The Bilton Wines sales team about to drop off some Viognier 2008.

Yes we can. Viognier, South African that is, is deliciously drinkable. But then again, whoever said it wasnΓÇÖt?

Like Merlot, Viognier has been victim of the shallow throwaway line: ΓÇ£We canΓÇÖt make that in South Africa.ΓÇ¥ Said thrower then goes on to pontificate about ΓÇ£excessive greennessΓÇ¥, a perceived hiccup in MerlotΓÇÖs ripening procedure under South African conditions. Really? So how, pray, is the country making such sterling Bordeaux-style blends if the Merlot is deemed to be so tart?

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That small curly black hair perched next to his crusty, ravaged orifice resulted in an irritable missive by Tim James on Grape. Writing about an expensive wine released by Bilton Estate, his criticism was not only leveled at the producer of this R3 000 bottle, the way the wine was made nor the winemaker that assisted on the project.

No, Timothy also had a go at the media, implying that most of those invited to taste this wine were not serious wine journalists. Obviously considering himself as a member of the latter, he writes: “I haven’t tasted the wine and am unlikely to. The serious end of wine journalism was largely not invited to the launch….”

This statement did, of course, have the desired effect of urging journalists to comment on the whole do, as can be found in the notes under the article I have linked here.

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