Tag: Wine

A Wine Lover’s Weekly Guide To $10 Wines – A Pinot Noir From South Africa

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We have reviewed several South African wines lately, and many of them have been quite successful. Pinot Noir can be a fine grape; I often am fond of it. I like its classic tastes of earth and mushrooms and the fact that it isn’t very tannic. And it’s considered food-friendly. The site where it’s made is fantastic, at the conjunction of the Pacific and the Indian ocean. It’s not only beautiful (what vineyard isn’t?) but it’s said to be a winemaker’s dream. On the down side, Pinot Noir is not usually at its best in South Africa.

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed Two Oceans Pinot Noir 2008 13.1% alcohol about $ 9.50 Let’s begin by quoting the marketing materials. Tasting Note : Pale ruby color with a slight hint of garnet; aromas of blueberry, cherry, and earth; dry, medium bodied, with flavors of toasty oak, and raspberry on the long smoky finish. Serving Suggestion : Serve with roast chicken or duck. And now for my review.

At the first sips the wine was almost mouth filling, with touches of earth. Its first pairing was with a ready-made chicken potpie. The wine was thick, earth tasting, and quite short but there was the taste of the underbrush. When I added zesty green jalapeno pepper sauce the Pinot Noir gained in roundness and perhaps length.

The next meal involved chicken meatballs and a barbecued chicken leg with a black bean, corn, chickpea, and pimento salad. This time the wine was almost hefty; it was fairly dark with lots of chocolate and good length.

My final meal was composed of hamburgers, green beans in a tomato sauce, and a salad described below. The wine was dark and had a slight aftertaste. There were dark cherries but no tannins. It was stronger with the green beans but the aftertaste remained. With the accompanying red, yellow, and orange plum and cherry tomatoes and basil leaves this Pinot Noir had a touch of harshness and not much flavor.

I ended the bottle with two local cheeses. With a virtually tasteless brick cheese the wine did not have much taste. So in a way, it was a balanced pairing. With a somewhat stronger yellow cheddar the wine perked up a bit and I tasted some oak.

Final verdict. I do not intend to buy this wine again. While it did manage some fairly good wine pairings it was far from consistent. And with all the inexpensive wines on the market that just isn’t good enough.

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South African Wine

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Since the 1990s the production and popularity of South African Wine started to grown, this is due mainly to the end of the apartheid. From this many winemakers begin to indulge into their wine making exploring new ideas and technologies that they had never tried before, to rapidly speed up their developments of wine production. They also began to exchange ideas with other wine makers from around the world as before this time they had only exchanged through post, and now other winemakers from around the world where being flown into South Africa to share their knowledge on viticulture and winemaking. All these factors have helped the South African Wine industry bloom in the last 20 years.


The South African wine regions are mainly situated around the coast exposed to the Atlantic and Indian Ocean at the South tip of Africa. Because of this exposure to the sea the major wine regions have a Mediterranean climate, which mean that the vineyards are exposed to hot sunlight during the day, with a cooler temperature in the evening created by the cool sea breezes. Also the main ocean current brings cool breezes from the Antarctica, to help cool South Africa’s hot days.


South Africa’s most popular red wines are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Pinotage, and South Africa’s most popular whites are Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay.


South African Wine has many wine growing regions, some of the most popular are


Constantia was the first place where vineyards in South Africa where planted. Because of this regions shape it is exposed to the sea on both sides, experiencing cool breezes, which cool down its days and nights, to create a slow and ripening period for the vineyards. Sauvignon Blanc is famous here.


Stellenbosch is a popular tourist destination for wine lovers, with many wine trails and vineyards with included accommodation for a tourist to visit. Here the second vineyards were planted in South Africa. This area is exposed to the nearby coast which brings in a cool sea breeze, keeping the summer temperature steady. Here African red wines are grown in the east and white wines in the west, where they are nearer to the cool breeze from the coast.


Paarl can be hot, meaning that the best vineyards are grown on the higher altitudes. Two popular areas here are The Franschhoek Valley and Wellington. Paarl is mainly linked to white wine, but with the hot summers and steep slopes, red wines popularity is rising.


Robertson is known for its Chardonnay and Shiraz, along with other South African Whites. Robertson is a hot region located in the Valley, where the river gives life to the area.


Walker Bay is known for its cool climate as it is close to the coast and constantly exposed to the ocean breeze. Chardonnay and Pinot Noire are famous here.


Elgin is up and coming in wine production. It’s a great fruit growing place, and its climate is ideal for cool climate growing wines.

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Red Wine Health Benefits

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“French Paradox” may be the reason which might have sparked the interest of numerous people in red wine, considering its health benefits. This is the reason of which we may normally find a lower rate of heart related diseases in France. As such the diet of the French people is highly rich in fats, but then this seems to be against their good health, doesn’t it! Also the French people are highly found of eating more of cheese, butter, and beef as compared to their neighbors in Europe.

But now one general question which may arise in your mind is that in spite of taking a food so high in fats, how they can keep themselves away from the heart troubles. Answer is simple. According to many researchers, their food along with a lot of fats also consisted of a reasonable amount of red wine intake as compared to the rest of Europeans, and for that matter, even Westerners. Thus, this opened many windows for the researchers to study regarding the health benefits of consuming red wine, which was the answer to the above mentioned puzzle. So after conducting several thorough research, they found out that a temperate intake of red wine (one glass in case of women, and may be two in case of men) indeed helped one to protect himself/herself against diseases related to heart, cancer, and hypertension. Also it has a constructive effect over cholesterol levels.

But again, the key to this game is “moderation”. This isn’t really a case where one is good, two better, and ten best! But then, every coin always has two faces. Hence, the medical society is very vigilant to suggest red wine routines, and for some obvious reasons. Various studies have shown that in case of women who consumed alcohol daily were prone to be the potential victims of breast cancers.

As per a report in 2004 by the American Society of Cancer, the increase in the death rate due to breast cancer was 30% high in case of women who consumed alcohol daily. But if the consumption is only at the most two drinks every day, then the risk of diseases related to heart lowers from 30% to 50%. And since heart disease is the major slayer annually in case of women, these facts and figures happen to be important. Hence, if taken in a limit, wine has an overall positive impact on the female death ratio.

Scientists have pinpointed the beneficial element in red wine which is called resveratrol. Recent studies have dubbed resveratrol as an anti-aging miracle supplement.

Wine Cellars and Wine Coolers

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People often get confused about wine cellars and wine coolers. You might be doing and not even realizing that you are and also not be aware of the difference. Well, now be informed that the disparity between the wine cooler and the wine cellar is huge although to make sure, they’ve got something to do with storing wine. Since they are both used to store wine, people forget thet they’re two different things.

WIne cellars are like rooms where people keep their wines. Wine cellars are frequently in basements where wines are stored at the right temperatures. You can think of these wine cellars as being a kind of library that’s stuffed with wine rather than books; also a library that as a controlled temperature and beautifully made. Guests might be invited inside the wine cellar if the owner wants to discuss his wine collection. These wine cellars are popular with wine enthusiasts because they’ve got lots of room to build a great wine collection.

Next you will discover the wine coolers which can be used to store wine like wine cellars are. Wine coolers are akin to miniature wine cellars. A wine cooler may fit into a wine cellar since they are small. If you have a wine collection and yet you do not have a wine cellar, then obtain a wine cooler. By keeping the wines at the proper temperature, it is possible to enjoy them more. Depending on how big your wine cooler is, you might even put it on top of your counter. There is one trusted brand that creates good wine cellars that are very affordable and great at storing wines. You will find that there are many makers of wine coolers each having a marketing strategy all their own. You may be easily swayed but consider how your wines will wind up if you choose a product that makes promises it has no intentions of delivering?

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The Local Wine Merchant Could Improve Your Home Dining Experience

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We’ve all been told that a good wine can enhance the flavour of a meal, yet a lot of us don’t know which type of wine goes well with which meal. Your local wine merchant can help you select different wines for different meals, but for now this is a quick and easy guide that lets you distinguish between when you need a white Chardonnay and when a red Merlot is required.

Different types of wine will have different levels of tannins; this is a compound that, in wine, usually comes from the skin or the seed of the grapes. It’s particularly potent in red wines as the skins and seeds are soaked and sometimes fermented along with the flesh of the grape in order to give the wine its colour. These tannins play a part in deciding which wines go best with which food as they can clash with other flavours in the meal.

If you remember nothing else in this article, remember this; the general rule of thumb is that white wine goes with white meats and red wines go best with red meats. Although, certain ways that food is prepared can alter the wine you should have. If you’re eating Chinese food, a slightly sweet or off-dry pink wine, but you should remember to not overdo the plum and hoi sin sauces as too much of these can kill the flavour of the wine and make it tasteless.

In the summer time, it seems that it’s almost law for everybody to have at least one barbeque; whether you just stick with the traditional burgers and sausages or go a bit more extravagant with grilled king prawns, it’s recommended that you have wines that are fruity and rich, so something like a white Zinfandel would work well, or possibly a Sauvignon Blanc if you’ll be having seafood.

Indian foods and curries require wines with more body to really allow you to pick up on all the different spices and flavours; a red Merlot will work particularly well here. Other Middle Eastern dishes such as Vietnamese should be eaten with very cold and fruity pink wines such as Gewurtztraminer. Although, the suitable wine may alter depending on how spicy your meal is.

South western food, such as Mexican dishes, should typically be eaten with a fruity wine like a Riesling or Sauvignon Blanc or possibly a slightly spicy Zinfandel. If it’s south western sea food then sparkling wines work well. Bear in mind though that eating a lot of chillies will clash with a high tannin wine so you should avoid Merlots and Cabernets.

This is not a definitive list of the type of wine you should drink with your meals, and your local wine merchant will be able to let you try the wines to see which one you would prefer to go with your meal. Remember, that while wine is a pleasant drink to have with a meal, it is also alcoholic and you should always drink responsibly.

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