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You are here: Home / Meeting bloggers / South Africa in shock World Cup win!

South Africa in shock World Cup win!

by Jeanne Horak on July 6, 2010 10 Comments in Meeting bloggers, South Africa, Wine & beer

(Photo courtesy of The Bibendum Times)

Well, the Bibendum World Cup of Wine, that is…  And against Italy, no less!

What am I talking about?  Well, about 6 weeks ago wine merchants Bibendum decided it might be fun to do a wine tasting “competition” where countries were pitted against each other on a one-to-one basis and eliminated by way of a knock-out system – rather like football.  Sadly, I only managed to attend one “match” (the final) where South Africa had unexpetedly won through to face Italy – but I was thrilled to be able to be the sole South African representative at the finals, held shortly before the start of the football World Cup, at Bibendum’s headquarters in Primrose Hill.

And so on the appointed night I turned up to find a roomful of enthusiastic wine drinkers, including my friends Denise of The Wine Sleuth, Krista of Londondelicious, Robert of The Wine Conversation and Tara of The Wine Passionista (who counted herself as an honourary South African for the night!).  We chatted and snacked on some rather good canapés from Odette’s (including a fabulous foie gras number), and prepared ourselves for the challenge ahead – sixteen wines, two countries, one winner.  We were up for it.

The premise was simple: we would move around the room to four tasting tables, each named for a World Cup stadium in South Africa.  At each, we would taste four wines – two from Italy and two from South Africa; and of these one pair only would be tasted blind.  Each pair of wines would have something in common (either a cultivar or a style) but might be wildly different vintages.  At the end of the evening, all our wine scores for each bottle would be totted up and a winner declared.  Scientific?  Absolutely not.  Fun?  You bet!

First up were a NV Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Brut Jeio from Bisol (nose and palate of fresh green apples, a fine mousse, pleasant and uncomplicated) pitted against a very different 2006 Graham Beck Blanc de Blancs (golden colour, more toasty & less obviously green palate, and a delicious fine mousse).  The Graham Beck won hands down for me, but it wasn’t exactly a fair fight as it was the more complex wine, with the advantage of bottle age.

Next up were two rosés.  The unusual Graham Beck Malbec/Sangiovese rosé (pale brick colour, meaty nose, very little fruit, clean dry finish) was a Serious Rosé, less for drinking with your girlfriends on a sunny Saturday and more for accompanying a light meat dish when it’s too hot for a red.  The Ceppaiano Rosato (beautiful pale rose colour, shy “cream soda” nose, green apples on the palate) was altogether better proposition for those who like their rosé more girly and fun. We also tasted two Syrahs blind, the first of which was big and alcoholic but not overwhelmingly spicy, hinting more at cherries in brandy with a long, smoky finish.  The second was far more brick red, suggesting an older wine, with an almost savoury, smoked oyster nose, high tannins, not much fruit and a perfumed finish.  The first was my favourite – and turned out to be Italian!

For some light relief, the next table provided two Sauvignon Blancs to taste blind – the first of which was a blast of green bell pepper, both on the nose and on the palate, with a very, very long finish. Its opponent was most peculiar, with a strident cat’s pee nose, undertones on the palate that I usually describe as “cheesy” and a lingering finish – not a good thing in this case!  The other two wines at this table were a 2008 Rosso di Montalcino Castello Banfi (pale garnet, lovely ripe red fruit nose, but sour cherry astringency on palate) and a 2006 Saam Mountain Leeuwenkuil Pinotage (deep purple colour, “meaty”, jammy nose, with lots of up-front dark berry fruit on the palate and a long, very smoky finish).  I am not always a fan of Pinotage, but this one was a goodie.

Up next were two blind Chardonnays.  The first had a lovely vanilla nose with grapefruit and nicely integrated toasty oak flavours on the tongue, followed by a very long vanilla finish.  The second had a far more subtly-scented vanilla nose and was similarly citrusy but with a far shorter finish. I preferred the first and was once again surprised to find that it was Italian!  For the last of the reds, we tasted the 2008 Dolcetto d’Alba Rossana Ceretto  – this didn’t really do much for me as it was a very light red with ripe berry flavours and more much complexity.  I know it was technically correct, but it’s not for me.  Also, it had unfairly heavyweight competition from the 2007 Sijnn Red (an unusual wine not only because it comes from Malgas, well south and east of the established wine-growing regions, but also because of it’s blend which includes Shiraz, Mourvedre and Touriga Nacional).  Unsurprisngly, it is a huge beast of a wine (14.5% alcohol!) with definite port-like characteristics on both the nose and palate, but more surprisingly is that fact that the alcohol is integrated rather than overpowering.  Still, it is a wine that needs a crackling log fire and a venison roast to come into its own, in my opinion, and could probably be cellared for another couple of years for more complex flavours to develop.

And last but not least came my favourites: the stickies.  Italy fielded a 2006 Recioto di Soave Acinatium Suavia.  This had a lovely deep gold colour and a nose laden with apricots.  The palate did not disappoint either – lovely and light with the flavour of dried apricots, honey and candied peel; a nicely balanced touch of acid and a long finish.  South Africa fielded a 2008 De Trafford Straw Wine (the first of its kind in South Africa, with Chenin Blanc grapes laid out to dry on straw/racks before pressing).  Its pale straw colour was probably an indication of its age and gave little indication of the delights that lay beyond – a nose of honey and dried yellow peaches; and a palate with less obvious fruit but an abundance of nutty, honeyed flavours (and those peaches again), with a ridiculously long burnt caramel finish.

A few nervous moments followed while the scores were tallied up, and the tension was drawn out by first naming the wines we’d tasted blind.  The contest was neck and neck when the stickies were served and then… South Africa stormed ahead, gaining a 20 point lead over Italy on one single wine and therefore taking the trophy.

===========<()   Blow your vuvuzelas, fellow South African wine lovers!

Thanks very much to all at Bibendum who organised this great event.

And in other CookSister news…

Work at home
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I keep meaning to tell you that a while back I was interviewed by Bizy Moms about family cooking – do pop over and take a look!

I was also interviewed by the Canadian National Post newspaper for an article about barbecue traditions around the world – specifically South African ones!

And I am thrilled to see that pictures of my famous muffcakes that I made for a Lurpak photoshoot late last year are now cropping up on the inner wrapper of Lurpak Spreadable tubs.  Get yours while you can!

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  1. Lana says

    July 7, 2010 at 5:27 am

    What a fantastic outcome for South Africa! Lovely post, thanks Jeanne. Hope you’re well and keeping up with all the interviewing and blogging conferences and and and… ! Cheers, Lana

    Reply
  2. Winesleuth.wordpress.com says

    July 7, 2010 at 8:04 am

    I think there was some serious match fixing that nite! 😉 Good fun and it looks like S. African wines are definitly blazing a trail on the international scene.

    Reply
  3. Firefly says

    July 7, 2010 at 8:11 am

    South African wines ROCK and doesn’t have to take a step back for any of the best wines from elsewhere in the world.

    Reply
  4. Marisa says

    July 7, 2010 at 8:43 am

    Awesome!=======<() Paaaaaaaaaaaaaaarp!

    Reply
  5. Gareth says

    July 7, 2010 at 2:31 pm

    Great write up, glad you could come along and be one of the judges. I was genuinely surprised that the SA wines won the competition beating some big names along the way – kudos to the Cape winemakers!
    And Denise – there was definitely NOT any serious match fixing! 🙂

    Reply
  6. Paz says

    July 7, 2010 at 4:50 pm

    A Wine World Cup? Very cool!
    Congrats on your interviews and your photoshot that is now being seen all over. Awesome!
    Thanks so much for correcting me on the Chrysler building. I kept looking at the Chrysler but kept think Empire State. 😉 I’m glad you caught it.
    I love that vuvuzela drawing. I’m glad I can do one here now. So, I blow my vuvuzela for you. 😉
    ===========<() Oh BTW, I recently read an interesting article about makarapas. I'd never seen them before but I like them. Very creative. I'd have to buy several different ones if I were in South Africa. 😉 Paz P.S. And thanks for your kind words about my dog.

    Reply
  7. Mel says

    July 7, 2010 at 5:46 pm

    Muffcakes? Sounds kinky!

    Reply
  8. Herschelian says

    July 8, 2010 at 3:01 am

    I love the idea of a Wine World Cup – and I’m chuffed that SA won! We’re living in Beijing now and I have found a supermarket that stocks a good range of SA wines….because of the World Cup (China has gone crazy over it) they are offering special promotions on SA wines, so I have stocked up!
    Even if you are not usually a Pinotage person, I urge you to try the Diemersfontein Pinotage stocked by Waitrose, it is just gorgeous.

    Reply
  9. Jamie says

    July 8, 2010 at 5:48 pm

    “A strident cat”s pee nose”? Your words or someone else’s? Ha! You! And I have to say that my husband loves Dolcetto d’Alba! Well, this sounds like it was a fabulous event and lucky you to be there. All the wines (except the one mentioned above) sound wonderful. I’d love to try something like this. And congratulations on the South Africa surprise win!

    Reply
  10. deeba says

    July 9, 2010 at 5:53 pm

    Love ‘wine’ shocks like these…COOL! Congrats on the interviews and for being ‘inside’ the Lurpark tub!! Voovoozellaaaaaaaaaa time!!

    Reply
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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…

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