Discovering South African Wines

On a vacation to Cape Town, we happened to attend the most anticipated events on the wine calendar the “Stellenbosch Wine festival”

After a 45 minutes drive from the main city, all we could see was vineyards and stunning views. Though there are more than 100 wineries in Stellenbosch, we were recommended to visit “Spier “cellar. Upon reaching there, we started with a very well informed and personal wine tasting experience on the lawns overlooking the vines. We got to taste wines from local, virtually unknown, traditional varieties, and the classics just like country South Africa …diverse and intriguing.





We were told by our guide that most of these vineyards are situated in the valley, where summers are dry and winters are wet. This produces some of the robust, full bodied wines. The mountains nearby also protects vineyards from the hot sun, which in turn slows down the ripening process.
















Some more facts that we got to know about wines

Wines are acidic in nature and suppose to be served at the right temperature.

Different decanters are available based on the age and type of wines. These decanters assure quick aeration to release each wine’s potential.

At Spier they follow mostly natural fermentation process, allowing nature to take its course and believe in minimal intervention.

We were first asked to rinse our mouths with plain water and then asked to taste various white wines and then red wines.

Red wines were stronger and based on the tastes, we were asked to identify the aromas.

I realized that I’m not a wine person but of all I liked a shiraz blend wine…dark burgundy in color. My palate echoed tropical fruity flavor. Upon asking more about this particular wine, I was told that it had very low alcohol content and is also known as a desert wine. Just perfect for me.

I truly loved each minute of my interaction with our guide. He as a wine maker had lot of pride and passion while explaining the intricacies of his viniculture practices.