A wine thread: What's in your glass?

[Delarey]

A very unique wine which I am enjoying way more than I expected

 

[Underachiever]

A very unique wine which I am enjoying way more than I expected

 

I need to remember this one!!

 

Normally you only get a Zinfandel in the US...

[fanievb]

[Delarey]

Cool pic!

[Delarey]

[fanievb]

[BSG]

New wine bottle cage for all the wine drinkers out there.

Edited September 13, 2020 by BSG

[Chris_]

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.

[Delarey]

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).

[Chris_]

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).

 

One day I'll splurge on a bottle of their Badenhorst Family Red, but until then the Secateurs Cinsault Red must be one of the best value buys I've found. A hundred bucks and absolutely delicious. 

[Slowbee]

There are just so many wines and such little time.

 

We prefer to do estate wines (and even better if single vineyard estate wine). Call it snob, call it silly, call it what you will, but the idea that the cellar is selling you wine that was grown as part of the estate is the appeal. The farmer and winemaker working together (yes yes, possibly fantasy land).

 

Cellars that usually buy in the grapes, tend to shop around (yes yes, I know it is contractual) and grapes come in from all over. You never really sure where the grapes you are drinking actually came from. But there is just something different about co-ops and wines that get bought in.

 

Blends, are our least favourite. Not that we do not drink them, but blends are kind of like making something out of the nothing.

 

Having said this, Bordeaux wines are very scumptious.

[stefmeister]

There are just so many wines and such little time.

 

We prefer to do estate wines (and even better if single vineyard estate wine). Call it snob, call it silly, call it what you will, but the idea that the cellar is selling you wine that was grown as part of the estate is the appeal. The farmer and winemaker working together (yes yes, possibly fantasy land).

 

Cellars that usually buy in the grapes, tend to shop around (yes yes, I know it is contractual) and grapes come in from all over. You never really sure where the grapes you are drinking actually came from. But there is just something different about co-ops and wines that get bought in.

 

Blends, are our least favourite. Not that we do not drink them, but blends are kind of like making something out of the nothing.

 

Having said this, Bordeaux wines are very scumptious.

 

I think part of the appeal of the estate wine comes from mimicking the prestige of the French first growth status/premier grand cru-wines, sort of a way to separate the estate wine from the co-op and the much controversial KWV wines in the old days. Nowadays, it's mostly just marketing.

Over here it doesn't necessarily mean/guarantees it's of higher quality, unless it's one of the older traditional wineries like Kanonkop. Many wineries can have single vineyard/estate wines, but never bothered to do the Sawis certification. It's just extra admin work, and not like the French's classification system.

[Slowbee]

Yep, estate wines mean you are supporting the local space.

 

This is different from the small scale farms and winemakers. I really enjopy supporting them. When you buy from a corporate farm it feels like your money is going somewhere else.

 

Kinda odd, but ja. Like buying Lourensford wine is making Mr Wiese more money, or from Vergelegen is helping Anglo with world domination.

 

I need to drink more wine so I can use the tinfoil to make a bigger hat.

[Delarey]

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.

Edited September 14, 2020 by Delarey

[Delarey]

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:

 

[Chris_]

Not bad. Not amazing.