Category Archives: South Africa

May 20, 2013 · 4:36 pm

New World Wines: South African Wines Continue to Excite Me

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Thanks to the Snooth PVA blogger weekend, I had the occasion to try a number of wines from South Africa paired with South African cuisine at the Institute of Culinary Education.

I have written about South African wines a number of times on this blog after a wonderful introduction to these wines in 2010 at the Society of Wine Educators conference.

I also had the great fortune to work on a project for Stellekaya and to befriend the wonderful Ntsiki Biyela, their wine maker. All this to say that South African wines have a special place in my heart although I still have not visited that beautiful country. I can’t write about South African wines without mentioning my admiration for Nelson Mandela, one of my heroes.

At the Snooth luncheon we tasted through a number of wines made from international varieties and one Pinotage. I’ve never been a huge Pinotage fan but I was willing to be more open-minded.

I showed my open-mindedness by trying ostrich for the first time as I am already quite familar with Biltong, a South African cured meat.

Of the wines, my favorites were the following:

Graham Beck Brut NV with its refreshing, yeasty aromas and flavors coming from the 15 months it spends on its lees.

Raats Family Chenin Blanc 2009, a wine I know well from previous tastings. It was lush and rich with the right waxy, mineral notes I look for in Chenin. They also make great Cabernet Franc wines.

De Morgenzon Chardonnay 2012 was not my usual style, a big, oaked Chardonnay but something about it pleased me that day whether it was the pairing or the fact that they pipe Baroque music into their winery.

Hamilton Russell Pinot Noir 2010 interested me because I had never had a Pinot Noir from South Africa. As you would expect, it had mushroom, earthy notes and was lighter than most of the other red wines we tried.

Warwick Pinotage Old Bush Vines 2011 with its full bodied mouth and rich chocolate flavors made me think that Pinotage can have a place at the table. I might have put it at the end of the meal with dessert.’

Ken Forrester “T” Late Harvest 2010 was a delicious late harvest wine in the same style as many from Alsace. I am a crazy about sweet wines so this one fit the bill. Forrester is another winery that I know well, having tried much of his Chenin Blanc at previous tastings.

According to a report I read recently on Decanter.com, the harvest this year in South Africa is supposed to reach record levels. I look forward to seeing what the year brings forth.

Please check out Ben Carter’s great review of the wines of South Africa from our tasting at Benito’s Wine Reviews.

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November 30, 2012 · 9:32 pm

Women in Wine Fridays: Stellekaya’s Nitsiki Biyela Discusses Her Time In Italy at Petra

Women in Wine Friday’s is back and this week’s focus is on Ntsiki Biyela, one of my favorite wine makers, a gem of a lady from South African winery Stellekaya. I have written extensively about Ntsiki in the past but today wanted to highlight what she though of working in the Maremma area of Tuscany in Italy at Petra. Read another women in wine’s “wine story” about Petra itself here.

Ntsiki and I chatted a while ago about her experience and what I noted was her enthusiasm for Italy. She said that she thought the culture at the winery was inspiring and that everyone really worked together. She said she was thrilled to be involved in that same level of teamwork that she finds in her native South Africa. Like the rest of us, she too was enthralled with the farm to table approach to living that the Italians have been doing since time immemorial.

Ntsiki said that she was excited to find similar techniques being done at Petra as those she herself uses in South Africa. With crates and sorting tables and small details that she discussed.

She also noted that her work with Sangiovese in South Africa had given her a renewed interest in seeing how Sangiovese grows in Italy. She was very pleased with the comparison she told me and felt that her Sangiovese was doing quite well and that her questions about the grape had been answered thanks to her sojourn in Italy. The owner of Stellekaya fell in love with Italy and wanted Ntsiki to make a blend with Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The blend called Hercules is available locally in a number of retail stores including Maslow 6.

I did a project with the Stellekaya winery a few years ago in New York. Ntsiki is one of the most interesting and charming women I have met in the industry. I found her story inspiring and her wines delicious, always a great combination in a winery and in a friend.

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July 18, 2012 · 6:22 pm

Wine Wednesday: New World Wines – South Africa and Nelson Mandela

Today is Nelson Mandela’s 94th birthday. I remember the day he was released from prison perfectly. I remember how happy I was to think he was free. Thinking of all he has done in the ensuing years, since that day, is truly beyond inspiring. Would that the world had more people like Mandela.

South Africa has gone through numerous changes in the past 18 years. Nelson Mandela was freed 18 years ago; peaceful democratic elections were held in 1994 and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission went a long way toward healing wounds post-apartheid; and South Africa has become a vibrant democracy with a lively tourist industry. South Africa has been courting tourists for many years, primarily pushing its host of flora and fauna as the prime attraction. Things have changed, though, and South African food and wine have become a real draw. Winemaking is not new to South Africa. The country has been producing wines since 1659.

I have the privilege of being friends with one lovely South African winemaker, Ntsiki Biyela. I’m thinking of her today and all the South Africans that Mandela has helped directly and so many of us that he has inspired around the world. Happy birthday Madiba.

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August 2, 2011 · 5:36 pm

South African Chenin Blanc From Joostenberg- A Summer Treat

Let me start by saying Chenin blanc is my favorite international white wine grape. It is versatile yet recognizable, fruity but also filled with minerality and I think the sexiest white grape around. Of course there are many indigenous white grape varieties that I admire from Viognier to Vermentino but Chenin blanc, grown in many places is always representative of that particular terroir. Anyway, I’m just partial to it.

I’ve had a number of Chenin blanc’s from South Africa as this post illustrates but I had never had this one from Joostenberg until recently.

The winery is located in the Muldersvlei area near Stellenbosch and Paarl. It was bought by the Myburgh family in 1879. The current owners are the 5th generation to run this farm. In 1999 Tyrrel and Philip Myburgh began selling Joostenberg wines both locally and abroad instead of selling grapes to the local coops as they had done previously.

The winery is organic and full organic certification is imminent. They plant Chenin Blanc, Viognier and Roussanne as well as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah/Shiraz, Touriga Nacional and Mourvedre.

This wine, which I tasted at Kaia, a great relatively new wine bar on the East side of Manhattan with my friend and fellow Italophile, Carmel D’Arienzo of Bella Vita Living, Arbonne and Villa Concierge, was a perfect blend of fruit and acidity with a hint of sweetness and floral notes on the finish. The floral notes surely come from the 5% Viognier that is added to this blend.

The blend is interesting because the Chenin ferments only in stainless steel while the Viognier fermented in oak barrels. Both rest on their lees for four months before blending, giving a great nutty toasty flavor to the wine. This year, for the first time, 40% of the Chenin Blanc underwent “natural fermentation,” without selected yeast in order to bring a bit more texture and minerality to the blend.

I really liked this wine and thought it was the perfect Summer treat. As some of you know, I am partial to South Africa and consider a wonderful South African woman in wine, Ntsiki Biyela, a friend. She’s the winemaker at Stellekaya. She actually made me very happy two weeks ago on my birthday when she told me that a journalist from an important New York based paper read about her on a blog and then interviewed her for the paper. She was thrilled to be interviewed and I am happy to think that I may have contributed to getting her more press, even if only indirectly, this time.

Full disclosure dictates that I let people know that I did some PR work for the winery after I met and interviewed her last year. She’s a fabulously interesting woman and her wines, although she doesn’t yet make a Chenin are well worth trying.

I first learned about South African wines at the Society of Wine Educators conference I attended in 2009. Wines of South Africa gave the key note address and provided amazing materials to the group. I used them to write an article for Gourmet Retailer at the start of 2010 and the rest is history. I saw today in my email that my friend/colleague in the wine world Tracy Ellen Kamens from Grand Cru Classes will be teaching a seminar at this year’s conference. I’m sorry to miss it. Tracy has a lovely blog and also sends monthly newsletters from her wine school. I am sorry to be missing this year’s seminar.

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July 24, 2010 · 4:58 pm

An American Icon- Pete Seeger at City Winery To Support Relief For Gulf Coast

I was on my way out on Thursday when an email caught my eye in my inbox – Pete Seeger will be playing at City Winery to support relief efforts in the Gulf by the Gulf Restoration Network the email said. I couldn’t believe my good fortune. Everyone knows who Pete Seeger is and what a wonderful, giving and inspiring man he is at 91.

Pete Seeger at City Winery

I was so touched and pleased to be able to see and hear him and to sing along to his songs. He played “Turn, Turn, Turn” and “If I Had A Hammer” and a new song that he’s just written about the spill. “Drill Baby Drill…Spill Baby Spill”, written in response to the ongoing environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. I couldn’t believe my good fortune so a big thanks to City Winery. My parents were and are avid fans of Pete Seeger from the days of the Hootenannies many years ago. I went to sleep listening to Peter, Paul and Mary sing “If I Had A Hammer” for the first 5 years of my life I think. I loved that record. Seeger is just so great in so many ways I can’t begin to express them here. His work on the Hudson River with his sloop the Clearwater, for example, has changed life for all New Yorkers who use the River. What an accomplishment. Yes, he wasn’t alone but his fortitude has inspired so many people. Including, my favorite singer—-Bruce Springsteen. I love his album called the “Seeger Sessions” when he plays a tribute to Pete Seeger and his music.

Proceeds from the event went to the Gulf Restoration Network and Global Green, . Both non-profits support workers and fisherman along the Gulf Coast from New Orleans to the Florida Panhandle. They showed a video of many of the Fisherman who have lost their livelihoods. It was heartbreaking. I hope every donates something. City Winery is also holding concerts tonight and tomorrow to benefit the Gulf.

There were so many fabulous musicians singing last night that they are too many to mention, one really struck me though, Julie Gold. She wrote a song I love but haven’t thought of in maybe 20 years “From a Distance.”
. This version is by Nancy Griffith.

Three Cape Ladies

While listening to these artists sing for the Gulf, I slowly sipped a nice South African Wine called Three Cape Ladies.. The wine was from Warwick Estate. This family owned winery is well known for the Bordeaux style blends. This wine was a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot and Pinotage. I’m fond of blends from South Africa as any readers of this blog know. All in all, it was one of those memorable evenings that make you smile. I hope they raised a lot of money. The house was packed so that’s a good start. If you are in New York City this evening with no plans, head on over to City Winery to support a good cause.

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June 14, 2010 · 6:25 pm

Wine of the Week: South African Shiraz from Muratie

My wine of the week is a South African Shiraz 2007 from Muratie Estate. I was shocked to find that I kept going back for more of this wine during the England vs. USA world cup match. I was invited to a lovely party by Wines of South Africa to watch the game. While we watched the game, we were also able to taste a wide variety of sparkling, white and red wines from South Africa and sample great food from Rouge Tomate

My favorite was this Shiraz. It was quite dark in color and was complex with spicy notes but it was a bit more restrained than many Shiraz based wines that I have tasted. It’s peppery notes went very well with the small hamburgers we were served.

The wine is made from grapes harvested from three different vineyard parcels on the same estate. The oldest of the lot was planted in 1975. The remaining two were planted in 1994 and 1998. The soils on these vineyards are rich sandstone and the grapes are all handpicked.

The wine is imported by Worthwhile Wine Company in Atlanta.

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June 11, 2010 · 2:52 pm

Italian Indigenous Grapes: Bianco d’Alessano and some other “B” grapes

I have been writing a dictionary of sorts on Alta Cucina’s website of Italian indigenous grape varieties. It is very slow going because there are more than 3000. In fact, no one know exactly how many there are. On the site, I try to write about the most important ones either because they are part of a designated area such as a DOC or a DOCG or because they have some particularity which just must be mentioned (ancient grapes).

My latest installment is this article on Bianco d’Alessano. Bianco d’Alessano that grows in the Valle d’Itria which extends from the provinces of Bari, Brindisi and Taranto. Traditionally it has been blended with the Verdeca grape. Bianco d’Alessano is used in the wines in Locorotondo, Martina Franca, Ostuni. and Lizzano Three producers of interest are Borgo Canale, the Cantina Sociale Coop. del Locorotondo and I Pastini.

A few other grapes that I should mention are Bervedino Bianco which basically only grows near the city of Piacenza This white grape variety is usually blended with other grapes to make local wines in the area of the Val’Arda under the Colli Piacentini designation.

Bianchetta Trevigiana which grows in the Veneto and in the Allto Adige is an ancient variety first mentioned in 1500. The name is somewhat generic for white grapes and has been used to describe a wide variety. Bianchetta Trevigiana is permitted in a few DOCs in the Veneto, It too is a white blending grape and in the past was used to make Vermouth. Only 13 more “b” grapes to go….

This weekend I confess I will be drinking some South African wine as well as a few others.

Buona Visione. I love the World Cup!!

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May 18, 2010 · 1:31 pm

South African Wines: Chenin, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinotage and Cabernet Sauvignon Take The Lead

Last week’s South African wine tasting organized by Wines of South Africa with the help of the marvelous Aileen Robbins was a really fabulous event. South African wine exports to the US are up 41% in the first quarter of 2010. Many people are looking at South African wines because of its good price to quality ratio. The country is also the host of this year’s World Cup and is therefore a big tourist draw for this summer. Another reason that people are drawn to South African wines is that the entire country adheres, more or less, to principles of sustainable farming, meaning as little intervention as possible in the vineyards. Add to this great expressions of well known varietals and it looks as though the SA industry has a rosy future ahead.

My new strategy at tastings is to go through, where possible, only one grape variety. This worked like a dream at the South African tasting because chenin blanc or steen as it is called in South Africa is one of their preeminent grapes and is, hands down, my favorite white wine grape.

I tried the wines of Spier, two great Chenin blancs, one from the Western Cape and one from Stellenbosch. Very different in style, the first was fresher and had spent months of its lees in stainless steel. The second had spent 11 months in oak and had wonderful complexity and layers of aromas and flavors.

I also stopped by to taste the wines of the Raats Family. Their chenin had from 2007 came from 50 year old vines and was incredible. It too had spent time maturing in oak barrels. I loved this wine which was elegant with good acidity and great balance and complexity.

I also tasted through all of Ken Forrester’s delicious Chenin blancs. Like Spier, he has two different styles, one an entry level that is matured in stainless steel and the other, the famed FMC in oak. This wine was a crowd pleaser and I am sure sells out in a heartbeat in this market. Notes of apples, yeast, minerality and nuts abounded and reminded me of a really well made Chardonnay. Forrester said that the soils in Stellenbosch are decomposed sandstone, gravel and white clay which bring considerable minerality to the wines.

I also had the Kleine Zalza Chenin from 2009. I found it more grassy than the others with great acidity and lovely fruit notes.

According to Raats, 2006 and 2009 are the best vintages in the last 10 years. Many of these producers actually still use bush vines which I found surprising. There is a big debate on about which grape performs better in South Africa, Chenin Blanc or Sauvignon Blanc. While I did try some lovely Sauvignon Blancs, hands down, I vote for Chenin Blanc but that is of course just my opinion. Also, in general, I am not a big fan of Sauvignon Blanc except from certain countries and in certain styles.

In addition to these two white grapes, South Africa makes a lot of Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinotage. It also makes a tiny percent of another of my favorite grapes – Cabernet Franc. Raats is touted as the leading producer of this varietal so I of course tasted his 2007 CF. It was quite well structured and elegant with spice and pepper. It also had great acidity and I am sure will age for at least 10 years. I’d love to try this wine a few years out to see how it is evolving. Truly a memorable experience.

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May 11, 2010 · 3:01 pm

Where To Get A Great South African Meal In New York: A Few Gems

On Sunday night I had the pleasure of attending a wine dinner at Sojourn on East 79th Street. Stellekaya wines were paired with some South African delicacies which were new to me. Among the delicious dishes were this oxtail, biltong with Peri Peri, brochettes with Piccalli sauce and the best prawns I have ever eaten from Mozambique. We also had a sort of maize meal with sausages (Pap and Boere Wors) and a great Malva pudding for dessert.

Piccalli is a sweet, spicy pickle relish that typically includes tomatoes, sweet peppers, onions, cucumber or other garden vegetables, according to the website Gourmet Sleuth, while Peri Peri is a blend of spices.

The eastern coast of South African was on the trade route circuit and many spices were brought there. The main spice in Peri Peri is African Bird’s Eye but there are others such as tumeric as well. Biltong is a kind of air dried and dehydrated meat from South Africa. It’s sort of like a beef prosciutto.

All of this delicious fare was accompanied by four wines that I love made by Ntsiki Biyela, Cape Cross, Hercules, Cabernet Sauvignon and my favorite, the Orion.

Stanton, the owner of Sojourn is an extremely gregarious and informative restaurateur. I was very impressed both with the food and the preparation. Stanton also knows a lot about and loves food and wine so it made the evening even more fun. Sojourn is one of just a handful of New York restaurants that serve South African cuisine along with Braai and its wine bar Xai Xai on West 51 Street as well as Madiba in Brooklyn and Bunnychow on the Lower East Side. Xai Xai is great for a drink, Bunnychow for lunch but Sojourn is my favorite of the ones that I have tried.

The experience and the cuisine were very different from what I am used to and it’s always fun to discover new places and foods in the Big Apple. I will certainly be going back.

I had taken get pictures of the food but I can’t access them at the moment. Will post later. In the meantime, read this article by Marisa D’Vari about her experience at the wine dinner.

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May 8, 2010 · 3:00 pm

South African Wine Week – M’hudi and Seven Sisters Wineries

Wines of South Africa is holding a big tasting on May 11, its first in New York City. I am very excited and have become quite enthusiastic about South African wines thanks to an introduction to the wines last summer at the Society of Wine Educators conference in Sacramento. This past January, I was lucky enough to meet Ntsiki Biyela of Stellekaya, a fabulous young, female winemaker. Ntsiki and I are friends at this point so I think I won’t go on and on about her but I will post this great clip from CNN.

There are numerous events related to wineries in South Africa this week and one that I attended last night at Greenspaces was very special. It was organized by the International Society of Africans in Wine (ISAW) where Ntsiki was the keynote speaker. All the proceeds from the event went to the development of a viticultural training center on the M’hudi Estate in Stellenbosch, one of a handful of black-owned estates.

M’hudi is owned by the Rangaka family, the only black family owned vineyard in South Africa. The farm is large with 42 hectares. M’hudi means harvester . They make a number of wines including a Sauvgnon Blanc and a Pinotage. I tried the Pinotage. It was lighter than many that I have tasted making it more approachable in my view. It had plum and cherry notes with spice that is typical of Pinotage.

I also tried the Pinotage from the Seven Sisters winery, literally owned by the seven Brutus sisters: Odelia, Carol, Yolanda, June, Dawn, Twena and Vivian. They make seven wines with each sister having one wine named after her. The sisters were separated for about 20 years only to come together to create this project. I tried the Pinotage which was blended with Shiraz. I liked it very much and found it soft and round on the nose and palate with typical spice associated with both of these varieties.

The wines were a surprise to me and very appealing. I look forward to tasting more of their products in the future. The wines are available in the United States through Heritage Link Brands.

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