KWV/ Western Cape/South Africa

I don't know how this happened but in recent months we have evolved into quite the vendor for South African wines.  Presently we have eight types in the store, four reds and four whites.  Last month we may have sold thirty cases of these which is pretty impressive considering South African wines usually don't do that well.

In the wine business Europe is considered to be the "old world" and everywhere else is considered "new world."  Most new world wine industries are a hundred years old or so.  South Africa has a wine industry that is three hundred fifty years old.  Many of their critically acclaimed wines are second in quality only to Europe.

Most of the South African wine industry is located in the Western Cape, the region surrounding Cape Town in the southwestern corner of the continent.  At thirty-three degrees latitude this wine country mirrors Mendoza, Argentina where the finest Malbec is made.  The prize wine of South Africa is Pinotage, a hybrid of Cinsault and Pinot Noir.  While Pinotage may be the signature wine of South Africa something in its flavor profile doesn't gibe with the international palate.  South African Cabernet Sauvignon and Rhone-style blends are safer bets for most of us.  Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay are the winners in white wine.

Our thirty cases sold in December was heavily weighted toward the KWV whites we loaded up on when the price was right.  Considering the quality of the wines, that store purchase proved to be the ultimate no-brainer.  If anything, our $10 retail was too low, scaring off many who might have liked the wines but weren't inclined to buy such low-priced fare.

At the turn of the last century South Africa had a serious wine overproduction problem.  The phyloxera bug had decimated South African vineyards like everywhere else.  When they replanted they overdid it resulting in way too much wine for a nation that was not an exporter at that time.

KWV was a farming cooperative established in 1918.  In 1924 the government passed the KWV Act which made the co-op responsible for administering the wine industry.  By putting KWV in charge the government hoped for a unity of purpose among producers leading to innovation and quality improvement.  The development of export markets would then hopefully follow.

Upon establishment of its authority in 1924 KWV corrected the overproduction imbalance by purchasing excess wine from growers and fermenting it into brandy then marketing it around the world.  The KWV Act made the co-op the sole importer/exporter of all alcoholic beverages.  Initially 70% of vineyard production was distilled with just 30% remaining as table wine.  Today those percentages are reversed.

Twentieth century South Africa is noteworthy for most of us for one primary reason: Apartheid.  Most of the industrialize First World boycotted South Africa because of its legally discriminatory political system.  Once reforms took place in the late 1980's the wine industry itself was reformed.  To be more inclusive KWV was privatized and black ownership in the industry was mandated.


Please join us this Thursday after 5pm for the weekly wine tasting.

Red Wine and Fish

Deceptive title.  What we're really talking about is the great Sicilian red Nero d'Avola as an accompaniment to Mediterranean cuisine.  Our material comes from the Kermit Lynch newsletter.  KL is an exceptional importer of European wines and their newsletter, like all business newsletters, is a sales instrument.  They were pitching their particular Sicilian red by pairing it with a particular meal which they go on to delineate.

The KL newsletter is very professionally done with creative writing that makes our little humble blog appear quite primitive.  What is in the obvious interest of both Kermit Lynch and Vine & Cheese is that we present wines flatteringly to would-be purchasers to advance our business interests.  We want to sell wine.  So when KL says Nero d'Avola retains acidity despite baking in the Mediterranean climate vineyards, that says this wine is food-friendly.  When they say the wine "coats the palate with sumptuous notes of black cherry and blackberry,"  that gets Pavlov's dog salivating.  When they say the "radiant brightness" of the wine contrasts with "the succulence of the dark fruit," I want to call my old English literature teacher and say, "Did you hear that?"

Here's the recipe for the meal they're talking about:

Cook down some onions, garlic and tomatoes in olive oil.  Add some capers and pitted olives.  Then some dried herbs like oregano and thyme.  Hot chili flakes, if desired.  Spoon this sauce over grilled swordfish or tuna with pasta.

So after reading the KL sales pitch, what do I think?  I want to taste the wine.  And the meal.  I really want to taste them both.  Together. 

It's enjoyable for me to criticize over-the-top wine writers.  Especially if I think they either don't know what they're talking about or they're transparently on the take.  This time the writer got it right.

I r-e-a-l-l-y want to taste that wine!


Please join us this Thursday at the weekly wine tasting.  We go from 5 to 7pm here at the store.

2018 Sand Creek Red Blend

Not only is this a rich and luscious red quaffer, it is also an especially nice looking wine.  Both the bottle and the case have beautiful multicolored waves going across them.  So unlike so many mass marketed chain store wines, this one actually has the quality going on inside of the bottle also.

The Sand Creek red comes from the Peninsula de Setubal which is just south of Lisbon, Portugal.  The wine is made by Casa Ermelinda Freitas in a region historically anchored by Jose Maria da Fonseca, Portugal's oldest table wine company.  Established in 1834, Fonseca is still thriving today albeit in the fortified Muscat category where they have a near monopoly in that kind of wine.

Historically the Setubal peninsula has been dedicated to Muscat grapes. Fonseca started it all.  Muscat of Alexandria is the most prominent type planted there (and elsewhere) but Muscat is one of those types prone to mutation so there is a veritable family of Muscat grapes to sort out.  Most vineyards in the region are planted in white grapes with most of those being related to Alexandria in some way.

Our Sand Creek however, is a red blend and while its appellation on the label says "Setubal" it may more accurately have called "Palmela" which is a red wine carve-out from the Setubal DOC.  Portugal's legal wine appellation system has been in flux since the early 2000's.  Palmela's DOC status elevation from IPR probably happened around 2009.

Palmela features sunny plains with poor fertility but well draining sandy limestone soil.  Red grape vines love such environs.  They yield wines of fully ripe and balanced tannic cherry flavors.

Palmela, like Setubal, is mostly planted in white grapes but there are a handful of red players.  The most prominent type is called Castelao or Periquita.   DOC law for Palmela reds mandates at least 67% Castelao in the blend.  Alfrochiero and Tinta Amarela are two other local varieties which, like Castelao feature dark coloration and rich body and flavors.  Aragonez (Tempranillo) is also part of the blend as are the international varieties Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.

The most telling feature displayed by our Sand Creek red is its floral nose that just won't quit.  That's a dead giveaway that Muscat is in the blend also.


Please join us next Thursday the 16th for a red wine tasting to include the Sand Creek Red.

Le Roule

Every holiday season we sell a ton of Le Roule to breathlessly panting customers dying to know more about the stuff.  It's just that good.  So here's the lowdown:

Le Roule (le roo-lay) is one of those meteors that hits the marketplace and immediately finds its mark.  It's only been around since the nineteen eighties when it was created in central France by the Tablanette Fromagerie.  It is currently produced in Northeastern France in the Les Vosge mountain village of Neufchateau by Laiteries Hubert Triballat SA.

The Le Roule name means "roll" and it's not just a proper noun.  The Le Roule log looks just like so many pasteries that roll up sweet stuff into some kind of cake layer.  And that is what is going on here.  First you spread your added ingredient; be it garlic and herbs, sweet and savory peppers, or cranberries; onto your work table.  Then you spread your fresh curd on top of it.  Trim off your excess and start rolling!  The process is still an artisan effort, done by hand leaving the unmistakable spiral design on the ends to validate the process.

The dumbfounded expressions on the faces of tasters is probably as much due to the freshness of the product as anything.  It has a creamy smooth, melt-in-your-mouth texture.  The sweet or spicy add-ons don't so much dominate the freshness as perfectly balance the flavor of the cheese itself.

Le Roule is great on crackers or as a dip with crostini.  It is spreadable so it may work on toast for breakfast or as dessert on grahams.  Some might butter their steak and potatoes with it!


This Thursday the 9th after 5pm please join us for a wine tasting with industry veteran Dave Klepinger.  That evening Dave will pour tastes of three from Italy and a great Malbec from Argentina.  Specifically we'll have Villa Sparina Gavi, Allegrini Valpolicella, Palazzo de la Torre IGT Super Tuscan and A. R. Guentota Malbec.

Demeter Certification

We've been selling a lot of Hawk and Horse Vineyards wines here lately.  If you go to their website they're all about their biodynamic certification.  Biodynamic is beyond "organic."  When I looked into how many other wineries could claim the certification I was struck by how many do carry this distinction.  They all readily advertise it too which makes sense when you consider they have to pay someone annually to inspect their digs.  You bet they're proud of their certification.

Demeter, by the way, was the Greek goddess of grain and fertility.  She must have resided somewhere prominently in Dr. Rudolf Steiner's consciousness back in 1928 when he started the certification program.  Steiner was a noted scientist in Germany who observed that industrial farming was doing long term harm to the soil and to all of us who rely on farming.  Actually he was confronted with the situation when farmers implored him to investigate why their crops were failing and their animals were sickly.

What Steiner came up with was a solution 180 degrees from the the factory farming model.  Steiner considered a farm to be a living thing, self-contained and self-sustaining.  It should be responsible for creating and maintaining its own health and vitality without adding anything from outside of its boundaries.  That means a farm must have livestock for manure, compost, nutrient catch crops and crop rotation.  It also must have biodiversity, predator habitat, adequate sunlight and air flow.  Any strategies for combating disease, insects, or weeds have to originate at the farm utilizing what is there.  This was the beginning of sustainable farming.

In 1985 Demeter Certification came to America, seventeen years before the USDA started its organic regulatory program.  Demeter remains the sole biodynamic certification program in this country and fifty countries around the world now offer their own Demeter programs.


Please join us this Thursday for the weekly wine tasting at the store.  We start at 5pm and go till 7.

This Wine Pairs Well With Holidays and Relatives

That's what one of our wine gift bags says.  It's cute and it sells but who's kidding whom: Wine is personal and what one person likes the next person doesn't.  That is, unless it's one of the mass marketed types that is constructed to not offend anyone.  You can confidently pour one of those for friends and family over the holidays and no one will complain...unless they notice the wine has no character.

The way I see it the mass marketers have done two things to further their dominance in the industry.  Through technology they have been able to clean up ordinary grapes to remove bacteria that used to result in unsavory off-flavors and they have added extraneous flavors and texture to their product.  In their efforts to please everyone the mass marketers smooth out all of the wine rough edges and adjust the flavor profile to fit the contemporary palate template.  Unfortunately what can sadly result is a flabby unstructured amorphous wine that no longer has any claim to distinction.

Here are some alternatives that are neither too old world nor completely manipulated.

1.  Trifula "Truffle Dog" Rosso - This Barbera blend from Piedmont (!) Italy is made for the American market with its forward fruit and rich red fruit flavors.  And it's popularly priced!

2.  Chateau de Jarnioux Beaujolais - From Albert Bichot this one has the explosive brilliant Beaujolais fruit and polished profile that no one cannot enjoy.  This is fun wine!

3.  Villa Antinori Toscana Rosso - 100% Sangiovese that seduces with its softness and just enough acidity to keep it interesting.  This one not only complements pasta but any other lighter entree also.

4. & 5.  Need Chardonnay?  Here are a couple that don't go overboard with sweetness or oak.  Rutherford Ranch Napa Chardonnay is 1/2 Steel and 1/2 oak aged.  It is definitely California wine but a step back from being the fully-blown California Chardonnay style.  DMZ from South Africa is my corollary to Rutherford Ranch.  While still a new world venue, South Africa leans European.

6. & 7.  Need Cabernet?  BV Rutherford Napa Cabernet Sauvignon has always been a benchmark in Napa Cabernet.  It's a structured masculine example of what the product is supposed to be - steak wine.  The counterpart currently would be Ferrari Carano Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon which is not really feminine, just more complex with lighter complementary flavors.  Both Cabs offer the muscular grip that good Cabernet needs.

Please join us this Thursday after 5pm when Bob Reynolds presents a tasting of three from Italy and the Niner red blend from Paso Robles.  Then on Monday the 23rd Adam Bess returns for a tasting from his fine portfolio.

GSM - The Rhone-Style Red Blend

First of all there are two Rhones, the northern Rhone Valley and the southern Rhone Valley.  In the north there is just one red grape, Syrah, and it is the veritable star of the entire valley.  In the southern valley the main grape is Grenache but it has company in the form of Syrah, Mourvedre and a slew of other minor players.  For our purposes here, we'll concentrate on the three majors which are shorthanded to GSM.  All three are indigenous to the region and exhibit an allelopathy or unity of purpose with the other historic plants of the region.  Sage, rosemary, thyme, juniper and lavender are often planted in the vineyards with that influence often finding its way into the makeup of the wine. 

Syrah is one of the great wine grapes of the world.  It offers big spicy dark (forward) fruit flavors of blueberry and plum complemented by black olive and bacon fat aromas.  Firm tannins and structure ensure Syrah will hold fast and improve in the cellar for the long haul.

Grenache is the lightest of the three yet still offers boisterous warm sometimes candied red fruit flavors along with herbs and cinnamon spice, leather and earthiness.  It also has a higher alcohol potential than the others.

Mourvedre adds a deep rich dark red color and flavors similar to Syrah.  It has floral aromas and a persistent length of flavors adding tannins in the process.

When you read their descriptions it's easy to understand why Grenache is the center of the blend.  Syrah adds to the front; Mourvedre, to the finish; and both to the structure and heft of the blend. 

Terroir being what it is and allowing for differences in clonal grape varieties, GSM blends in California and other venues around the world may offer entirely different results.


This Thursday at 5pm we'll be tasting some very special red wines at the store.  One of them may just be a GSM.  Please join us for the event.