Two Great White Wine Bargains from South Africa – Stellenryck Sauvignon Blanc and Ken Forrester Petit Chenin Blanc

Hello Everyone!  It seems timely with the World Cup of Soccer going on in South Africa to talk about some of the great bargain wines from the host country.  In one of our earlier posts, “Of Goats and Wine” we talked about Goat Roti, a red wine from well-known South African vintner Charles Back.  We have also always enjoyed the white wines of South Africa, particularly the ones that are made from either Sauvignon Blanc or Chenin Blanc.  Chenin Blanc is also known as Steen in South Africa (Steen is actually the Dutch word for “stone” and is also used to denote “castle or “fortress”).

Early in our wine exploration, we became acquainted with South African wines and enjoyed wines from such producers as Fleur du Cap, Brampton, Indaba, and Cathedral Cellars.  The wines had an incredible balance between New World and Old World styles.  The red wines have a special “smoky” flavor that reflects the terroir of South Africa.  Generally speaking, New World wines tend to have much more fruit and bold flavors, while their Old World counterparts tend to be leaner with more acidity in the whites and more tannins and structure in the reds.  To us, South African wines have really struck that delicate balance between the two.  It may be due to the fact that the wines benefit from a nearly perfect Mediterranean climate, with added cool breezes and ocean currents from Antarctica.  Therefore, the South African wine producing regions are cooler when compared to regions of the same latitude in the northern hemisphere.

In terms of Sauvignon Blanc, Old World representations are primarily found in wines from the Loire Valley and Bordeaux in France, and are really some special wines.  They have a racy acidity with notes of citrus and minerals with some grassy tones.  Some actually receive oak aging and malolactic fermentation to yield some very complex wines with good aging potential.  New World wines on the other hand tend to have more tropical fruit flavors, and in warmer climates some winemakers harvest the grapes a little earlier to preserve the acidity.  New Zealand in particular has made a name for itself by crafting a flavor profile with lots of zing, acidity, herbal notes, and gooseberry.  This style can be a little “over the top” for some and this is where the South African wines fit.  They have a good deal of the tropical fruit and citrus flavors that Sauvignon Blancs from California and Chile have but they also have the mineral flavors found in the French wines, and are toned down just a bit from New Zealand.

About 10 years ago, it was more difficult to find South African wines in local stores, but it seems that almost every store now has at least a small selection, mostly at good prices.  When we lived in Bermuda, we frequently enjoyed Zonnenbloem Sauvignon Blanc at a price of $12.99, which was an incredibly inexpensive wine for Bermuda.  There are many wines to choose from and the Stellenryck Sauvignon Blanc and the Ken Forrester Petit Chenin Blanc represent two great bargains.  They are well-balanced wines that you would expect to find at higher prices.

We came across Stellenryck in our quest for Sauvignon Blanc as a primary summer wine. We often see some of our favorite Sauvignon Blancs in the $12 range and so at a price of 8.99, this was an easy option to try.  The wine was nicely balanced as we had hoped, with plenty of zesty citrus and tropical fruit notes backed by the crisp refreshing acidity.  With a screw cap closure, this was a good wine at a great price to throw on some ice and have on a nice, sunny Saturday afternoon.  This is definitely a buy a few more bottles to have on hand for the warm summer days to come

Chenin Blanc is one of the most popular grape varietals in South Africa and is also considered to be one of the most flexible in the world.  It can be made into a sparkling wine, dessert wine, and into a wide variety of styles in still form that can age for some time.  Old World winemakers generally ferment Chenin Blanc at a warmer temperature (5 – 10 degrees Fahrenheit warmer) than the New World producers, which tends to impart the New World Chenins with a bit more of the tropical fruit flavors and aromas.

We picked up the Ken Forrester for a similar price as the Stellenryck.  As we’ve talked about above, the grapes for this wine were picked early and fermented at a lower temperature to balance the acidity and tropical fruit flavors.  Like Sauvignon Blanc, it has green apple and grapefruit flavors, however, the wine has more of a mouthfeel to it than Sauvignon Blanc.  It makes a great everyday drinking wine.

If you are looking for that refreshing “zing” without some of the more intense green flavors than you get from New Zealand white wines, then look for a Sauvignon Blanc from South Africa.  At a price of around $8 Stellenryck is a great bargain.  On the other hand, if you want a wine that has a little more body to have along with food on a nice summer day, then the Ken Forrester Chenin Blanc is a great choice given the price.

Day 2 in Wine Country - a Night in Our House

Hello Everyone!  We are still continuing on our recent wine adventure in California (actually we’re not still in California, although we wish we were!).  After finishing up a day of tasting and a “snack” at Juanita Juanita over in Sonoma, we headed back towards St. Helena to the Wine Country Inn.  Our first two nights in the valley, we stayed at the Chateau, an inexpensive hotel in the northern part of the town of Napa, just at the edge of Yountville.  We usually try to stay as inexpensively as possible, rationalizing that we’re really not in the room all that much.  But this night we were staying at the Wine Country Inn due to its close proximity to our wine dinner later that evening.  When we arrived at the inn just around 5 PM, there were several people gathered around a tasting table enjoying some wine.  It’s not uncommon in wine country for an inn to offer an evening wine tasting to its guests, and the Wine Country Inn takes it a step further by bringing in a different winery each evening to pour their wines.  That night, Cuvaison was pouring wines for the guests.  We have had Cuvaison’s wines in the past and they are noted for their sustainable farming practices in the Carneros area.  They are particularly known for their Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and the cooler climate of Carneros really helps these varietals shine.  We thought that this complimentary wine tasting in the Inn was a great perk offered to guests.  Another thing to recommend the Wine Country Inn is that they will willingly offer to be complimentary chauffeurs to transport you to dinner to a number of different restaurants in the area, so that guests can enjoy their wine and don’t have to drive.  We inquired about this for our dinner at the Silverado Brewing Company, and while they were more than willing to drive us, they pointed out to us that our destination was just next door, a short walk.  We were definitely in a great location for our dinner.

Since we only had a short time before dinner, we decided to pass on the tasting and relaxed in our room for a bit before our Casa Nuestra wine dinner that evening.  Our room was nicely furnished with a fireplace that was packed and ready to go with wood, paper, and matches at the ready for the cooler evenings.  We also had a nice patio that overlooked some gardens and vineyards, and the pool and spa were just down the hill.  Unfortunately for us, we weren’t sure we would have a chance to enjoy many of these amenities, since clouds and cool weather had moved in and rain was in the forecast for later that evening and early in the morning. 

The rain did hold off before dinner, so we made our way through a nice pathway that cut through the Freemark Abbey Winery, and were almost immediately on the doorstep of the Silverado Brewing Company.  The Silverado Brewing Company was founded in 2000 by Michael Fradelizio and Ken Mee, both of whom have worked in wineries before.  We’ve often heard it said in Napa Valley that “it takes a lot great beer to make good wine,” and this place is helping to fill that need.  (We had heard a similar statement from Mike Gilly, our “wine guy” at Blanchards in Jamaica Plain, while at a tasting put on by Frederick Wildman.  It’s pretty common for the wine guys to pour the wine, but drink the beer.  Even we can get “wined out,” and like to have a beer or margarita to break up the wine tastings.)

If you’ve read our past blogs, you’ll remember hearing about the Casa Nuestra winery.  We first discovered Casa Nuestra on our trip to Napa Valley in 2005, and have really enjoyed being connected to the winery and being members of their wine club.  Casa maintains a fairly small wine club, which often has a waiting list.  But by keeping their club at a small size, you get great service, and are treated like members of the family. Each of our wine club shipments comes with a smiley-face on the box, great wines, informative notes, a recipe or two, and a nice note from Stephanie. 

Coming down the driveway at Casa, you pass by the vineyards and arrive at the small tasting room.  There is a good chance that you’ll be greeted by Trigger, Buster, and Bubba, the Black Lab reception staff.  Likewise, both Nava and A.P., who make up the weed abatement staff (and are honored as such by Casa’s Two Goats Red wine, the subject of one of our earlier blogs) are likely to be in the nearby field.  (We are also looking forward to meeting the newest addition to the staff, Romeo the cat.)  We love the comfortable, laid back farming environment, and on top of that, they really know how to make great wine!  During one visit, Stephanie pointed out the amount of volcanic obsidian that is all over the place, and we found a few nice pieces in the parking lot to hang onto as souvenirs.  It is this volcanic quality of the soil at the St. Helena estate which is just one of the unique components of the wine. 

When we heard about the Casa wine dinner, we were really excited to have the chance to attend.  This wine dinner is hosted each year by the Casa team as a celebration of the wines and a chance to share them with their extended family, the wine club members.  A good crowd had already gathered at the Silverado Brewing Company when we arrived.  Rachel was immediately welcomed by Katrina Kirkham, the wife of owner and co-founder Gene Kirkham, and presented with a glass of Tinto Classico, one of Casa’s field blends.  Bryan meanwhile made his way to the tasting table, and was greeted by winemaker Allen Price and the complete Casa Nuestra selection.  We find that one of the best ways to start a meal or happy hour is with a refreshing glass of white wine, and Bryan decided to try out Casa’s off-dry Riesling.  We love a nice chilled glass of Sauvignon Blanc during the warm days of spring and summer, but one of the best aperitif wines really is Riesling.  Casa’s Riesling is made from old vines on the St. Helena property and has less than 1% residual sugar, so there is a hint of sweetness to it, but it is well-balanced, filled with flavors of exotic fruits and finishes crisp and cleanly.

We spent the rest of the pre-dinner festivities chatting with Stephanie, her husband, and other members of the Casa family, and then settled into our assigned table for dinner.  We were seated with owner Gene Kirkham and his wife Katrina, in addition to well-known wine columnist Dan Berger, and other guests.  When we first met Katrina earlier that evening, she immediately mentioned that she had read our recent blog post about “Goats and Wine,” and that she enjoyed reading it.  Stephanie also told us that was why she had seated us at the same table as Dan Berger.  As humble wine fans, we were starting to feel a bit famous! 

The dinner started out with a few words from Gene.  He was asked to give some words about the winery, and he talked about the early beginnings and the concepts of field blends.  He told the story about how his family first acquired a vineyard with an assortment of plantings, not all of which were exactly known.  All they knew was that these vineyards made two types of wine: “a nice-a red” and “a nice-a white.”  We knew exactly what that meant, because Bryan’s grandmother had mentioned many times that her father always made a barrel of red wine and a barrel of white wine for everyday consumption.  Sometimes, all you need is that glass of “nice-a wine.”  After the initial welcome, the most unique wine of the evening was poured, a 1987 Chenin Blanc.  Yep, that was a 1987 Chenin Blanc – a 23 year old white wine.  As we talked about in a previous blog, Casa has been well-known for producing some top-notch Chenin Blanc, and without a doubt, to have one from 1987 is very rare.  The wine was a deep golden color, almost tawny, and had aged to develop flavors of apricot and honey, but yet still retained some of the acidity to hold it all together.  It really was a rare treat and a significant contrast to the 2009 Chenin Blanc, which was a pale, crisp wine with more citrus flavors.  This comparison made us think back to a statement by John Sharpe at New World Wines in Bermuda, that Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley can be “dumb” wines in their early years, but after five years can really age to something quite special.  Casa’s Chenin is great drinking now, but we are thinking of holding these wines a little longer to age a bit and develop more.  This was really a great learning experience.  The two Chenin Blanc wines were paired with a Dungeness Crab salad with avocado, mango, watercress, cilantro, and a Meyer lemon Dijon Vinaigrette.  It was a yummy combination.

Next on the menu came a wild mushroom risotto that was paired with the 2007 Tinto St. Helena.  Tinto, as we mentioned in the past, is Casa’s field blend, with many different but complementary grapes.  We were also treated to a 1999 Tinto and again were impressed with the wine’s ability to age and hold its balance and acidity.  We talked about the Tinto in our blog about Goats and Wine, but the 1999 had developed more chocolate and cocoa flavors as well as deeper plum and blackberry flavors when compared to the younger 2007.  At the table, Bryan discussed with Dan Berger about the comparison with the South African Goats do Roam line, and the use of co-fermentation rather than blending the nine varietals that make up the Tinto.  The field blend of Refosco, Petite Sirah, Carignane, Zinfandel and others perfectly fit the earthy flavors of the mushroom risotto.

During the course of the dinner, we had some additional words from Gene, who introduced some of the alumni staff from Casa Nuestra.  It really is that special kind of place that even when people move on to work at other jobs/wineries, they still have a connection to Casa.  In fact one of the alums that we ran into was Chris Burton, who is currently with Trinchero.  Our dear friend Chuck Parker introduced us to Chris when he was working the tasting room at Trinchero in 2009, and had just returned from Afghanistan.  Chris had great news that he had just gotten engaged, and was due to be married in June.  Both being military guys, Bryan and Chris swapped a few quick stories and experiences.  (Bryan thinks that usually these types of stories are swapped over beers, but on this night, it was all about the wine.)

Later in the evening, Gene’s son Martin was asked to introduce both his mom Cody, who was for a long time Casa’s only support staff, and also the current staff at Casa.  All of these folks who put their heart into making wines to enjoy and create memories with were received with much applause.  The main course that evening was a classic pairing of Casa’s 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon and roasted filet mignon with chanterelles, asparagus, polenta, and crispy fennel.  There is nothing like a hearty Cabernet with all of the oak, earthiness, spices, vanilla, and cherries that has mellowed in the bottle, especially paired with an earthy dish such as the filet.  But of course the wine didn’t stop there; given that this was a wine dinner, there is always plenty of wine, and there was also bottle of the Cabernet Franc for the table to enjoy.  We love the earthiness and aromas that are in Cabernet Franc.  During the conversation and eating, we hadn’t noticed that Gene had slipped away from the table, only to return at the entrance in large dark sunglasses a yellow silk shirt holding a guitar.  Gene is a huge Elvis fan, and the Ghost of Elvis was now in the house.  We were treated to a short medley of Elvis tunes before Stephanie joined him in a duet of “Me and Bobby McGee” with some backing from the attendees.  It was a great feeling to enjoy the music and fun of the evening while sipping some of Casa’s 2009 Late Harvest French Columbard paired with Meyer Lemon Cheesecake.

We have always loved dessert wines, especially the apricot and honey flavors that develop from the Botrytis, which is also known as “noble rot.”  Late in the harvest season, the combination of cooler weather and moisture start the fungus growing, but then the weather dries out and a fuzz develops on some of the grapes, which transforms the flavors.  This is the noble rot.  If the weather maintains consistently wet or humid, another kind of botrytis (grey rot) develops and the bunches are lost.  The development of botrytised wines requires special conditions and intensive care, and therefore these wines are only produced in limited quantities.

The night truly was a special evening and reminded us of times when we have family get-togethers and the stories come out as well as the music from the likes of Abba and The Carpenters.  Good friends, family, wine, and music go together.  That night we did feel like we were in Casa Nuestra – Our House.

Drink what you like, like what you drink!

Rachel and Bryan Gavini

Red, White, and Loire - Two Wines from an Often Overlooked Region

Hello Everyone! This is the second installment of our wine experience in Bermuda and as we mentioned before, this one is about some wines from the Loire Valley in France. Our connection between Bermuda and the Loire came back in 2007, when we attended a wine open house at wholesaler/retailer/importer called New World Wines. Owner John Sharpe was featuring wines from the Loire along with several other areas, and two in particular most intrigued us: a Chenin Blanc from the appellation of Jasnieres and a Cabernet Franc from Bourgueil.

Some Brief Notes on the Loire

We first came across wines from the Loire Valley in our very early days of drinking wine because we enjoy dry, earthy reds, particularly Cabernet Franc. Back then, it was very difficult to get a varietal bottling of the Cabernet Franc grape except from the Loire. In the Bordeaux region, you can find it blended in good quantities in wines from Pomerol, but it rarely stood on its own outside the Loire. It was also quite difficult to find, in retail stores or restaurants, perhaps because the dry and earthly style doesn’t appeal to a lot of people. We remember one particularly eventful dinner years ago at Piccolo Venezia in the North End of Boston, where we ordered a red wine from the Chinon appellation of the Loire. The waiter wanted to be sure that we understood what we were getting, and that we also had plenty of water to go with our meal since the wine was so dry. But we loved the wine and over a short period of time, we ordered as many wines from Chinon as we could find on VirtualVineyards.com, which has since become Wine.com. Today, it’s still not that easy to find Loire Valley red wines in the United States, but many California producers are beginning to offer Cab Franc as a single varietal or blended with smaller amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot.

In terms of white wines, the Loire produces wines made primarily from Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc. You can also find delicious wines from Muscadet, which is made from the Melon de Bourgogne grape. We have always been fans of Sauvignon Blanc from almost any part of the world, and have enjoyed the wines from Sancerre, Menetou-Salon, Reuilly, and Pouilly Fume (not to be confused with Pouilly Fuisse in Burgundy). Sancerre is across the Loire River from Pouilly Fume, and Menetou Salon is directly west of Sancerre, “the other side of the hill.” All three appellations have similar characteristics in the Sauvignon Blanc.

Open House 2007

The first wine that we tasted at New World Wines’ open house was a Chenin Blanc from Domaine Les Maisons Rouges in Jasnieres 2005. We found this to be a full-bodied white with good acidity, a hint of sweetness and some good melon flavors. This Chenin Blanc was much more of a “winter white” and we felt that it was a great substitute for meals that would pair well with a Chardonnay.

The red that really hit the spot for us was Yannick Amirault Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil les Malgagnes 2003. It was rich, earthy, spicy, with a good bit of dryness to balance the fruit and herbal notes. It has a finish that seems to last forever. We thought that this was from Chinon, but learned that it was from Bourgueil (pronounced Boar-goy; think of the Jewish phrase oy vey), or more specifically, St. Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, which is on the north bank of the Loire, directly across the river from Chinon.

Needless to say, both of these wines rated the “buy a case” and we bought a few cases over the period of our time in Bermuda and managed to keep some to bring back home.

Return to New World Wine in 2010

While planning our recent trip to Bermuda, Rachel contacted John Sharpe, the owner of New World Wines and inquired about visiting the warehouse to pick up more of these wines. With the liquids travel regulations, you can’t take wine in your carry-on, but if you have a good solid roll-aboard and bring some packing supplies, you should be able to bring some home in your checked luggage (over the years and several cases in our roll-aboards, we’ve only lost one bottle to breakage). Additionally, if you’re traveling internationally, declare all of your wine when you go through customs. You get some duty free and we found that even the case of wine that we had only carried a duty of around $6, so they did not bother with charging the duty. (Alcohol duty varies with percentage and with wine being in the 12 – 13% range, the duty is almost always very small.)

So upon our arrival in Bermuda, we rented our scooter and met John at the warehouse on Saturday morning, intending to get a case of wine split between the Jasnieres and the Bourgueil. (On the ride over, we realized there was no way we were getting a box of wine on our rental scooter, but luckily for us, John graciously agreed to deliver it to our hotel.) John recommended a sampling of Jasnieres and Bourgueil which was perfect; especially since all of the wines were from the widely hailed 2005 vintage. We also purchased an extra bottle of one of the Jasnieres that was in our sample to have while on the island, since we had not tasted it before. The bottle was a 2005 Eric Nicolas Domaine de Belliviere Vielles Vignes Eparses Coteaux du Loir Blanc. That’s a really long name so we’ll break it down for you. The producer is Eric Nicolas and the winery is Domaine de Belliviere. It is a white wine from the appellation Coteaux du Loir, which is near the city of Anjou, southwest of Bourgueil. And “Vielles Vignes Eparses” means sparse old vines, which makes this a serious white wine.

The Eparses comes form 50-year-old vines and had a very deep straw color. It felt very full in the mouth. There was a hint of sweetness, plenty of melon flavors, but also an interesting almondy flavor that came from barrel aging. The wine finished with a nice dryness. The 14% alcohol content surprised us, but then 2005 was a warm year, which allowed for additional ripening. We also found that the colder we were able to get the wine, it maintained more acids and was more pleasant to drink in the warmer weather (even in March it can be difficult to keep your white wine cold in Bermuda; if you’re in a warm area we recommend a bucket with ice and water, and if you’re in direct sun, cover it a little bit with a light towel to prevent the bottle from absorbing the sunlight). Overall, it was a nice experience and we are glad that it’s in our sampler. This is a serious wine with some heft, so we would recommend it more as a “winter white” to be served with food rather than as a sipping wine on a warm sunny day. We will look for more of these wines since they do provide a nice alternative to Chardonnay.

Both wines retailed around $20 in Bermuda, and the pricing in the US is likely to be closer to $30 since these are not your standard wines.

The Loire Valley is a great area to pick up some varietals that are produced in very limited quantities, if at all, in the US. Very little good Chenin Blanc is produced in the US and the Loire provides another version of Sauvignon Blanc so you can have fun with a tasting of Sauvignon Blanc from around the globe. Chinon and Bourgueil are home to the elusive single varietal Cabernet Franc, which we love for its earthiness and it’s a nice hearty red to warm you during the cooler months.

Drink what you like, Like what you drink!

Rachel and Bryan Gavini