One of my favorite memories from my 2011 trip to South Africa was my visit with then-winemaker Adam Mason at Klein Constantia. Mason makes stunning wines, and I particularly enjoyed the last vintage of Perdeblokke that I tried, which I believe was the 2009. Contantia is my absolute favorite region for sauvignon blanc in the world-–with apologies to New Zealand and the Loire, of course. Read the full article.
I cried only once for my hometown of Buffalo, New York, when I left this summer to start the next chapter of my life in Madison, Wisconsin. Read the full article.
I can’t come to South Africa and not spend time in Constantia, which is home to some of my favorite wine farms. Luckily Kara was willing to take a break from her hectic weekend to bring me to two of the best, Klein Constantia and Buitenverwachting. Read the full article.
Monday, my first day at De Toren, was fantastic with a good introduction to the estate before harvest began. First Albie showed me around the tiny but beautiful tasting room, cellar and barrel room, then assistant winemaker Charles had me help him and his staff take some vineyard samples. They are doing a project with a local college where they have certain blocks regularly irrigated (the rest of the vineyard is irrigated minimally according to an advanced system––more on that in a bit) and blocks with lateral shoots removed as an experiment.
Only two days in SA and I’ve already had an amazing wine weekend! I’m staying with a lovely couple who work at De Toren and Zorgvliet and they’ve been most hospitable. Yesterday they took me to brunch with their family at Le Pommier, which was once part of the Zorgvliet brand. After a nice Banhoek breakfast I tasted through the lineup and was particularly impressed by the 2007 reserve cab at $10 a bottle. Read the full article.