After celebrating its 350-year anniversary of it first wine vintage, South Africa wine country is front and center this year with the movie Invictus and soon the World Cup. In the movie, Mandela bet the Prime Minister of New Zealand a case of wine ... and won. It's time - again - to showcase these winning wines. Yes, they've been getting some recognition but there is far more diversity than just chenin blanc and pinotage. Gaining in popularity are Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz and the national penchant - blends. A South African Sauvignon Blanc gives you the fruit character but also has the minerality and restraint that make them great wines to drink. South African Shiraz is more akin to a fine southern Rhône style than the "new" riper fruit-forward style from Austrialia where the weather is much hotter. The cool climate of the Cape's wine country helps to create beautifully balanced red wines with spices, fruit, good acidity, delicate tannins and that elusive taste of "terroir".

Although the world's ninth largest wine exporter sends over a million cases a year to the US, it is in the premium tier where South African wines excel. The value for money in the $15 - $30 range is off the charts : a $15 sauvignon blanc from South Africa easily competes with a $25 comparable from New Zealand! Often a red blend costing $28 is hands down better than a $45 Californian. It takes exploration - a sort of wine safari - and that is what where we come in: tasting lots of different wines to help you find the value.

So what makes the Cape climate such a fantastic place for such a wide variety of wines? Soils that are 400 - 600 millions years old and that were not impacted by the Ice Age. A Mediterranean climate with winter rainfall and clear summer days. Lots of sunshine, yet a cool ambient temperature due to the "Cape Doctor", which is a strong wind that keeps the air and grapes cool. Maritime influences from two oceans - the Atlantic and the Indian. Unique bio-diversity and terroir on all levels, with a multitude of micro-climates as a result of the many folds and aspects of the mountain ranges on which the grapes call home. It is a dramatic and diverse wine country.

For nearly 15 years, South African wineries have adhered to a comprehensive sustainable program entitled IPW - the Integrated Production of Wine. This program influences not only sustainable vineyard and winery practices but it extends to the sustainability of suppliers such as for cartons, inks and glass, and extends also to the wellness of the community. Truly it is a comprehensive minimal footprint program. Many of the wineries are also participating in the Biodiversity program, in which they set aside, in perpetuity, land where the native flora and fauna are protected and invasive plants actively eradicated. This is a crucial program given that the Cape Floral Kingdom is one of the World's ten endangered "hot spots". This commitment to being custodians of the land is laudable.

We will showcase wines from the appellations of Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Walker Bay.
Join us as we taste the February selections.