Dec
06
2012
The woman with the floppy hat and yellow facial sunscreen looked at me as if IΓÇÖd asked her to perform the Gangnam Style in her second-hand underwear. ΓÇ£DonΓÇÖt make such a noise,ΓÇ¥ she whispered. ΓÇ£We think weΓÇÖve got a LevaillantΓÇÖs Cisticola.ΓÇ¥
I peered over at the other members in her group. Most had the same floppy-hats and were donning binoculars of different sizes, coloured black or military green. ╬ô├ç┬úYou might have a Levaillant╬ô├ç├ûs Cisticola, but I╬ô├ç├ûve got a date with a cold bottle of sparkling wine,╬ô├ç┬Ñ I said, flooring the CitroΓö£┬╜n and sending a few Cisticolas, Furry Bummed Cisterians and Blue Hardened Tits – or whatever it is that bird-watchers find intriguing – flapping into the mountains above Plaisir de Merle.
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Nov
25
2011
Chris Keet (photograph plagiarised from Neil Pendock's blog.)
Seeing as wine commentary is Γò¼├┤Γö£├ºΓö£Γöñ like all commentary Γò¼├┤Γö£├ºΓö£Γöñ personal and subjective, one is allowed the confident luxury of making big statements. Make too many of them, and their effect is obviously diluted. So before coming up with a massive missive on a space such as this read by about 12 wine enthusiasts, three of my closest friends as well as my brainy dachshund Maximillian, careful consideration is required. Continue Reading »
Nov
13
2011
The folks responsible for the demarcation of the Cape Winelands have turned some weird tricks in their time, but non as crazy as in drawing the borders between Stellenbosch and Paarl in the Simonsberg vicinity. Cruising the R44 Γò¼├┤Γö£├ºΓö£Γöñ South AfricaΓò¼├┤Γö£├ºΓö£├╗s Golden Highway in wine terms – Wine of Origin Stellenbosch suddenly becomes WO Paarl. Just like that. No warning, no perceptible change in landscape or terroir. One moment things are Le Bonheur and Lievland and Stellenbosch, and then suddenly the origin system turns to Paarl without any logic, rhyme or reason.
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Oct
24
2011
Chatting to a Pinot Noir maker a while back, the dude flicked the hair from his eyes and said that Jan Boland Coetzee was probably the best Pinot exponent in South Africa. ΓÇ£But unlucky for him, heΓÇÖs farming in the wrong region.ΓÇ¥
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Jul
25
2011
Putting on a brave face - Rijk and Kim Melck from Simonsberg with judge Neil Pendock.
In a week-end of international tragedies, culinary travesty hit the Stellenbosch Wine Region when the Simonsberg ward lost its annual Potjiekos Competition against the Paardeberg. Simonsberg, an established community inhabited by award-winning winemakers and a number of foodie personalities, were well and truly beaten by a Paardeberg team who were better in all aspects of Potjiekos making. Continue Reading »
Jan
15
2011
Despite the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley having made the Heartbreak Grape its own itΓÇÖs worth remembering that South AfricaΓÇÖs first Pinot Noir was planted on the slopes of StellenboschΓÇÖs Simonsberg in 1927, the location being Muratie Estate. Erstwhile Muratie proprietor, artist and bon vivant George Canitz was a buddy of Prof. Abraham Perold, the viticultural guru who ΓÇ£inventedΓÇ¥ the Pinotage grape, and it was Perold who indulged CanitzΓÇÖs wish to produce a ΓÇ£BurgundyΓÇ¥ in Stellenbosch.
Prof Perold was an eager beaver to help out, although it has come to the fore that the ProfessorΓÇÖs relationship with Muratie was based on more than a bit of experimental viticulture and a jovial drinking buddy in Canitz. Perold had a serious case of the hots for CanitzΓÇÖs daughter, Annemie, and this air of romance no-doubt assisted the relevant parties to go about the task of creating Pinot Noir with heartfelt passion and possibly more than a few rootstocks were planted.
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