Following my tasting with David Trafford at the de Trafford winery I was on my way to the Ken Forrester Winery. You may indeed recognize the name as some of Ken’s wines have been on the market here in the past.

I was greatly looking forward to tasting his wines as Ken is likely the world’s biggest booster of Chenin Blanc, and certainly South Africa’s Chenin Blanc specialist.

To really understand how important Ken is to Chenin Blanc in South Africa, you first have to understand how important Chenin Blanc is to South Africa’s wine industry.

Chenin Blanc is either the most planted or second most planted white grape in South Africa depending on who you talk to. South Africans drink more whites wines than red (conversely more red wine than white is exported) and Chenin Blanc shares top spot with Sauvignon Blanc(I think that these two stats alone show us how isolated from the South African wine scene that we have become). Chenin Blanc is considered the daily white wine much like we would treat Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay, so you can imagine how competitive and demanding the local South African market is for Chenin Blanc. So for Ken Forrester to become a specialist in developing Chenin Blanc is gutsy and requires the ability to thrive under a lot of scrutiny. My guess is that it would be like playing goal for the Montreal Canadiens.

Upon arriving it was apparent that Ken not only has a huge heart but a bigger than life personality. This was the first wine farm that I came across that provided housing for the families of its workers, schooling for its workers kids and a multitude of recreational opportunities.

I was greeted by AnthonyVan Schalkwyk the Brand Manager for the winery and guy who is responsible for the wineries representation in Canada and the US. This guy is full of energy! Like a guy with a lot on his plate and itching to tell the story we sat down and got right at it.

Ken has 3 levels to his wines – Petit (entry or ‘lifestyle’ level), Ken Forrester (mid-level) and a higher tier that is only made in vintages that warrant. Each level features a Chenin Blanc in addition to other varietals like Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz and some very intriguing red and white blends.

Each of the wines showed style and class and their levels were loosely based on the age of the vines. For example the Petit level Chenin Blanc was sourced from 14 year old vines, while the Ken Forrester Chenin Blanc was sourced from 30 year old Bush Vines. After gaining this knowledge I had to pause.

Consider that in total we have 8 different Chenin Blanc’s from around the world through which we can gain an understanding of this incredible diverse grape. 8 is a pretty weak number as I doubt that much thought has gone into the the Liquor Board’s consideration of how these 8 represent to grape. Mind you there are some truly inspiring examples a couple of which are local (Road 13 Chenin Blanc – sold out; and the Quail’s Gate Chenin Blanc). Yet Ken has invested in this varietal to the point of caring for 30 year old vines that yield tiny amounts of grapes each year. How is it this story has never reached us?

Time was getting short so after running through the tasting which included the FMC and the Gypsy (these wines are sinful, curvaceous, and encourage you to daydream about days spent reading great literature and listening to great music from the deck of Caribbean/Amalfi Coast/Provence/Cowichan Lake Estate while considering the quality of life of others- approx. $60/bottle), we ran down the road to the wineries restaurant called 96 Winery Road. I grabbed the bottle of the Gypsy, named after the energy and joie de vie of Ken’s wife, as I had to come back to this wine no matter what was on the menu.

At this point in time I had been in South Africa for about 24 hours and I was filled with questions. Political, cultural, economic, gastronomic, environmental so I gabbed on with Anthony who was very patient and answered everything quite thoroughly. The menus arrived and I desperately wanted something that was truly South African. Turns out that Ken was a Chef in Johannesburg and had his own restaurant in which he created a dish that is famous in South Africa – Duck & Cherry Pie. I settled on this as it promised to be tremendous.

The conversation quickly turned to the challenges of our market. Why had South African wines been neglected for so long? How is it possible that there could on be 30 offerings from a country that producer 3% of the worlds wine? All very good questions to which I answered with the key difference between the monopoly (LDB) system and the private system. The LDB waits for the world to come and visit them thus filtering out any who could not afford to make the trip, whereas the private sector, to constantly improve the quality of their customers lives must be on the look out foir items that represent better value. The simple fact is that the LDB is my competition and our competitive advantage is our agility. Anthony seemed to quickly grasp this concept like most suppliers do; with an element of surprise- “I thought that the LDB controlled everything?” “My agent tells me that our business has declined because the LDB has chosen to delist wines. Never have I been made aware of the private sector.” I love this part of the conversation.

All the while we were sipping on a wine that would help to form my ideas about how to express what Chenin Blanc is. We were tasting the 2003 Ken Forrester Chenin Blanc. That’s right the 2003. If you remember from the last blog I had tasted a 2001 and now I was having the 2003 that was sourced from 30-50 year old bush vines with a yield of less than 5 tons/hectare (I will get into this in another blog). The wine was lush and yet incredibly fresh on the palate. The nose had lively aromas of orange blossom and jasmine flowers with some lemon zest and tropical stone fruit (pretty amazing nose for a white wine that was now 7 vintages old), while the palate was long and seductive. I let the wine caress my palate as with every additional second more character seemed to pop out; with every additional sip I took the story that the wine was telling me got better and more colourful. I said to “Anthony everyone should taste this wine to understand how age can benefit a wine; how the wine will tell a story if you let it.” With that our main courses arrived.

The Duck & Cherry Pie arrived in two stages. the first was the light puff pastry that was placed on my plate following by a steaming cast iron skillet of the Duck & Cherry filling. Ken developed this recipe himself and it is a winner, provided you like Duck Confit and I love Duck Confit. The rich savoury flavours of the duck are enhanced by the delicate sweetness of black cherries. It is a rich dish but I, like the food trooper I am, powered through every last bite.

I believe that what made the whole meal, and what is in fact an integral part of the whole meal was the wine. We enjoyed a bottle of the 2005 Ken Forrester Gypsy which is a blend of Syrah (80%) and Grenache (20%). The nose on this wine is absolutely tremendous. I am telling you that if you lined up this wine with other wines from the Cote Rotie, or Crozes Hermitage of the Northern Rhone Valley, I suspect that most people would not peg the Gypsy as being South African. The nose is filled with black fruits and smoked meats that have been gently rubbed with rosemary, sage and oregano. The palate is deep, rich and languid. It massages the palate and brings out deep character and layers of flavours that are uncompromising as they are delicious. Put the Gypsy and the Duck & Cherry Pie together and you get an amazing food-gasm that you will remember.

Time was running late… of course. We had to wrap up our engaging conversation over a lovely dessert wine called Noble T which is named after Ken’s wife Theresa. This is opulently flavoured late Harvest Chenin Blanc (quite fitting) that has been boytritis affected which is referred to as Noble Rot.

The wine, although sweet with flavours of honey and apricots, is delicate on the palate as the fresh acidity keeps it from being syrupy or cloying.

If time is the awareness of change, then already, barely one day into my trip, I felt that I had been gone for 1 year. My assumptions about South Africa, South African wines and the people of South Africa were exploding all around me and I still had a week to go.

We shook hands and promised to keep in touch and just like that I was on my way to my next experience – The Winery of Good Hope.

Following my stop at Delheim was going up the valley between Mount Fleur and Mt. Hedelberg was de Trafford (www.detrafford.co.za). When I say up the valley I mean to the end of the road through the valley. As my guide Gerrit said “once you have doubted yourself 4 times you are getting close.”

It may have been a long trip through the winding road of this beautiful valley but in the end it was well worth it. We were greeted by the farm dog  who is a little Jack Russel that was very inquisitive about our arrival. He was kind enough to announce our arrival.

By now the Sun was almost directly overhead and the temp was starting to heat outside. Out of these giant barn doors came David Trafford. David is a soft spoken man that has a smile that immediately eliminates any concept of smuggness.

The winery is not large and has essentially been efficiently squeezed into the original barn on the property. David went on to describe the history of the winery and vineyards which his family purchased in 1976 (In a separate blog I will go over the South African quota system that existed until 1991; in essence the industry was run by a large co-operative that put quotas on the tonnage produced per grape type and determined what could be grown where). It was suggested to David and his father that the soils and climate would be great for Bordeaux & Rhone reds as well as whites like Chenin Blanc. Instead of adhereing to the quota system they decided to wait 18 years until the dissolution of the quota system in 1991 to plant a commercial vineyard and honed their craft on a small ‘friends and family’ vineyard.

David and his father made a number of wines over the years and tested them on family and friends. What came from this was the fact that Chenin Blanc would be great coming from this part of the Stellenbosch appellation, as would Mediterranean reds. These would become their defining wines and lead David to abandon his career in architecture and pursue winemaking.

He is a very inquisitive fellow and is not about to let an assumption stand until it is proven. A case in point is the assumption that the types of grapes that will do well in South Africa are limited to red varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz, Grenache, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec, or white varieties like Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Semillon. This again was part of the hangover of the Co-Op imposed quota system. To David the Western Cape has a Mediterranean climate with a multitudede of soil types which begs the question “Why not try other varieties like those found in Portugal, Spain, Italy, and other less famous regions of France?” Go for it David!

It takes a number of years to import vine stock as the South African government is very nervous about interfering with the natural vegetation of the Western Cape (there are more unique species of plants in the Western Cape than there is in all of the Northern Hemishpere). Over the last 4 years David has planted a number of the Port varieties and has now started to blend them into some of his red wines.

As I sat down to taste David mentioned that the expression of Chenin Blanc that he believes best defines the vineyards needs natural fermentation (I will come back to natural fermentation as this will be continuing theme in all regions over my whole trip) in oak barrels and oak barrel aging thereafter. I must admit I was a little apprehensive about all the oak as the last time that I had tasted oak aged Chenin Blanc from South Africa was about 5 years ago when I received some samples to my importing company. The samples were awful. With those as my reference point I believed that Chenin should not have any barrel treatment. If there is a constant  about wines it is the fact that as soon as you assume some knowledge, there is something out there that will completely destroy the assumption.

The first wine that I tasted was the de Trafford 2008 Chenin Blanc. As I put my nose to it I was transported to a restaurant with a view of the Olympic Mountains and the water on a bright sunny summer day as evening was descending. The nose was elegant, refreshing and engaging but in a casual kind of way. Soft tones of honeydew melon about 2 weeks before it is perfectly ripe to eat mix with hints of freshing rasped lime and lemon zest. If the nose seems a little subdued it was. It was a soft opening for an incredibly expressive and lively palate.

On the palate the wine seemed to jump and play as 10 year would on a spring day, yet there was an underlying confidence that showed itself in an elegant way. You could just tell that although young, the story would grow as time went by… I marked a number of check marks in my note book.

The second wine was the 2009 Chenin Blanc. The nose was a touch more citrusy and had zesty floral notes like jasmine or orange blossom after a spring rain. Once again the palate was far more expressive than was the nose. It was almost as if the nose was like an opening act for Cirque de Soleil show. The citrus was far more expressive and instead of melon I was getting more grapefruit and nectarine flavours. The finish was clean, crisp, and left you wanting a second glass for sure.

The last of the Chenin Blancs was the 2001. Yup 2001. I was very intrigued as we in B.C., and from what I understand in South Africa to, don’t consider aged white wine to be a value. We assume that the newer or fresher it is the better (more on this after my tasting withe Ken Forrester and the Chenin Blanc Association).

The nose held more nutty flavours like I expected, but there was still a lot of freshness on the nose. The fresh citrus tones had not left, in fact in some ways they became more expressive. In addition to the nutty and citrus elements, more tropical flowers and fruits were shinning through. Overall the nose on the 2001 was far more expressive than the 2009 or the 2008. Who woulda thunk it.

The palate was dreamy. All the flavours had integrated over time and were working in concert to tell a little more of the story of de Trafford and Chenin Blanc. What was new on the palate was a spicy character that was not there before. It had emerged like a signal of maturity and it was goooood!

I have to say that I was totally surprised by what I encountered. The oak treatment served to uplift the wines and not over shadow them. All the oak seemed to have done was to add a texture to the wines that provided more elegance along with the fresh flavours.

The were all beautiful. The perspective that this tasting had now given me was like the difference between a casual bistro and an elegant but easy going restaurant. I was now starting to form some ideas on what the real nature of Chenin Blanc is. I am so excited.

The tasting continued for 7 more wines, most of whom were blends and included some of the Port varieties that I mentioned. All were delicious and very intriguing but my mind was starting to race about the jewel that was South Africa. If the rest of the wineries that I was about to visit were as good as the first two I would be left with some very hard decisions. I could easily bring back hundreds of wines and be very confident in standing behind each and every one of them.

Before we leave de Trafford there are two gentle nuances that will forever make this winery stand out in my mind. The first is the packaging. Each wine is dressed in a painting that was done by David’s wife. Each showed incredible elegance and grace as do the wines. She prefers to work with acrylics, but her oil works were filled with depth and light together which I think perfectly describes the wines.

The second thing was the basket press. As you walk in there is a large basket press. That in and of itself is not that surprising as most wineries still have the old manual basket presses that they used in years past kicking around to show the history of the winery. I had asked about the press because it was in the middle of the working winery and David informed me that the basket press was the only press they use for all of their wines. I am sure that my mouth dropped. I know that many wineries still use basket presses for some of their wines and in many cases these wines a labelled as such and are slightly more expensive, but I don’t recall any winery that still uses a basket press for all of his wines.

In a way that can give a glimpse to this soft spoken, warm and purposeful man, he says “it’s not that I believe there is a technical reason for choosing a basket over newer more techno presses, it is that I don’t believe that spending thousands of dollars on new technology will bring out more of the character of the place, the grapes, and our family.” With that it was time to head down the road to meet with and have lunch with Ken Forrester  wines.

I left off last time waking in a start to get ready as I had slept late due to jet lag. After hurrying out the door we were on our way just outside of Stellenbosch to the Delheim Winery (http://www.delheim.com/). But before I start with my description of the Delheim Estate I have to fast forward to my dinner engagement with and inspiring young Zulu man by the name of Mtome Mbotha.

Mtome is a representative of the Wines of South Africa (WOSA) that have arranged for my itinerary and accommodation while in South Africa.

We met at the River Manor (http://www.rivermanorguesthouse.co.za/) as I was returning from my day. He was carefree it seemed as he relaxed on the patio at the River Manor. We strolled over to the Cafe Dijon (http://www.cafedijon.co.za/flash.html) and enjoyed a little small talk on the way.

We sat down and immediately got engaged in a conversation. The conversation flowed so nicely that we had to ask the server to comeback multiple times as we didn’t stop talking to look at the menu.

Mtome’s life story is not only engaging but the passion and enthusiasm with which he tells is infectious. He tells his story as if it has only just begun. I have to say that although I have only been here for a couple of days, and am by no means an expert, that his enthusiasm for the way things will be seems to be prevalent amongst the people that I have met in South Africa. What makes this so powerful is that fact that at the same moment the country is experiencing 25% – 40% unemployment. Consider for a moment how dour and depressing we would likely be if we in Canada were experiencing that level of unemployment. The prevailing perspective is that the current rate of unemployment is a blip and that the country will survive and be stronger. To use Mtome’s words “South Africa is alive with possibilities.” This feeling seemed to capture my impressions of my first day and the attitudes of the winemakers that I met.

As you know in coming here my expectation was to discover what makes the South African wine category so dynamic in countries like the UK, Sweden, Germany etc and not in B.C. The answer is really in selection. What we have in B.C. at present can’t possibly represent the quality or the selection available in South Africa. With this in mind I am taking the long term view in developing the category. This means there will likely be a number of orders over time the first of which will hopefully arrive in our Spring, thus, first things first lets find the best options for summer sipper style wines- crisp, clean, citrussy or tropical flavours in white wine, or strawberry and cherry flavours in Rose- for South Africa this likely means Chenin Blanc & Sauvignon Blanc in whites and Roses made from Pinotage or Shiraz. Now I am ready to go. 

We arrived at Delheim Estate shortly after 9:30am local time (10 hours ahead of Victoria) and were met by the delightful and disarming Nora Theil. I say disarming as no matter how many times I travel to meet with wineries, I always approach the first winery just a little nervously. This trip it was especially true as my experience with South African wines  had been limited and not always good. As a result I greatly appreciated Nora’s calm demeanor.

She briefly described the wineries history which dates back to the late 1600’s and her families involvement from the 60’s on. She noted from the profile that preceded me that I was interested in Chenin Blanc so not only was this the first wine I was to taste in South Africa it would be the first of many Chenin.

The Chenin was meant to be blended into another wine in the Delheim range, but after tasting the blend, I was more impressed by the straight Chenin Blanc. It is amazing how many wines over the last year that have turned out to be some of the most popular started out either as the winemakers pet project or as a “mistake and now what do we do with it?” I think of the Rose from St. Hubertus from last summer and the Dolcetto Lagrein from Heartland in Australia as good examples of this. We will definitely be seeing this wine in our market. The label will change as what Nora had placed on the label was simply what they had hanging around but it will arrive in the $13-$15 range an in some quantity.

The second wine out of the gate was the other wine that could be definitive for South Africa. Much like Shiraz is to Australia and Carmenere is to Chile, Pinotage could be to South Africa. I think the only thing holding Pinotage back is that the expressions from South Africa that we have had in B.C. have been, well, crap! They have been really gamy and awkward with a strong sense of burnt rubber and mesquite smoke.

I firmly believe that peoples appreciations for different flavours change in steps and not leaps. Consider that Australian Shiraz replaced California Cabernet as the most popular red wine, and Argentine Malbec is creeping up on Aussie Shiraz to become the most popular. I believe that Aussie Shiraz has all the power and juiciness of a California Cab in the late 90’s but with just enough of a difference for it to be interesting and engaging. The same is true for Argentine Malbec vs Aussie Shiraz – similar juicy fruit and structure, but with different but interesting flavours. For Pinotage, to replace Argentine Malbec or Aussie Shiraz, considering the current selection on B.C’s shelves, it would take a giant step. I do see it happening someday, but I believe that Primitivo from Southern Italy and Carmenere from Chile will be the steps before Pinotage. Let’s see if this assumption will be trashed as you know that to assume makes an ass out of you and me… I am no stranger to being an ass.

With these thoughts racing through my head Nora introduced the second wine of the tasting; Delheim 2009 Pinotage Rose. Oh god what if it is as awkward and nasty as the majority of the other Pinotages I had tasted? What’s it going to do kill me? Okay let’s dive in.

The nose was filled with ripe strawberries much like a French or BC rose made with Syrah, Grenache or Gamay Noir. Very nice. The texture was that crispness you get when you bite into a fresh strawberry picked right off the farm. The flavours were alive and bright and were like a bowl of fresh strawberries muddled with some raspberries, 3 cranberries and two blackberries that had been lightly sprinkled with fresh ground black pepper. I could immediately see sitting on a patio in a restaurant on Government, Wharf or Robson Street and really enjoying this with some light summer cuisine, even some fresh salmon or trout and a dollop of local goat cheese. Oops… have I gone to far? Back to South Africa… I am pretty sure that you will see this wine on the shelves…. duh!

Nora and I engaged in conversation about all manner of things as I was all of a sudden a sponge. If the first wines that I had tasted on my tour were any indication, the rest of the tour was going to be filled with a tremendous number of wonderful discoveries.

I could have chatted with Nora for sometime but I was already late for my next appointment and she was preparing for her trip later in the week to Holland, the UK and Germany.

Gerrit, my extremely knowledgeable, engaging and well travelled navigator was ready to go to our next stop- de Trafford.

I am going to start this entry in London’s Heathrow airport as my experience of South Africa, will start the moment I get on the South African Airways plane bound for Cape Town.

After 8 hours of waiting in London, following a tragic 9 hour flight to London all I wanted was to get in my seat, close my eyes and feel a little refreshed. My desires were quickly squelched when myself and all the passengers were informed that dinner would be served in 1 hour after take off… I had to stay awake for dinner as every light was on.

If the hospitality of SAA was any indication, I was in for a great trip. First came the drinks cart of which I ordered a glass of bubbly if they had it (Business Class got Moet… I did not). The flight attendant then asked me if I was expecting to have dinner. A puzzled look crossed me face as if to say “duh, that is why I am still awake.” She then said “I understand why you have asked for the bubbly as a palate cleanser, but would you like something to go with the meal?” That is a question I have never been asked before on any airline. Wow I thought.  “Good catch, what is for dinner?”  I asked assuming that it was a choice between rubber and mush. “Lamb with a mint sauce, potatoes and carrots, or chicken in a red curry sauce.” Hmm, that was more than I expected so I also ordered a glass of the Man Vintners Shiraz.

You may remember an earlier post when I made clear my excitement for this trip came from a sense of the unknown. I had tasted South African wines before, but I felt that what I had tasted could in no way be a true representation of an industry that is responsible for 3% of the world’s total wine production. That is a lot of wine. There had to be more, and this with a couple of broad assumptions is all that armed me as I twisted the cap on the Swartland Cuvee Brut Extra Dry.

My god my hopes have been dashed against the beautiful shores of Cape Town. What a trajedy this wine was. It tasted like the worst of the South African wines that I had tasted in the past. If this was the harbinger of things to come I was in store for a very long week of fake smiles and small talk.

Handing the wine back to the attendant as she served my lamb I needed something to cleanse my palate. Anything would do. I hesitantly opened the Man vintners and poured it into my glass.

There is something about South African wines that makes them stand out. The kind of thing that anyone, once introduced to it, would be able to pick out in a heart beat. Many people describe this as licorice or beet root, I describe this as mesquite smoke. Anyway you describe it you have to like to enjoy South African wines. All of the wines that I have tasted in the past had this characteristic. Some more, some less, but all had it. It is a very nice component if it doesn’t overshadow the rest of the wine and works as an integral part of the grander orchestra.

With this in the back of my head I brought the Man Vintners to my lips.

You know it was pretty good. Lots of ripe black fruits flavours that I expect out of Shiraz, some underlying spice and some of the smokey flavour that seemed to work in this wine as it was checked and seemed to share the spotlight with the other flavours. After this experience I am now ready for South Africa.

At about 11am local time (1am Victoria time) we landed and I was collected by a very nice guy by the name of Jaat (Yaat). In the space of 25 mins from the airport to my accommodations for the first couple of nights, I got some real insight to where South Africa was.

Did you know that South Africa has 25-40% unemployment depending on who you talk to. Can you imagine that. ¼ to ½ of the population unemployed? As it turns out this has translated into a number of ‘creative’ jobs for people like Car Guards. A Car Guard is someone who stands on the street and presumably insures that you car does not get stolen. As I now understand, Stellenbosch has almost no crime of any sort, so the Car Guards simply greet you when you park and ask for money when you leave. I guess this is Stellenboschs version of street side window cleaners.

The other thing that the massive unemployment has lead to is hand harvesting. Let’s face it why employ 1 machine harvester that could damage the grapes when you can employ harvesters that are doing it the old fashioned way.

After our 25 minute drive I was dropped at the River Manor (www.rivermanor.co.za) which is a beautiful little guest house that was built in the 1800’s. See pictures attached.

Upon check in I was informed by the very pleasant and well meaning desk manager that check-in was not until 3pm (4 hours hence). My crest had fallen. After a total of 35 hours of travel either sitting up right or walking around Heathrow, I desperately needed a clean flat bed. I told the desk manager my plight and she endeavoured to get the room ready. In the meantime I sat in the open air courtyard and started to read many of the pamphlets that were left for m upon check in.

Did you know that from the period immediately following Apartheid to now no other wine region in the world has invested more into their industry? It seems that the response to the first wines released to the world following the establishment of democracy (that is how that time is referred to here) was less than encouraging. Consider for a moment that for an entire generation wines were made for only a population of 10million white South Africans. That will insure that the wines will not be ‘international’ in style, but very localized and thus working with a lot of the local cuisine. Many of the wines were made to go with ‘braai’ which is an Afrikaans word for Barbeque. They became very rustic, gamey, and not very appealing unless you were going down to the Keg or the White Spot for a nice haunch of Springbok or Guinea Fowl.

To make a long story longer the South African wine industry sent its viticulturalists and wine makers around the world to see what and how other regions were making wine. The result is that today the South African wine industry is one of the most advanced on the planet. Let’s just see if advanced means better wines…

After an hour or so of reading my room was finally ready. The temperature had reached 33C and I felt that I was going to pass out at any moment, so I flopped onto the bed and proceeded to pass out for 3 hours.

Upon awaking I had a shower, grabbed my camera and set out on foot to discover Stellenbosch. What I found is one of the most beautiful and quaint towns that I have ever visited. Many of the buildings were originally constructed in the Dutch Style in the late 1600’s and early 1700’s. These buildings are either stark white or saffron yellow that when contrasted with the vibrantly blue sky is a sight to behold.

After walking about town for an hour I felt it was time for a beer so I sat down in one of the may open air street side bistro’s and had my first ever Namibian Lager called Windhoek (Vint-hook).

It may have been the heat, or it could have been the residual exhaustion that was still lurking inside me, but that was one of the best beers that I have tasted. Very fresh and clean with an emphasis on hops like most European beers that we have in market.

To go with my beer at Beads restaurant I had a plate of rolled goat cheese. This consisted of 6 small rounds of locally made goat cheese encrusted with fresh ground black pepper, seasame seed, and local cilantro. Accompanying the goat cheese was local bitter lettuce and sun dried tomatoes. This was exactly what the doctor ordered. Real food with a real local bent.

After I finished the beer and the cheese plate I went back to my room to refresh for dinner which was to be at the very highly touted Cape Town Fish Market.

I arrived at the restaurant looking for a classic South African seafood experience. What I found was a bad version of a concept restaurant that was intent on sitting me down, feeding me, and getting me out as soon as possible. I had their ‘specialty’ seafood platter which had both over cooked prawns and undercooked crab cakes. Needless to say I was happy to oblige them and asked for the bill and returned back to my room.

By that time it was around 11pm local time and I was feeling pretty tired, so I fell into bed in the hopes that I would sleep right through until my driver was to collect me the next morning… only in my dreams.

I was wide awake at around 2am and proceeded to get updated on the Canucks game against Pittsburgh, what happened in the NFL playoff games, and play around with the video function on this computer and my camera. At about 4 I climbed back into bed with the idea that my alarm would wake me in time for breakfast. Wrong! I slept right through until the phone rang at 5 to 9am. My first winery visit was to be at Delhem Estates at 9am. I jumped into the shower had a quick rinse and without a morsel for breakfast or a hint of caffeine we raced off to Delhem and that is where I will start the next post. Cheers

Today is the day that I embark and the next leg of my personal and professional journey through the world of wine. Today is the day that I head off to South Africa.

I can honestly tell you that I am very excited. I am even looking forward to the 30 hour trek to get there.

My past trips have  been to different parts of places that I had been to before so this one holds just a little more ‘exoticness’ for me.

I received the itinerary for the trip today and over the course of 8 days I will have the good fortune of visiting 25 different wineries and have a Chenin Blanc only tasting. I am so looking forward to that.

I think part of my excitment lies in the fact that the South African category is currently pretty dull. We have seen the same players in it for the last 20 years and there is only about 30 skus in the whole category. It can’t be that the best of what South Africa’s wine country has to offer is brilliantly represented in the 30 or skus that are currently here.

As I embark upon this trip I have to admit that I am starting off with a few assumptions. Come on I am human after all.

My first assumption is premised on my recent experiences in tasting South African wines. Over the last few years I have tasted a number of expresssions and I have to say the whites have impressed me the most. Specifically the Chenin Blancs and Sauvignon Blancs. So incredibly expressive and alive that they seem to jump out of the glass.  The reds on the other hand have all tended to feature a dominant gamey nose and flavour. One that in the right balance is very intriguing, but when it over powers the fruit and other characters of the wine is a little off putting. Assumption number 1: I expect to come back with buys that feature more whites than reds.

Before I went to Chile a couple of years ago I remember thinking that the most engaing wines I was going to taste were Casablanca Pinot Noirs and Sauvignon Blancs. The reality was I came back gushing about Carmenere and being completely taken by surprise by the ’sheer awesomeness’ (to steal a phrase from Kung Fu Panda) of the Chardonnays. I found a ton of world class Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc, but the Pinot Noirs for the price left me wonting. I am all a tingle about what surprises are in store over the next two weeks.

Did you know that South Africa is the 7th biggest producer of wines in the world and is responsible for 3% of the worlds total wine production. In the UK, Sweden and Finland, where Australian wines once reigned as King, South African wines have assumed the throne. In contrast, here in Canada and in the United States South African wines haven’t gotten any traction. I am not sure of why, but I suspect that we here don’t have a clear identity for South African wines. Let’s face it if I say South Africa you immediately think of Lions, Giraffes, and Wilderbeast. That image is wild and savage and doesn’t really go well with our preception of wine and food. This leads to Assumption Number 2: South African wines have not found their voice.

With all this in mind and the fresh memories of hugs from Chloe, the warm embrace and whispering words from Grace, and the supple kiss of my soulmate and wife Angela, I head off on my newest adventure in hopes that I find some killer Chenin Blanc, well balanced and delicious reds, the words to convey the voice of South African wines, and, perhaps most importantly, the experience and products that serve to improve the quality of life one sip at a time.

The next blog will be two days hence, thereafter, internet willing, I expect to blog each day of my adventure. As always let me know your thoughts and queries.

Cheers

Rod

Canforrales Tempranillo Classico 2008 $16.99

Thanks all for you your comments and questions to askrod@liquorplus.ca.

 I feel that you can sense the character of the people who make wine in the wine itself;  the wine becomes their voice.

A good example of this is the Canforrales 2008 Tempranillo Classico.

Last January I had the great fortune of travelling to Spain.  My purpose was to buy wines that exceeded the offerings currently available.  About half way through the trip (that means about 175 wines in) we were in the Rioja. We toured one of most incredible wineries I have seen in my 20 years in the business. Cavern after Cavern of barrels all resting to the sound of soothing music. In the slightly damp air was the wonderful scent of wine.  I was salivating in anticipation of the tasting.

The winery has a long and colourful history.  It was started by a boy of 15 out of the basket on the front of his bike.  He would sneak into various vineyards, taste the grapes ripening on the vines and then at harvest would negotiate to buy certain parcels that he would take home and make into wine.  After the wine was ready he would load some bottles into the basket on the front of his bike and he would literally ‘peddle’ them throughout his village.  I desperately wanted to taste that passion in the wines.

We sat down to the tasting.  My anticipation was high.  I tasted through the first 10 wines, which all let me down. There was no character, no body, no ‘voice’ in the wines.  I asked about the history of the winery again and learned that about 30 years ago the winery changed hands and was re-sold to a Swiss Bank or some Investment company.  I had my answer.

Over dinner that night I met Jose Hildago, the winemaker for a La Mancha based winery called Campo Realles.  He told me stories of how his mother & father ran a small restaurant in his village in La Mancha and how his mother would taste through the wines of the local farmers and decide which were suitable for his father’s food.  She would give Jose a taste and ask his opinion.  From this point on Jose wanted to make wines that his mother would think were good enough for his father’s food.

After hearing this story I yearned to taste his wines, so we arranged to meet and taste the next morning.

Jose has been making wines for over 20 years now and is a very thoughtful and soft spoken man until you ask about the ‘nature’ or ‘voice’ of the Tempranillo grape.  His voice starts to resonate and his hands move in a hundred different directions.

 We tasted through 10 wines and I was so impressed by the 2008 Canforrales Tempranillo that I bought a whole container (1100 cases).  It is lush, deep, wonderfully fruity, earthy and spicy.  All of this is in perfect balance with the body and tannin.  The wine has a voice and it clearly speaks to the passion behind it.

Give it a whirl and I hope that it improves your quality of life… one sip at a time.