Jacobs, current sommelier at Steenberg Vineyard’s restaurant Catharinas, guided us through a flight of off-dry to natural sweet wines.
Higgo grew up in Calitzdorp in the Klein Karoo wine district of South Africa and no doubt developed a love for the complex, delicious port wines that the area is famous for.
Early in his career he made his mark by achieving an Advanced Certificate at the UK Wine and Spirit Education Trust as well as passing the Michael Fridjohn Wine Tasting Academy course with distinction. Higgo has worked for Jeroboams Wine Merchants and Anthony Byrne Fine Wines in London and has also served on many wine assessment panels.
Higgo is soon to open his own wine consultancy. He can be contacted at higgo.jacobs@steenberghotel.com or on (27) 21 7132222.
Chardonnay du Monde 2010 compared Chardonnay wines from thirty-five different countries.
Amongst the top ten best Chardonnays of the world are wines from France, Greece, Austria, Spain, Germany, Canada and South Africa, the only new world wine producer to be included in this elite group. Our best Chardonnay on this list is Lourensford Winemaker’s Selection Chardonnay 2009.
CHARDONNAY DU MONDE 2010
Also winning a gold medal is The Abacus Chardonnay – True to Terroir 2008 made by Spier Wines.
When exploring the Southern Cape wine area we stopped at Napier, home of Jean Daneel and his wonderfully sophisticated Chenin blanc wines.
This sign board with its quirky use of language, is at the entrance to the Napier Farm Stall and restaurant. Brekfis is a corruption of breakfast. Wail Trail vegetarian breakfast is a reference to the coastline where hundreds of Southern Right Whales spend Winter and Spring mating and giving birth to their young. I suppose not getting bacon with your breakfast is what causes the wail of grief.
In the container are King Proteas and Pincushion Proteas as well as fynbos blossoms which grow wild from the Cape Peninsula to the Eastern Cape. The Cape Floral Region is a World Heritage Site and is home to 20% of Africa’s flora.
Menu at Napier Farmstall and Restaurant, Southern Cape
According to Mark Dendy-Young, owner of La Petite Ferme, his vineyards have lost 40% of the annual crop and as much as two to three tonnes a week, enough to make 2,000 bottles of wine.
Male Chacma Baboon
The troop of about fifty marauding baboons have been driven closer to farm lands in search of food because recent bushfires have driven them down from the mountains surrounding the Cape’s wine district, Franschhoek. Dendy-Young told Decanter.com that the animals know just when the fruit is about reach optimal ripeness and scavange the vines just before they are harvested.
Also affected are the Moreson Pinot Noir vineyards which are situated on high slopes.
These primates are agressive, invasive animals and thrive in the Cape Town mountains where they seemingly have few, if any natural predators to control their numbers.
An ongoing problem is that people feed them in spite of many warnings and the baboons associate a human being with food. This results in cars at sight-seeing stops and picnic areas being trashed. Many homes in areas bordering on the mountain reserves have been ransacked and people have been attacked while the baboons attempt to snatch away food.
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