About 3 weeks left before my Certificate in Wine exam and am rather overwhelmed by all the theory I still need to tackle.
Being a mom and running a business leaves time for little - I might have to resort to the cramming from my student days, but let's see how much I can absorb between now and then!
The blind tasting sessions have been educational and surprisingly hard work, but my confidence is slowly increasing, thanks to several winery visits over the past 10 days. Armed with a wine evaluation sheet and my aroma wheel, I tasted a selection of (mostly) single varietal white and red wines at these estates:
Saxenburg: small, intimate tasting room with rather exceptional red wines. After tasting five wines, of which the Pinotage surprised me most (in a good way - I thought it was a Cab), I found myself walking out with a bottle of their Shiraz 2006, bought for R145.
Favourite wine tasted: 2006 Shiraz - R145
Asara: quite different to Saxenburg, this tasting room is much bigger, set against beautiful views of the damn and vineyards. I paid R30 to taste five wines from a fairly wide list of 19 options. As I will be examined on single varietals only, I had to regretfully skip the flagship Bell Tower Estate blend but still enjoyed sampling their Cab, Shiraz and Merlot, plus the unwooded Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
Favourite wine tasted: 2011 unwooded Chardonnay - R55
Raats: back to small and intimate, I was invited to this tasting as part of a group who meet regularly to sample wine and 'kuier'. Led by Gavin, the assistant winemaker, I was fortunate enough to taste fantastic examples of Cabernet Franc (first time for me) and Chenin Blanc, the two varieties in which this small, family-owned and run winery specialize. The Raats de Compostella 2008 blend was incredible, with black berry fruit and dark chocolate rolling over my palate like velvet, but sadly, at R577 per bottle, it was a little outside my budget.
Favourite wine tasted: 2008 MR de Compostella - R577
Bergkelder: I tasted a selection of four red and four whites from the Fleur du Cap and Plaisir de Merle brands, kindly arranged by Michael van Deventer from the Vinoteque Wine Bank. I can proudly say I pretty much aced the whites, but failed dismally when it came to the reds. I felt compelled to race into the Bergkelder's wine shop - lovely selection on offer at reasonable prices - and buy several red wines, for 'practise purposes'!
Favourite wine tasted: 2009 Fleur du Cap Unfiltered Semillon - R97
As my skill in writing tasting notes is still a serious work in progress, I have not included any here. Hopefully with the next round of visits my prowess in expressing what I see, smell and taste will have improved.
Until then I have decided to host a blind wine tasting party. A fun, companionable way to taste, guess and enjoy wine.
