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Pleasantly surprised by this one. Received it as a present and did not have high hopes based on the label. I have no idea about the price, but I suspect it is punching way above its weight. Will have to try and source some more.
As part of my degree in Psychology, I go through a lot of content. I recently watched an excellent TED talk on a longitudinal study on what makes a good life. (its not bicycles - although they come pretty close)
Thought you folks might like it!
I love this kind of stuff! While I am an engineer so probably on the opposite of the spectrum with regards to the social sciences field, I find the "science" of happiness fascinating. This one is one of my favourite Ted talks:
Ironically the Cape Town Good Food and Wine Expo at the CTCC used to have a public voting system where attendees voted for their favorite wine at the expo. Almost every year a Coffee Pinotage won....The coffee experiment was/is a truly awful endevour
South Africa is such an unequal society that any metric that compares it to other countries is basically meaningless. Still an interesting analysis though.
Nr. 1 in Africa! That is something considering we hardly ever make the Afcon finals these days!This just came across my feed and I found it quite interesting. The "goodest" country - not the best - the country that contributes the most to society..according to the definition:
The idea of the Good Country Index is pretty simple: to measure what each country on earth contributes to the common good of humanity, and what it takes away, relative to its size. Using a wide range of data from the U.N. and other international organisations, we’ve given each country a balance-sheet to show at a glance whether it’s a net creditor to mankind, a burden on the planet, or something in between.
It’s important to explain that we are not making any moral judgments about countries. What we mean by a Good Country is something much simpler: it’s a country that contributes to the greater good of humanity. A country that serves the interests of its own people, but without harming - and preferably by advancing - the interests of people in other countries too.
https://www.goodcountry.org/index/results/
there's a Ted Talk too
https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_anholt_which_country_does_the_most_good_for_the_world
South Africa ends up no 47 on the list
NZ - 17
Australia - 20
UK - 18
US - 40th
Finland- 1st
I think its a very misunderstood cultivar. In my opinion there are three different styles: plummy cheap Pinotage, Coffee Pinotage, and then the more expensive Pinotage (Pinot Noir style). I am not a fan of coffee Pinotage (although it is quite popular) and the cheap Pinotage is like any other cheap red wine. There only a few estates that make the nicer one and they definitely don’t come in under R100/bottle. When done well though, its one of my favorite cultivars.There’s only a handful of exceptional ones. It’s a rather average variety in general, but probably deserves more focus, planting in cooler climate regions that yields more complexity in the wines. Inherently it has some flaws, where bitterness can be an issue that pops up and warmer fermentations that result in more esters being produced that gives banana flavours that the old pinotages were typically known for.
It makes nice Rosé and mcc base wines though.
I do think it blends well though. There are a number of Cape Blends that punches way above their weight.
I love his analysis and he is incredibly knowledgeable. He might need some Ritalin though. I find myself constantly rewinding and pausing to catch everything he says (with subscripts).
Some daytime drinking with a view to match.
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I am sure you have all seen Squidge’s video on the Boks’ world cup win which he released just after the tournament. Probably one of the best analysis videos ever. I have watched several times already and still get goosebumps. (If you have not seen it, do yourself a favor) Here is a new one with a bit more analysis which he made a few months ago. Just stumbled across it yesterday for the first time.
By the way, most of you have probably seen this documentary before, but in case you haven't, it is an absolute must for any wine enthusiast:
Some of the best wines are made by winemakers who do not actually own the vineyards. I might be wrong but I would be surprised if Eben Sadie actually own that vineyard in Clainwilliam where the Skurfberg Chenin comes from. I know Albert Ahrens buys most of his grapes from single sections of blocks of vineyard from the farmers.
Apparently in France they have a systems where people can own a single row of a vineyard. The key difference between the Coop system of buying grapes and the way people like Sadie and Ahrens does it is that they are intimately involved in the working and harvesting of those vineyards, while the Coop just pays per ton delivered. Every winemaker I have ever spoken to says that the quality of the wine starts in the vineyard and in particular the soil. Connecting the type and style of wine you make to the type of soil and location of he vineyards is what makes great wine.
Wine critic Tim Atkins (from the article sounds highly regarded) gave 2 South African wines perfect 100 scores the other day.
2018 Porseleinberg syrah from the Swartland, and the 2019 Sadie Family Skurfberg chenin blanc from Olifants River.
Anyone heard or tried them? I only know of Sadie Family wines, tried one or two reds, very good, but prohibitly expensive.
I have not tried either, but also saw the article. I found it fascinating that the Chenin is from the Olifants River area. On their website I see it's from a vineyard in Clainwilliam. I love the old vine Chenins from Swarland. Apart from the big names like Eben Sadie and Adi Badenhorst there are a number of smaller producers with brilliant Swartland Chenins (Albert Ahrens, Jacques de Klerk, Jocelyne Hogan Wilson).
Not sure it is better, but a nice take
That song makes me proud to be Afrikaans! There are several good versions of the song and it's difficult for me to pick a favourite. The original by Koos is probably one of his best, but I think the Dozi version might be my favourite:
My goto song when I was living in Budapest and missing SA on a Sunday afternoon (after a few wines).
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A very unique wine which I am enjoying way more than I expected
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Another beauty from my W2W stash. Perfect in this weather.
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I have a special place in my heart for The Berrio.
It was the first wine farm where I delivered fertilizer when I started my business (dangerous goods transport.)
Now nearly all the wine farms in the area buys from my clients and I make a point of visiting them for wine tastings when I'm in the area. Now that I think of it, I reckon going to Gansbaai and spending my birthday on Lomond's lawn sounds just right.
Lomond Sugerbush Sauvignon Blanc!
A highly complex question - short answer is that i am a hedonistic creature so don't do denial of anything well. I have stopped drinking mid week for a couple of times now but enjoy a glass after work too much. If the number was that mach then its a huge amount of money but its purely academic to entertain the idea. You could doa. lot with R 10m, but right now i enjoy my wine.
Same here. I believe life is ultimately a pursuit of happiness and in my case, wine (and in particular, interesting wine) brings me a lot of happiness. I have a few other such vices, but wine is definitely in the top 3. I am also particularly sceptical of any decision which is made purely for the purpose of acquiring more money, especially when it involves giving up something that is the source of happiness.
Sadly almost everything has a price for most people. That 1990's movie called Indecent Proposal comes to mind. My gut tells me that the choice to take the money almost always ends up in misery of some sort.
I do enjoy thought experiments though.
Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon blendCultivar?
Absolutely love white wines from Elim.
A wine thread: What's in your glass?
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