2012 Nedbank Green Wine Awards

Some of the highlights of judging at this year's competition include seeing how well the organic wines performed (see my previous post organic trend ), the increase in the number of entries (190) and the introduction of the WWF Biodiversity and Wine Initiative wine category.

Reyneke Wines scooped top honours (again) in the organic category, with its Reyneke Reserve Red 2009 winning awards for Best Wine Overall and Best Red. Paul Cluver Riesling Noble Late Harvest 2012 won Best Wine Overall in the Biodiversity and Wine Initiative Category.

The full results:
 
Wines made from Organically Grown Grapes

Best Wine Overall: Reyneke Reserve Red 2009

Best Red: Reyneke Reserve Red 2009

Best White: Reyneke Chenin Blanc 2011

Best Value: Stellar Winery Live-a-Little Really Ravishing Red N/V

Bloggers’ Choice: Green Shebeen Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

Chenin's Stellar Showing in 2013 Platter

Last night's launch of the 2013 Platter Guide and 5 star revelations confirmed Chenin Blanc's rise to fame and hopefully fortune for long suffering proponents of the variety. No less than 8 were awarded with 12 for white blends many of which contained the variety. Meanwhile Chardonnay garnered only five, two of which went to Jordan and Sauvignon Blanc only three.



This edition a record 62 wines made the five star cut, with Cape Chamonix garnering four 5 star ratings. 

Twelve wineries received 5 star ratings for the first time, namely AA Badenhorst Family, Alheit, Bon Courage, Cederberg, Dalla Cia, David, Fryer’s Cove, Keets, Mvemve Raats, Nitida, Saronsberg and Von Ortloff. (The full list of five star wines appears below.)

Of the 5 star awarded wines, the red and white which receive the most votes from the judging panel are named Platter’s Wines of the Year. This time the Red Wine Of The Year is Mullineux Family Syrah 2010 (Wine of Origin Swartland), described in the guide as “an icon in the making”, whilst the White Wine Of The Year is Paul Cluver Noble Late Harvest 2011 (Wine of Origin Elgin), probably one of the best ever botrytised Rhine riesling to ermerge in the Cape. 

Wine is like Oxygen

This one for Live out Loud - theme of the edition was oxygen.

“Love is like oxygen, you get too much you get too high, not enough and you're gonna die. Love gets you high” (lyrics by the band Sweet, ironically their last big hit).

So too with wine.  Oxygen is wine’s best frenemy – vital in the right doses at the right time, but too much and you’re gonna die, and it starts from the moment the grapes are crushed and continues in your glass and then in your blood stream.

With modern wine drinking habits most wines do not need mouth-to-mouth resuscitation but all are destined for a smack on the lips. Taking off the capsule and easing out the cork is not enough foreplay - nor does it allow the wine to breathe.

For wine to take a deep breath it has to be decanted. Generally, the older the wine the more it will benefit from decanting but premium wines under screw cap, for example, can benefit from decanting at any age. 

 

 

Mature wines, particularly reds, need some air to revitalise some of their flavours and aromas, even mouth feel, but some are too fragile for decanting. Pour about 50 ml into a glass and re-cork the bottle. Assess the wine immediately, give the remaining wine in the glass a good swirl and then assess it again about 10 minutes later.

If you think the wine has gained more intensity or complexity – the change can be huge - decant the remaining wine and allow it to stand for about 30 minutes. It’s probably a good idea to do this trial with all older whites and all premium wines under screw cap.

If you are in a hurry, wine pourers like Vinturi aerate wine so you can compare straight samples with aerated ones immediately.

Records fall at Cape Winemakers Guild Auction

Brisk bidding at a rate of R1 million per hour set the tone for a record breaking 28^th Nedbank Cape Winemakers Guild Auction in the Stellenbosch winelands over the weekend, with the highest turnover ever of R5 739 000 (excluding VAT) with a complete sellout of all the wines on offer.

Unlike Nederburg auction, the CWG auction is open to the trade and general public, and this year’s record sales were 8,6% up on the 2011 turnover of R5 286 700, despite 431 fewer cases of wine. The auction also attracted a record number of 54 new local buyers and private collectors, four of whom were amongst the top 10 buyers this year. 

Auctioneer Henre Hablutzel 15th consecutive hammer time

The auction, conducted by Henré Hablutzel of Hofmeyr Mills Auctioneers for the 15^th consecutive year, attracted 148 buyers including 14 foreign buyers and for the first time, 14 online bidders. In total 2 517 cases were sold at an average price of R2 281 per case equivalent of 6 x 750ml bottles. The lineup of 52 wines included 38 red wines, 10 white wines, 2 Méthode Cap Classiques, one dessert wine and a port.