CONCHA Y TORO TO OPEN SOUTH AFRICAN OFFICE

As the OPTIMIST - I Personally think this is great news, as Neil Armstrong quoted "that's one small step for a man, a giant leap for mankind" just for the fact that theirs now a possibility that any wine loving, drinking person can walk into a restaurant, TOPS or wine merchant and buy a bottle of Chilean or Argentinean wine. The normal Jan-Alleman in South Africa are not so fortunate as to travel the world, visit France, Italy, Spain or Germany to name a few and drink, taste, party with the locals and consume their wine(s). So basically Chile and Argentina comes to Africa (sounds like a nice title for a Leon Schuster movie).........

As the PESSIMIST - I belief that this will defiantly have a huge effect on the sales of our local wineries. For example you and I can buy a bottle of good quality Cabernet Sauvignon from Cono Sur at R45/bottle vs a Cabernet Sauvignon from any local supplier at the same price or lower of the same quality, but buying a foreign wine sounds more exciting - 'lekker windgat'.

A good quality Spanish Tempranillo can be brought at R25/bottle and this is a much more exiting as one of the local brands (sorry Obikwa) that you can buy @ R20 - R23/bottle. The long and the short, I belief is that everybody wants to buy that 'perfect wine', that tastes good, tells a story, and looks expensive and exotic. So why would you buy a bottle of Obikwa Merlot at R25/bottle instead of buying a R29.95 bottle of a Spanish Granache/Tempranillo blend. 

http://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2012/02/concha-y-toro-to-open-south-african-office/

Craighall Sauvignon Blanc 2011

Craighall Sauvignon Blanc 2011 - SCREW CAP ±R59 @ Ocean Basket - [Platter 2011 2½ Stars - Light bodied, nervously fresh, showed gentle floral notes] [LIAGOW - COLOUR: watery pale green with slight straw hue = lower in alcohol, youth / NOSE: medium intensity of grassiness with a nuances of asparagus, and hints of granadilla. PALATE: crisp fresh, light bodied, aromas carries through to the palate, grassiness shows with granadilla that follows. Subtle minerality. Didn't pick up the floral notes. Overall enjoyed it, when nicely chilled just right for a summer wine. Nothing spectacular but good 15/20.

http://www.esnell.co.za/wine/index.html

Ai Blommetjie Ai!!!!

The wife and I, had a good laugh last night. We went out for a quick bite at one of the local pubs/restaurant in the Winelands. Ordered Escargot and Salmon Roses, and washed it down with a Castle Draught (for me) and a Savannah Lite (for her). 


The sun went to sleep behind the mountains, and evening approached us unexpectedly. Due to the lack of flavours in the food (will not mention the pubs/restaurant here) we had the urge for a nice salad, and the only salad we could think of was Ocean Baskets'. 


Eventually we got "BLOMMETJIE" our waiters' attention, and we asked for the 'bill' and the 'portable swipe'. "Blommetjie" hands us the bill but no 'portable swipe', and she looks at us with the most confused face, and the she leaves us dumbstruck - "what know". 


3 minutes or so pass and another waiter comes out with the 'portable swipe', another minute or so fades away in time and "Blommetjie" comes rushing down the path and says "Jammer meneer, mevrou maar ek het nou die hele 'menu' deurgegaan en ek kry nie die 'portable swipe' nie, ons het dit definitief nie op die spyskaart nie".....[huh!!!!!!!!!!! and now we have to keep a straight face]...... luckily the waiter next to her said "nee man" here's the 'portable swipe', and Blommetjie said "sorry man ek kan tog so blond wees sometyds!!!!!' - this had us giggling the whole of the evening. 


Ocean Baskets' salad was fantastic and the wine we had was a 'Craighall Sauvignon Blanc 2011'