It was flagged as the category which “has critics abuzz” with anticipation of South Africa’s next big thing.
Similar sentiments have been expressed by a variety of top international commentators. As far back as 2011 Mathew Jukes, a frequent visitor to the country for the past decade, wrote about having an epiphany. “By the time I boarded the plane on my way back home, after only a week away, I was convinced that South Africa has done the hard, ugly yards and that it was now time to showcase its finest wines to the world.” Furthermore, Jukes lauded South African winemakers for their “fresh, international view, and often wide skill-set, which is rare in the wine business”.
White blends have been part of South Africa’s winemaking culture for decades, most notably at the bottom end with cheap and cheerful Grand Crus of days gone by - or that international marketing phenomenon, Lieberstein which was once the world’s biggest selling wine!
But the fact remains that South Africa has a unique opportunity to show the world just what it is capable of – in terms of terroir expression, grape diversity, inherent wine quality, complexity and refinement – all within the confines of one category: white blends. And more importantly, to do so at the top end of the price spectrum. White blends stand a good chance of being South Africa’s calling card on the international stage. This category is a relatively blank slate where local producers can take the lead and gain pre-eminence.
In 2004 the first free ranging tasting was held– an event subsequently replicated three times with increasing interest evident each time.
On Thursday, August 15 another will be held, this time at Allée Bleue’s conference venue from 9h00 to 12h00.
The event will take the form of a brief presentation by Master of Wine Cathy van Zyl about the international trends in white blends followed by a focussed tasting and then the opportunity to sample a broad range of locally available examples.
The idea is to raise the bar even further, to share ideas and thoughts as well as to refine and define the variety of different styles which proliferate – from Cape (Chenin Blanc dominated), Classic (Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon driven), Mediterranean (utilising Roussane, Grenache Blanc etc) "Green wines" and then the catch-all “interesting” category where anything goes!
Places are limited to 60 participants, preferably wine makers. For further information or to book a spot please RSVP soonest to: Lené Albertyn at
lene@adoro.co.za or on +27.829227199.