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