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Weekly Wine & Spirits Columnist - Michael Vaughan

South Africa takes a stand ~ gaining confidence

(Publishing Date: Saturday May 13, 2000  - Toronto Section)

It was a big week for Canadian wine lovers as South Africa’s largest wine producer KWV launched its $100 red at a chi-chi multi course luncheon at the Jamie Kennedy ROM ensuring that the country’s most expensive red ever made gets the lime-light it deserves.

And it is a knockout! Made from 30 year old Shiraz grapes from a small 3 hectare vineyard atop Paarl mountain, the 1996 Perold is rich, dense and mouthfilling - reminding one of some of the best coming out of Australia. Better yet, it’s surprisingly approachable (ready-to-drink). But is it worth $99.95? Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and with only 450 cases of 6 being produced, the 300 bottles that are allocated to the Canadian agent will likely become a sought-after item for collectors. More important, it’s a bargaining chip to achieve placement for KWV’s everyday wines with restaurant licensees.

The timing of all this hoopla wasn’t coincidental. KWV is tying in the launch of its newly released low-end Robert’s Rock wines. This simple marketing idea that was perfected by the master of Bordeaux who would massage wine writers’ palates with Chateau Mouton Rothschild while extolling the virtues of its everyday Mouton Cadet. Except, perhaps, that Mouton Cadet appears to be better than Robert’s Rock!

I also have mixed feelings about this new wine’s name. It honours the path breaking work of Dr. Abraham Izak Perold who in 1925 developed South Africa’s most exciting varietal - Pinotage. What he did was cross the famous Pinot Noir of Burgundy with Cinsaut from the Languedoc Ironically this grape was called "Hermitage" after the most famous northern Rhone appellation whose reds are made from 100% Syrah which doesn’t even appear in the genetic equation. It wasn’t until 1961 that the current name (itself a cross between Pinot Noir and Hermitage) finally made its debut. For the KWV to take Perold's name and tag it to a Shiraz seems to be a questionable honour!

Not to put this effort down but one of the best South African reds I tasted at last weekend’s Santé event which was actually made from Dr. Perold’s invention, maddeningly isn’t available in Ontario - 1996 Cathedral Cellars Paarl Pinotage. At $16 it shone above the soon-to-be-arriving Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz presented! Hopefully the agent Maxxium Canada will be able to source some for you.

As 80% of all wines produced in South Africa are white, I was impressed with a new selection from the privately owned, Stellenbosch based, Hartenberg Estate. They were presented this week by marketing director James Browne who is not related to the singer but whose well-priced whites are certainly worthy of a song. The new 1999 Chatillon is an unusual blend of Chenin Blanc (South Africa’s most prolific grape constituting 44%), Semillon (26% added for depth), equal parts (13%) of Pinot and Sauvignon Blanc plus a touch (4%) of Chardonnay. The previous owners named it after a small French town near Auxerre and used to make it from Auxerrois. Thankfully the inferiority complex which resulted in naming South African wines after French counterparts is now past. Chatillon’s dry, slightly honeyed, fresh melon-lemon-apricot fruit flavours make it a perfect match with just-boiled, new season, East Coast lobster. It’s well priced at $12.28 ($11.09 for licensees) and can be ordered from Hobbs Wine Merchants at 905-844-5671.

For Riesling fans, don’t miss the surprisingly tasty Hartenberg 1998 Weisser Riesling ($13.08/$11.80) which is a perfect Spring sipper. Weisser is simply another name for the classic Johannisberg Riesling from Germany and this one has lots of gently sweet, honeyed, fresh orange citrus flavours. It’s also available from the consignment warehouse via Bill Hobbs.

A last minute Mother’s Day French sweetie from this month’s Vintages release would be the Domaine Cazes 1998 Muscat de Rivesaltes (375-ml) at $ 12.65. It’s sweet and rich with creamy, vanilla-tinged, spicy, honeyed apricot and warm melon flavours with a lingering finish.

Recap: There’s a lesson in the recent demise of the good looking annual Fall Gourmet Food & Wine Expo at the Toronto Convention Centre. This show aimed its sights on affluent connoisseurs who supposedly would jump at the opportunity to attend such a venue.What show promoters failed to realize is that most affluent connoisseurs already know what they like and are not interested in walking up and down isles on the chance they might find something that tickles their fancy. Unfortunately, the entry price was set at levels that were too high for many less-well-heeled mainstream fans who would have jumped at the opportunity to attend the venue.

Last weekend I attended the Santé, the second annual Bloor-Yorkville Wine Festival. It gets a big thumbs up for effort. Unfortunately, it suffers from similar problems as the fall show, especially as it relates to prices. The Thursday night black tie gala is just too expensive at $175! The humid, somewhat cramped, Friday international tasting is ok value at $65. But why not make it as reasonably priced as the successful April Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival on which it was styled. Here the tasting goes from $54 for twice as many wines. It always sells out! The Santé Saturday-only seminars suffer because they are all cramped into one day - too much happening all at the same time. Some had only a few attendees. Ditto for the Saturday-night-only dinners. Plus the timing is terrible - affluent wine lovers are in their gardens, at their cottages or on the golf course at this first kiss of warm air. Move it to an earlier time spot. The most enjoyable event (despite the presence of gatecrashers) was the Sunday brunch where you could actually sit down (thank God) and enjoy the cuisine and fine selection of 300 wines offered. Serious rethinking is in order. Perhaps the organizers should abandon the aspirations of bringing in the high rollers and refocus on the rest of us!

 Upcoming Trip: Last chance for Sherry fans to join the one and only Barry Brown (family mediation counselor and president of the Spanish Wine Society) on his Mecca to Jerez departing on Thursday, June 1st. The eight day tour of the best bodegas is still comfortably small (12 are currently booked) and costs $2,595 plus air with return on June 10. For information call Barry at (416) 927-9464.

This weekend: Check out any of the five Magnotta stores, who bill themselves as "LCBO Free Zone" locations, where (this weekend only) Magnotta Sparkling Vidal Icewine (187 ml) can be had for a mere $22.95 and 1998 Vidal VQA Icewine (200 ml) an astonishing $12.95 (definitely the lowest price ever)! You can also buy one of the best fruit wines in Canada - the gold-medal-winning delicious Iced Apple (375-ml) at $15.85, which comes with a free miniature (which is just enough) of the dark brown, very sweet, medicinal-licorice flavoured Sambuca Nera di Grappa.