Wino Wisdom

We are a fascinating bunch. Our talents range from farming, engineering, hospitality, game capturing –  we often embrace a retailer and tonight we threw in a lawyer for fun.

We are supposed to meet on a regular basis to share our Wino Wisdom breaking bread and drinking wine, but discipline and organisational skills are frequently lacking.

The Wise Wino Women

But we got it together tonight. Except our capturing team was missing, and they were sorely missed, hence the back up from the lawyer.

Our wine club was established over 20 years ago and has seen members come and go, all this happens in the bundu’s in northern KwaZulu-Natal. 

I fear not too much has been learnt over these two decades, but we persist non-the-less.

An old established family from our part of the world, Brian and Denise Blevin, were our hosts. We quaffed and guzzled wine at their home, also the nesting place of Tamboti Ridge B&B. Close by, on the road to Swaziland is their classy lodge – Shayamoya. We were indeed in good company.

Brian has a reputation of using his influence to get others to do his ‘wine club’ for him, and not to disappoint he commissioned the knowledgeable Lucia Smith from Vinimark to pour some wisdom into our pretty heads.

Lucia brought wine from two different Cape vineyards.Flagstone Wines – run by Bruce Jack, based in Somerset West, who cleverly purchases varietals and bottles under Flagstone’s name; and Rietvallei Wine Estate, a 7th generation vineyard in the Robertson Valley.

We were alerted to the fact that every vintage year is different, 

wine is so alive and the cellar changes due to a multiple of factors.

We learnt another lesson: with our twitching noses we proffered the most nonsensical comments about flavours – “cut grass, green peppers, crisp, refreshing.” And we were right. The second wine was different: more cheeky. But clever Lucia had given us EXACTLY the same wine, Rietvallei Classic Sauvignon Blanc – but a 2 – 3 degree temperature difference had changed the body completely.

Speaking of body, our token eligible bachelor/ retailer perked up dramatically when 

‘long legs’ were mentioned, 

and almost lost it when ‘wood’ was tangled up in the same sentence.

We nodded our approval at Flagstone’s “Noon Gun” affectionately known as ‘Mom’s plonk’ a wine that can be respectably opened at noon when the gun goes off at Signal Hill. We finished off our tasting with Flagstone’s“The Last Word”, a port style wine, with the fruitiness and spiciness of Shiraz with 18.5% alcohol content that finishes dry but has the sweetness (so I am told).

In between we indulged in Rietvallei’s leggy Chardonnay, with citrus, grapefruit and pineapple lingering on the tongue. The Cabernet Sauvignon offers a sweetish edge with cigar box flavours.

In the midst of swilling the Flagstone Poetry Merlot with its yummy red berries, the Blevin’s over-sized dog decided to do some rather orgasmic yoga on the Persian carpet. With sufficient wine inside us, giggles prevailed.

The Flagstone Dark Horse Shiraz was a beautiful easy to drink wine. 2009,  we hear on good authority, was the best red wine vintage South Africa has had for 30 years.

We were all getting along fabulously until our bachelor/ retailer/ soon-to-be-nephew piped up with “I like being here, I am the youngest!” 

That was quite unnecessary.

So, another sun sets on Wino Wisdom. No notes were taken (except mine) and it is my duty to share with you what may or may not have been learnt tonight.

Sleep tight Mkuze.

Other blogs by Lois Kuhle:

SMOKE RINGS IN CUBA. A TWO WEEK JOURNEY FILLED WITH SALSA, SUNSHINE AND SILLY PEOPLE: http://smokeringsincuba.blogspot.com/2013/10/smoke-rings-in-cuba-journey-filled-with.html

'LIFE'S COOL'. MY NEAREST AND DEAREST BECAME THOSE THAT GRUNTED, BARKED OR BIT. http://milimanilifescool.blogspot.com/2013/12/i-n-2002-i-was-lucky-enough-to-be-given.html

COOL THOUGHTS – LIFE IN THE SLOW LANE: http://loiscoolthoughts.tumblr.com/

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