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3 New Wines Available at sawines.co.uk

We are pleased to bring you 3 new wines that will be available online from our site today. Firstly a fresh white from Riebeck West, namely the Pulpit Rock Chenin Blanc. This wine has a crisp unoaked  freshness that goes well with light seafood dishes or even as an aperitif.

[DFR::443604367-1571-td|align_right_1] We also bring you our first rose wine from Boekenhoutskloof, the Woftrap Rose. With a high percentage of Syrah, this wine is a bright pink colour with stawberry fruit on the nose and a touch of spice.

Our red is from the relatively new producer Obikwa. This Shiraz is plush with ripe plum and cherry fruits and will go very well with red meat and pasta dishes.

Please follow the links in the Wine Store for more detailed information.

Steve

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SA Wines online store launched!

At sawines.co.uk we are pleased to announce that our online store is now live!

[DFR::374168021-20942-td|align_left_1]We have started with 6 bottles of red, namely; Drakenskloof Pinotage, Clearskin Shiraz Cabernet, Groenendal Merlot, Mitchell’s Pass Petit Verdot Shiraz, Wolvewhoek Merlot Cabernet and Winery Heights Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Cabernet Franc. That last one was quite a mouthful (to pronounce that is!).

We also start with 12 whites including; Bergsig Chenin Blanc, Dassen View Chenin Blanc, Lyngrove Chenin Blanc Chardonnay, Lategan Barrel Chardonnay , Bon Courage Riesling and Zoetendal Sauvignon Blanc. As you can tell, we like Chenin Blanc! [DFR::551132445-20942-td|align_right_1]

Furthermore we have a case of mixed red and whites for you to try.

I have tested the order process myself by ordering a case of Pass Petit Verdot Shiraz, which I am pleased to say arrived today. Will be trying this out over dinner tonight!

Please visit the storeby clicking here

There will be a lot more becoming available over the coming weeks. Please come back regularly for an update or subscribe to our RSS feed.

Be sure to let us know of your experiences with the ordering process.

Cheers
Steve

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South Africa – a Call for Help

This post is probably not as dramatic as the header might suggest, nor is it anything to do with South African wine! It is related to Africa however, and particularly South Africa.
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Last summer I committed to take part in a gruelling off-road motor bike adventure covering 1,000 miles over an 8 day period in South Africa in October this year (2009).

The purpose of this journey, organised by Enduro Africa, is to raise money for four very worthy charities. Three of these charities are based in Africa, namely;  Sentebale – The Princes’ Fund for Lesotho, the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund and Touch Africa. The fourth charity is the UNICEF Unite for Children Unite Against AIDS.

I have pledged to raise a minimum of £5,000 towards these charities. To find out more about this fundraising event, learn all about the charities as well as view photographs and videos of previous events, please visit my blog at:

www.stevesenduro.com

You will also be able to donate online by debit card, credit card or paypal, so please donate generously and be sure to pass on the link to as many people as possible!

Thank you in advance to those who will visit the site and make a donation.

Steve

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South African Wines – White Varieties

white-wine-glassIn this article I will briefly introduce the most popular white varieties grown in South Africa. White wine varieties still dominate the Cape vineyards, accounting for 55% of all plantings.

Chardonnay

Whether unwooded or matured in oak , Cape Chardonnay always makes elegant wines full of fruit  flavours. This variety has become very popular in recent years with many new vineyards being planted.

Chenin Blanc

Though generally producing dry and fruity, quaffable wines, it is versatile and can be fashioned in a variety of styles. Many are full-flavoured, food-friendly wines with excellent maturation potential. This is the Cape’s most widely planted wine grape variety.

Sauvignon Blanc

One of South Africa’s most successful varieties although not particularly significant in terms of volume. Wines made from this variety are being recognised internationally for their quality and complexity and are produced in most of Cape’s diverse winegrowing regions.

Semillon

Planted for over two hundred year, Semillon was once the Cape’s most dominant variety but today represents only a small percentage of the total vineyard area. It is regaining in popularity, offerring wines of great flavour and intensity.

Viognier

Forty years ago, the viognier grape was virtually extinct.  Today, however, it is extremely fashionable, and set to become still more so. This variety is showing great promise in the Cape, producing delicate yet complex wines  with peach, apricot, honey and spice aromas.

Colombard

This is usually a dry white wine with a pleasant fruitiness. Unknown to many, its great claim to fame is that as the base wine of Cognac.

Other white  wine varieties

Muscadel is popular and used mainly in the production of dessert wines. Gewürztraminer usually produces a light, off-dry wine. Others grown in small qauntites include  Hanepoot,  Nouvelle, Pinot Gris and Riesling.

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South African Wines – Red Varieties

red-wine-glassIn this article I will briefly introduce the most popular red varieties grown in South Africa.

In the past decade there has been somewhat of a renaissance in the South African wine industry, with many new plantings and a new generation of enthusiastic winemakers producing wines which are winning international accolades.

Because of this international demand, the production of red wine has increased dramatically in recent years to 45% of the national output, with white wine varieties accounting for the remaining 55%.

Cabernet Sauvignon

This noble grape is grown in almost all the regions of the Cape but most extensively in Stellenbosch and Paarl. It has become the most widely planted red variety and accounts for over a quarter of the acreage of all the red wine grapes in the country.

Merlot

Traditionally blended with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot is now increasingly bottled on its own. This fruity, rich variety is found in Stellenbosch, Paarl and Worcester as well as along the West Coast.

Pinotage

Pinotage is a cross between Pinot Noir and Hermitage (Cinsaut) and is unique to South Africa. It is reknown worldwide for the distinctively rich and spicy wines it  produces.

Pinot Noir

Although not grown extensively in South Africa, some outstanding wines have been  produced, particularly in the cooler Walker Bay and Elgin  areas.

Shiraz

This grape is ideally suited to the Cape where  intense smoky and spicy wines are being produced. Almost 20% of red wine vineyards are are given over to Shiraz.

Other red wine varieties

Cinsaut is widely planted and used mainly for blending. Cabernet Franc,  Mourvèdre, Malbec, Grenache and Petit Verdot are  more recent introductions with small plantings at the moment.

In the next article, I will take a look at the most popular white wine varieties.