Cooksister | Food, Travel, Photography

Food, photos & faraway places

  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • About me
    • Contact me
    • Work with me
    • Legal
      • Copyright notice & Disclaimer
      • Disclosure
      • Cookies and Privacy Policy
    • Press and media
    • Cooksister FAQs
  • RECIPES
    • Recipe Index – by course
    • Baking (savoury)
    • Braai/Barbecue
    • Breakfast & brunch
    • Christmas
    • Dessert
    • Drinks
    • Eggs
    • Fish
    • Gluten-free
    • Leftovers
    • Pasta & rice
    • Poultry
    • Pulses
    • Salads
    • Soup
    • South African
    • Starters & light meals
    • Vegan
    • Vegetables
    • Vegetarian
  • RESTAURANTS
    • British Isles restaurants
    • Dubai restaurants
    • France restaurants
    • London restaurants
    • Montenegro restaurants
    • New York restaurants
    • Pop-ups and supperclubs
    • Serbia restaurants
    • Singapore restaurants
    • South Africa restaurants
    • Sweden restaurants
    • Switzerland restaurants
    • USA restaurants
  • TRAVEL
    • All my travel posts
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Canada
      • Dubai
      • Cruise ships
      • France
      • Germany
      • Greece
      • Grenada
      • Hong Kong
      • Hotel reviews
      • Italy
      • Israel
      • Jersey
      • Mexico
      • Netherlands
      • Norway
      • Portugal
      • Singapore
      • Ski & snow
      • South Africa
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • UK
      • USA
      • Wales
  • PORTFOLIO
    • Freelance writing portfolio
    • Speaking and teaching
    • Photography portfolio
    • Buy my photos
You are here: Home / Wine Blogging Wednesday / South African wine beginners’ guide – WBW#6 heads south

South African wine beginners’ guide – WBW#6 heads south

by Jeanne Horak on February 2, 2005 14 Comments in Wine Blogging Wednesday

Bottles of South African red wine

I know, I know… we’ve only just caught our breath from the last Worldwide Wine Blogging Wednesday (Wacky Wine Names, well  hosted by Chez Pim).  But with the hiatus over the festive season, the January event ended up being rather late in the month.  And although the first Wednesday in Feb is clearly out of the question, Lenn (whose brainchild the WWBW is) drives a hard bargain and wasn’t going to hear any talk of skipping a month. So after some negotiation, we have decided hold the February edition of WBW on Wednesday 16 February – this should give everyone enough time to find some wines, yet still leave enough breathing space for the March edition (to be hosted by Andrew, I do believe) to take place approximately on time.

It will probably come as no surprise to those of you who know me that I have chosen South African reds as the theme – being the one-woman marketing department for SA food and drink in the blogosphere, there was never much doubt that the theme would be South African!!  Reds are also the obvious choice as South Africa’s gift to the oenological world, the Pinotage cultivar which was developed here (a cross between Cinsault/Hermitage and Pinot Noir) is red.  So I thought that if you had never tried one, this would provide you with the perfect opportunity!

The rules are very simple:

  1. Go out to your local wine merchant and seek out a bottle of South African red.  Take my advice – spend a little more to get a better wine from a recognised producer.  Otherwise you end up with the dreck produced for the export market with lions and zebras on the label…
  2. Drink it, preferably with good friends and good food.  The drinking does not have to take place on the 16th of Feb – drink it any time you like.  And feel free to have more than one wine (purely for comparative, scientific research purposes of course…)
  3. On the 16th of Feb, write about it (and if possible, take a picture of the label).  Give us some tasting notes on the wine (there are lots of examples on the web).  Tell us what food you made to go with it and whether it was a happy combination.  Tell us about your friends, cooking sagas & injuries, dinner table anecdotes, whatever takes your fancy.  Just write and then post it on your blog together with the photo you’ve taken.  If you don’t have a blog, fee free to e-mail me (jeanne{at}501.co.za) your review and I will post it for you on my blog.
  4. Once you’ve posted your masterpiece to your blog, leave me a comment or drop me an e-mail containing your post’s link so that I can include it in the roundup, which should go up on my blog a day or 2 after the 16th.

To get you in the mood, and because a lot of people seem to be sadly underinformed about South African wines, I thought I’d also give you some inside info and tips before you go spending your hard-earned cash on an undrinkable bottle of plonk and think this represents SA wine 😉  Although South Africa is a New World wine producing country, many people are surprised when they hear that the first wine was made at the Cape in 1659.  Jan Van Riebeeck was the leader of a band of Dutch settlers charged with establishing a refreshment station for the ships of the Dutch East India Company travelling round the Cape of Good Hope to the East.  They came ashore at Table Bay in 1652 and immediately set about building a settlement and planting crops.  in 1655-6 the first grape vines were imported from France, the Rhineland and Spain and successfully planted in the Company gardens and (appropriately, considering today’s date!) on 2 February 1659, Van Riebeeck wrote in his diary:

“Today, praise be to God, wine was made for the first time from Cape grapes”

So we have a history of wine-making stretching back almost three and a half centuries!  In fact, in the 18th and 19th centuries, the sweet wines of Constantia were much sought after in the courts of Europe, sometimes in preference to, say, Madeira or Sauternes.  The combination of the disastrous phylloxera pest and the Anglo-Boer war at the end of the 19th century threw the wine industry into chaos and it was not until almost 1920 that it started on the road to recovery – only to be dealt another blow in the 1980s when anti-apartheid sanctions meant that export markets for South African wine virtually dried up.  Today, however, the industry is thriving with SA wines appearing on shelves all over the world. The wine farming industry is also one of the most progressive in terms of assisting  previously disadvantaged labourers to learn the wine-making process and eventually produce their own wines and manage their own vineyards.  SA is currently ranked at no. 9 in the world in terms of volume of wine produced and supplies 3.1% of the world’s wine.  Red grape varieties make up 45% of the total plantings, and include Cabernet Sauvignon (15% of the total), Shiraz (9%), Pinotage and Merlot (7% each).  If you’re into figures, check out this page.

OK, so how do you go about choosing a good South African red then?  Well, for a start, you can try to stick to recognised producers as I said.  The Big Boys in terms of benchmark reds are Nederburg, Rust en Vrede, Kanonkop, KWV and Alto – the list is by no means exhaustive, but if you buy from them you are unlikely to go wrong.  The second tip may be a bit harder to follow – buy wine from a red wine region (for example there are few world class red wines produced in the Karoo – Stellenbosch and Paarl are where most of the flagship reds come from, whereas Robertson is better known for its whites). The problem with this tip is that the majority of wine is labelled in terms of the “Wine of Origin” scheme as being from one of four large regions rather than a specific district as shown on the map. So “wine of origin coastal region” could be a blend of wines from Paarl, Stellenbosch, Swartlad and Constantia!  This leads me to tip no. 3 – if you are going to be visiting SA’s winelands or plane to buy a lot of SA wines, invest in the authoritative John Platter wine guide – you can either subscribe online or buy the book.  The book is a wealth of information (including which region a wine was produced in – see previous tip!) and has reviews of pretty much all of the wine estates in the country as well as individual reviews of their wines.  You may not always agree with the reviews, but you can usually safely buy a wine recommended by him and not be too disappointed.  Tip four is to look out for the Veritas award stickers.  These are the symbols that a wine has been tasted and rated by an independent tasting panel and has been awarded either a double gold, gold, double silver, silver, double bronze or bronze medal according to average points awarded by the panel.  If you buy a wine with a Veritas sticker, you can be pretty sure it’s a goodie.

Now that you are armed with all the correct tips, all that remains is to select your wine!  Personally, I feel that South Africa excels at Cabernet Sauvignon and lately Shiraz has been receiving a ton of good press as well.  I also think we make some exceptional Bordeaux-style blends.  I am not personally a fan of Merlot, so I wouldn’t want to express an opinion on that, but I believe we make some very good Merlots as well.  And of course the Walker Bay area is producing some fabulously classy Pinot Noirs – Hamilton Russel and Bouchard Finlayson spring instantly to mind.  But our most famous cultivar is of course Pinotage.  It was created by Prof Abraham Izak Perold (a faculty dean at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa) in 1924 and was the result of crossing Pinot Noir with Cinsault (then locally known as Hemitage).  The resulting cross (its name is an amalgamation of its parents’ names) proved to be disease-resistant, vigorous and early-ripening, and the first commercial plantings began in the 1940s.  The textbook tasting notes for a Pinotage would include an appealing “boiled sweets”  nose, with plums, bananas, cassis, cherries and berries in its youth, often taking on more austere “barnyard” flavours as it ages.  However, I often find Pinotage either too nondescript or too stridently chalky, like the scariest Merlot you can imagine.  There are some great examples out there, like the Uiterwyk (now De Waal) Top-of-the-hill Pinotage made from a single vineyard of old (50+ years) vines.  Or check out last year’s winners of the South African Pinotage competition – if you can’t find something you like amongst that list you are just being picky!  What you don’t want to do is buy a wine that’s largely made of Cinsault (it is grown as a high-yield, indeterminate quality grape in SA), or some of the scarier (and often cheaper) blends – Pinotage/Cabernet Franc or Ruby Cabernet/Cinsault blend is never a good idea in my book…

Last but not least, here are a couple of my personal favourites:

  • La Bri Cabernet Sauvignon or Cab/Merlot blend
  • Springfield Cabernet Sauvignon (particularly the 1996 vintage if it’s still available)
  • Nederburg Petit Verdot (the first single-cultivar bottling of this grape in SA)
  • Bellingham Cabernet Sauvignon (the 1981 vintage was my favourite for years till stocks ran out…)

So… that should give you more than enough inspiration to go and find out about South African wines and to make an informed decision as to what you want to try on the 16th.  I may have to raid our secret supply of wines lovingly ferried back from South African to London and bring out something special.  After all, it’s not every day that South Africa gets to take centre stage in an international blogging event!

Sien julle almal op die 16de – ek sien klaar uit daarna!

More deliciousness for you!

  • Lavender and herb crusted roast lamb shoulderLavender and herb crusted roast lamb shoulder
  • Zonnebloem Pinotage – Derek’s WBW#6 contributionZonnebloem Pinotage – Derek’s WBW#6 contribution
  • Saturday Snapshots #115Saturday Snapshots #115
  • Saturday Snapshots #273Saturday Snapshots #273

Never miss a Cooksister post

If you enjoyed this post, enter your e-mail address here to receive a FREE e-mail update when a new post appears on Cooksister

I love comments almost as much as I love cheese - so if you can't leave me any cheese, please leave me a comment instead!

« Featherbed eggs for EoMEoTE#3
Enough already with the food, put on some music »

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. Spittoon.biz says

    February 2, 2005 at 4:48 pm

    Wine Blogging Wednesday – South African Reds.

    Wednesday the 16th should be ringed in red on your calender for it has just been announced as Wine Blogging Wednesday! The fifth such event is to be hosted by Jeanne at Cook Sister; as she is South African her choice of topic (South African Reds) is to…

    Reply
  2. anthony says

    February 3, 2005 at 12:55 pm

    I was suggested a pinotage by the author (a Nederburg I think) and found it most agreeable.
    “The wine farming industry is also one of the most progressive in terms of assisting previously disadvantaged labourers to learn the wine-making process and eventually produce their own wines and manage their own vineyards.”
    Excellent

    Reply
  3. Jeanne says

    February 3, 2005 at 3:48 pm

    It was indeed a Nederburg Pinotage! Good thing you liked it, otherwise you’d never listen to another word I said…! Look forward to hearing about your wine choice on the 16th!

    Reply
  4. Christina says

    February 4, 2005 at 4:39 pm

    1659? Gosh, that is a ways back.
    Sounds like fun! I’ll give it a whirl.

    Reply
  5. Jeanne says

    February 4, 2005 at 5:32 pm

    Hi Christina – yup, many people are surprised when they hear how long SA has been making wine…
    Wine + food + blogging – what’s not to like! I can vouch for the fact that it’s fun! And London is pretty well-stocked in terms of South African wines. I would avoid the big supermarkets and check out Oddbins and other smaller outlets – they often have the most interesting selections. Majestic’s SA wines are singularly boring – avoid! Look forward to seeing what you choose.

    Reply
  6. ma'ona says

    February 5, 2005 at 6:54 am

    Wine Blogging Wedensday #6: South African Wines

    Several friends have asked me to give notice when I learned of the next Wine Blogging Wednesday. It has just been announced that Jeanne is hosting the next edition Wednesday, February 16th on South African Reds. Sometime between now and…

    Reply
  7. The Thorngrove Table says

    February 7, 2005 at 2:34 pm

    Worldwide Wine Blogging Wednesday #6 – South African Reds

    The Worldwide Wine Blogging Wednesday is being hosted by CookSister on Wednesday 16 February and, perhaps unsurprisingly, she’s chosen the theme of South African Reds. Yum.

    Reply
  8. Vivi's Wine Journal says

    February 8, 2005 at 6:23 pm

    Wine Blogging Wednesday #6 – South African reds

    Wine Blogging Wednesday #6 has been announced.

    Reply
  9. ma'ona says

    February 17, 2005 at 1:15 am

    WBW: Robertson Winery Cabernet Sauvignon 2003

    Wine Blogging Wednesday #6, South African reds

    Reply
  10. Accidental Hedonist says

    February 17, 2005 at 9:20 am

    WBW #6: South African Reds: 2001 KWV Cabernet Sauvignon

    The things we learn.
    For example, did you know that the Cabernet Sauvignon grape is the result of a cross between Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc grapes.
    Now if I only had some context to which I might apply that knowledge.

    Reply
  11. Donna Marie Ullman says

    May 17, 2006 at 12:31 am

    Dear Sirs,
    I recently purchased a 2003 Bianco Pinotage. What is your evaluation of this wine? Thank you.
    Sincerely,
    Donna Ullman

    Reply
  12. Lisa Gardhsol says

    January 15, 2008 at 6:27 am

    Hi, we are a South African retailer and wondering if this site is still being used as the last article was posted feb o5. we are looking for a good wine courder to attend in London. Thanks

    Reply
  13. penis enlargement says

    July 11, 2009 at 10:58 pm

    penis enlargement products and penis enlargement reviews that discover top penis size enlargement pills, patches, oils and devices that gain 1-3 inches gain in your penis size at http://www.penissizeenlargement.net

    Reply
  14. penis enlargement says

    July 12, 2009 at 1:44 pm

    penis enlargement products and penis enlargement reviews that discover top penis size enlargement pills, patches, oils and devices that gain 1-3 inches gain in your penis size at http://www.penissizeenlargement.net

    Reply
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Never miss a Cooksister post!

Get my latest recipes delivered by e-mail!

Search over 500 recipes

Recently on Cooksister

  • Perfect broccoli and Stilton soup [keto, low carb, GF]
  • Masalchi by Atul Kochhar – Indian street food in Wembley
  • Barbecued salmon with blood oranges and capers
  • Roasted Brussels sprouts with feta, pomegranate and pine nuts [GF, V]
  • Love Yourself healthy meal delivery [Review]
  • Antillean
  • Festive roast lamb with pomegranate glaze
  • Rustic blood orange and pistachio galettes

Archives by month

Archives by category

Popular posts

Peppermint Crisp fridge tart - a South African treat
Oxtail and red wine potjie
Nigella's Bakewell slices & the Big Bakewell Taste-off
Gem squash 101: how to find them, how to grow them, how to eat them!
Things to do in Kitzbühel if you don't ski
Jan Ellis pudding - a classic South African dessert

Featured on

Also available on

Do you enjoy free art installations? Then you need Do you enjoy free art installations? Then you need to get down to @canarywharflondon between now and Saturday 28 Jan to catch the free Winter Lights 2023 event, back for the seventh year.

My favourites include @lukejerramartist ‘s Floating Earth; Tom Lambert’s Out of the Dark; Fluorescent Firs; Toroid by This is Loop; and the surreal and mesmerising Anima by MEATS - a tunnel filled with hundreds of thin optical fibre lights that change colour and move in the breeze 😍 

Have you been to Winter Lights? What was your favourite?
“When we look down at the Earth from space, we s “When we look down at the Earth from space, we see this amazing, indescribably beautiful planet. It looks like a living, breathing organism. But it also, at the same time, looks extremely fragile.” - International Space Station astronaut Ron Garamond

To experience the “overview effect” (a phenomenon experienced by astronauts viewing the earth from space), head down to Canary Wharf in the London docklands this week where you can see @lukejerramartist ‘s beautiful Floating Earth installation as part of the Winter Lights event. 

This giant 10m diameter installation is created using high resolution NASA images to create a floating scale model of the Earth, lit from within so that it glows from its current home on the Middle Dock, surrounded by the headquarters of international banking and finance corporations.

The artist hopes that viewed in this context, the installation will make visitors and the bankers working in surrounding buildings question how their money in savings and pensions is invested, and whether investments can be greener.

Aside from being a thought provoking piece, it is also mesmerising and surreally beautiful, so make sure you visit the free Winter Lights event before ends on Saturday 28 Jan.
Happy lunar new year! [Invited] To celebrate the Happy lunar new year! 

[Invited] To celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Rabbit, why not head over to @mamachensdumplings currently doing a residence at the @thegantrylondon in #stratford where you can feast on prawn & chive dumplings; pork, Chinese cabbage and shiitake mushroom dumplings; pork & prawn wontons with Mama Chen’s chilli oil; vegetable dumplings; smacked cucumber salad; and spicy noodles coated in garlic and Szechuan pepper oil.

And afterwards, make sure you head up to the @unionsocialoc bar for a cocktail - I loved the Moreish Fashion with bourbon, PX sherry, chestnuts and mandarin orange bitters!
Got leftover Stilton (or any blue cheese) from Chr Got leftover Stilton (or any blue cheese) from Christmas? Turn it into this super simple and super indulgent broccoli and Stilton soup! So easy to make and soooo delicious to eat - and it is low carb and GF. What more could you want?! Click the link in my bio for the full recipe. What’s your favourite soup?
CELEBRATE. So the fireworks are over, the champag CELEBRATE.

So the fireworks are over, the champagne is finished and the leftovers are all eaten. We are one week into 2023 and I have had some time to think about what my intent is for the year. 

In 2022 my brother had a life saving kidney transplant. Since the operation, he has had a Peanuts cartoon as his WhatsApp profile pic, where Charlie Brown and Snoopy are sitting on a pier talking. Charlie says “Some day, we all die Snoopy.” And Snoopy replies: “Yes - but every other day, we will live.”

Waking up in the morning is a gift, every day, and it is so easy to forget this. The last few years have been difficult for so many people and the coming year promises its own challenges. But every day that we don’t die is a day to live, to celebrate life in some small way.

So my intention in 2023 is to celebrate. Celebrate our achievements however small. Celebrate our friends and family. Celebrate small things. Celebrate life.

Did you make any resolutions or goals for 2023? I would love to hear them in the comments! Wishing you all the very best for 2023 🥂
Happy new year, everyone! Here are some scenes fro Happy new year, everyone! Here are some scenes from last night with friends in Deptford. My deconstructed avocado ritz; @twinkleparkstephen ‘s bobitie; Giles’ Ottolenghi tomato salad; and Jean’s clementine trifle - and the London night sky ablaze with fireworks!  How did you spend your evening? 🥂🎇🎆
Merry Christmas to all those celebrating - I hope Merry Christmas to all those celebrating - I hope your day was merry and bright, filled with family, friends and love 🎄🥂. Mine was spent alone at home - my choice and the result of a combination of Covid (not mine!) and rail strikes 🤦‍♀️ but very relaxing and indulgent!
Looking for a stylish and easy Christmas starter y Looking for a stylish and easy Christmas starter you can make ahead? Look no further than my individual smoked salmon terrine! Hot smoked salmon, cream cheese and chives wrapped in cold smoked salmon in a ramekin. Still one of the most popular Christmas recipes in my blog, it looks cheffy but is soooo simple to make - and will save you time and effort on the day! Get the recipe by clicking on the link in my bio.

How is your Christmas meal prep going? Are you entertaining at home or going to friends or family? 🎄🥂🎄🥂🎄
Looking for a brilliant biryani near Marble Arch? Looking for a brilliant biryani near Marble Arch? I recently enjoyed a feast at Biryani Kebab Chai @bkc.restaurant on Edgeware Road, including wonderful sweet, spicy and crunchy papri chaat; smoky burrah lamb kebab; galouti lamb patties; juicy chaap chicken thigh kebab; spicy chapli chicken patties; and the surprising vegetarian dahi ke patties made of yoghurt! We also tried the chicken and soya biryanis, both with incredibly fluffy and delicately spiced rice. You can get their biryanis as a 1kg takeaway, served in a beautiful branded clay pot that serves 3-4 people, for about £30. Bargain! We also took home a sample of their desserts, including a fragrant and delicious kheer rice pudding. If you are in the Marble Arch area, get yourself to BKC!  #invited #bkcrestaurants
Load More... Follow me on Instagram

Follow Jeanne Horak-Druiff's board Recipes by Cooksister on Pinterest.

Cooksister

The South African Food and Wine Blog Directory

The South African Food and Wine Blog Directory

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Jeanne Horak is a freelance food and travel writer; recipe developer and photographer. South African by birth and Londoner by choice, Jeanne has been writing about food and travel on Cooksister since 2004. She is a popular speaker on food photography and writing has also contributed articles, recipes and photos to a number of online and print publications. Jeanne has also worked with a number of destination marketers to promote their city or region. Please get in touch to work with her Read More…

Latest Recipes

Bowls of broccoli and Stilton soup
Salmon with blood oranges dill and capers
Brussels sprouts with feta and pomegranate
Roast lamb with pomegranate glaze
Blood orange & pistachio galettes
Cauliflower topped steak with melted cheese
Plate of potted smoked salmon with slaw and a glass of champagne
bowls of pistachio pomegranate bircher muesli

SITEMAP

Home

Contact

About me

Recipe Index

Restaurant Index

Copyright & Disclaimer

Cookies & privacy policy




blog counter

© 2004 - 2023 · Jeanne Horak unless otherwise stated - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. You may not reproduce any text, excerpts or images without my prior permission. Site by RTW Labs

Copyright © 2023 · Cooksister on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Cooksister cookie consent
We use cookies to ensure you receive the best experience on our site. If you continue to use this site, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions. Accept
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT