Gale force winds bruised and battered the Mother City, while record rainfall caused flooding throughout the Western Cape. The Cape’s winelands also suffered its fair share of damage in the form of erosion. Mountain streams feeding many vineyards were transformed into gushing rivers washing away vineyards and causing trellis structure losses.

‘Thankfully we are all still alive and well, but next week will have it’s own challenges as we will start to do damage control.’ – Danie Wium, www.my-grape-vine.com

However, the stormy weather was not all bad news as crop farmers of the Boland region have welcomed the rainfall which has come at a critical stage.

I wish everyone the best of luck with the post-storm rehabilitation and hope that vineyard losses are minimal.

Cheers!

Brandon Marc

The ‘traditional’ theory points to sulphites being the cause of the problem but has since fallen out of favour. What heightened the public popularity of this theory is when all wine containing a certain amount of sulphite had to be labelled ‘contains sulphites’. Contrary to the belief of the public, this was only enforced as a measure to warn those who were allergic to sulphites and was not intended to support sulphites as the cause of RWH.

Other more modern theories propose that tannins, histamines or tyramines may be the cause of the insufferable syndrome but, like sulphites, have not been proven.

So, all we are able to deduce is that RWH syndrome does occur and, like so much of science, we don’t know why. And until we know exactly why there’s not much we can do about it other than drink wine moderately and selectively. If you are a RWH sufferer please share your thoughts and experiences with us here at My Wine Cellar by commenting below.

Cheers!

Brandon Marc         

Lets say you had a private cellar of 500 bottles of wine with a total value of R60 000. As all you savvy wine enthusiasts will know every bottle matures at a different rate and therefore peaks at different times. Now how is one supposed to keep track of the maturation status of each individual bottle of wine? With difficulty I’d say. It is IT that has provided us with a simple (and rather enjoyable I might add) solution to the problem. I’m talking about cellar software. Software that allows one to manage the contents of your cellar, saving you time and money.

One such software program is mi-vine(m), which I will be using to stock and manage my cellar. For more information on this practical product visit them at www.mivinem.co.za.

Cheers!

Brandon Marc        

A few years back white wine was viewed as red wines cheaper cousin, but since then South Africa has slowly been producing white wines that can compete internationally. This fact was highlighted in WINE Magazine’s November 2008 edition when it was reported that Sadie’s Mrs Kirsten’s Old Vines 2006 launched as the country’s most expensive white wine at R824.05 per bottle. Now I’m not necessarily saying that these high prices are justified, though they might well be, but it certainly is an indication that South African white wines are starting to be valued as world class.

‘…it’s our job to identify the quality wine from over-priced plonk.’

To some this might seem like bad news for the local consumer, but I maintain that provided the quality of wine is to standard I have no problem paying a premium. However, some brands will inevitably take advantage of the situation and hike their prices without much justification, and it’s our job to identify the quality wine from over-priced plonk.

So, get tasting and remember to share your white wine experiences with us here on My Wine Cellar…

Cheers!

Brandon Marc

The course will run over four weeks covering topics such as The History of Wine in South Africa, Viticulture and Winemaking. An application fee of R850 includes a course book and 4 tasting glasses in a carrier pack.

Host: Cape Wine Academy

Dates: 10^th November – 10^th December

Location: Meerendal Wine Estate,

Durbanville

Contact: info@cwa.org.za

To learn more about South Africa’s wonderful wine heritage and more contact the Cape Wine Academy for more details.

Cheers!

Brandon Marc

The accomplishment is staggering considering that a target of 300 million litres a year was set to be achieved by 2010. The momentum of export sales seems to be continuing despite even tougher trading conditions. However, the weaker Rand surely has its part to play in South Africa’s recent wine export trends.

‘The momentum of export sales seems to be continuing despite even tougher trading conditions.’

Export volumes are already up 31% for the first 7 months of 2008, this thanks to the continued strength of export markets such as the UK, Sweden and Canada. But what I feel is most promising is the emergence of new markets in the developing world, such as south-east Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

It is my opinion that world markets are starting to realise South Africa’s ability to produce quality wines without demanding excessive price tags… something that us locals have known forever ;) So, to the South African wine industry I say…

Cheers!

Brandon Marc   

The movie is called Bottle Shock and tells the true story of how Napa, California was put on the world map of wine. It culminates in the historic 1976 blind wine tasting in Paris, where wines from California’s Napa Valley recorded a shocking victory over France’s traditional noble varietals.

This was made possible by Steven Spurrier, played by Alan Rickman, who travels to Napa in search of competition to save his ailing Parisian wine shop.

Bottle Shock is a fun, feel-good film filled with soul and fine wine… a good time for even the non-oenophiles among us!

See the Bottle Shock trailer below and decide for yourself…

Cheers!

Brandon Marc

‘One hears vegetables described as ‘organic’ as if it were Mother Nature herself who conjured up the over-priced carrot in your shopping basket.’

Simply put, organic wine is made from grapes that have been grown without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides and herbicides. However, strictly speaking the wine making techniques used to produce organic wine can not be considered ‘organic’. It must also be noted that in most cases wine treated with sulphites is still regarded as organic. Though, the definition of organic wine does differ from country to country, and wine made from organic grapes but treated with sulphites is not considered organic in the United States.

So what do you think? Would you pay a premium for organic wine? With my background in biochemistry I find it difficult to justify the inflated prices of organic wines. If anything, I would rather support wine made without the use of sulphites as it’s these that are responsible for that unwelcome headache the morning after. But perhaps, without real reason, there are those who just like to say, ‘Hey, I drink organic wine!’

Cheers!

Brandon Marc

If you can recall I wrote an article entitled ‘It Must be Something in the Water’ posted on September 22nd 2008. In this article I shared my theory regarding the apparent ‘earthy’ characters present in some South African wines, as pointed out by UK wine critics.

Well, I took my theory a step further and presented it to WINE Magazine in the form of a letter to the editor, Christian Eedes. My letter was subsequently chosen as the winning letter for the October issue of WINE Magazine! Even though I was awarded with a magnificent magnum of 1999 Dom Perignon Champagne, it is the positive recognition of my theory that is most rewarding to me.

So here below, for the My Wine Cellar family only, I have included the unedited version of my letter to WINE Magazine. To see the published version check out the October issue of WINE Magazine…

Cheers!

Brandon Marc