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.