 MAY 2010 Same Trusted Recipe - New Tasty Spin JUNE 2010 The Beast The Beauty Appreciation of Art - Red Blends JULY 2010 A Diverse Culture - Single Red Varietals |
Written
by: Russell Cook – Winemakers’ Choice Sales
17 May 2010 Winemakers’ Choice Award 2010: A Diverse Culture – Single Red Varietals How plain would the world be without different nations, races and cultures? There would be no variety, no spice of life. The world of wine is no plain old boring place either: Each cultivar has its own character – single red varietals. Chinese, Japanese, Koreans; they all look the same. True? Not in the slightest. For someone who is unacquainted with Asian people, it just seems that way as they have very similar features. At a closer glance they are so distinguishable, easily identifiable. It is much the same with single varietal red wine: do they all taste the same? At first, yes, but once acquainted with the nuances of each varietal it becomes a pleasure to identify each, know its uniqueness, call it by name. Cigar box, tobacco leaf, cassis and dark fruit flavours are typical of Cabernet Sauvignon. This is not a closed list though. Just say one of the mentioned characteristics about Cab in wine drinking company and you will get the nod. Once well acquainted with Cabernet Sauvignon, by itself, though, more subtle nuances are identifiable. Try mentioning these more subtle characteristics and see how the wine drinkers respond. It is at this stage that one can be more familiar, more up close and personal. Each wine then becomes an intimate encounter, as instead of just identifying it, it is finding its signature, a birth-mark if you like. After having learnt how to identify, say the Asians as a race, then one can try the same with, say, Caucasians. Although both the Asians and the Caucasians are people, they are so different. Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz are both red berries but they too are so different. These red cultivars possess their own culture. Travellers are obsessed with the beauty of the diversity of the culture of different nations. Each country offers a definable experience. Wine lovers can do the same by exploring the different cultures of the cultivars. These are the wonders in the travel of wine, the single red cultivars, identified by the winemakers’ of the Winemakers’ Choice Award as the Diamonds of 2009. Cabernet Sauvignon: • Bon Courage Inkará 2007 • Kleine Zalze Family Reserve 2007 • Conradie Family Vineyards Barrel Selection Reserve 2008 Cabernet Franc: • Lovane Ilwa 2008 Shiraz: • Kleine Zalze Family Reserve 2007 • Saronsberg 2007 • Landskroon Shiraz 2007 • Hofstraat Kelder Renosterbos 2008 Eagles Nest 2007 (Trophy Red 2009 Winemakers’ Choice Award) |
