An artistically wrapped present can be two gifts in one. The first gift is a visual one, the beauty of the wrapping and the enjoyment of opening it; the second, of course – the contents of the package. This is how I think of a bottle of Champagne.
Research pays off. It’s what brought us to visit the Swartland wine region in South Africa. In addition to visiting the better known region of Stellenbosch and the very scenic Franschhoek, we wanted to visit an out of the way wine region.
We were recently introduced to the wines of The Steven Kent Winery located in the Livermore Valley via an online tasting with Protocol Wine Studio. During an online discussion, we talked wine education and tasted two Steven Kent wines.
The Tulbagh wine district in South Africa is a valley that is surrounded on three sides by a ring of mountains, the Obiekwaberg, Groot Winterhoek and Witsenberg mountains. Located over an hour’s drive north of Cape Town, it’s a bit out of the way but well worth exploring.
Aaldering Vineyards and Wines is an Estate winery located in Devon Valley, a ward within the Stellenbosch district is South Africa. It’s history is relatively recent compared to some wine farms in South Africa, having been established in 2004 with the purchase of 24 hectares. Aaldering’s first vintage was 2007, which they released in 2010.
We recently tasted two Argentinian wines that are new to the U.S. market. Decopas Sauvignon Blanc and Malbec are perfect for dinner, for a party or a picnic. We received these wines as samples and were impressed with their freshness, pleasant flavors and affordability.
We recently sat in on a saké and cheese pairing hosted by Charles Communications Associates. The online tasting featured saké made in Forest Grove, Oregon by SakéOne as well as saké imported from Japan by SakéOne. Each of the four sakés was paired with a different cheese provided by Marin French Cheese Company, Laura Chenel and Rogue River Blue Cheese. As we discovered during the tasting, saké makes a great partner for cheese.
Being the wine lovers that we are, we wouldn’t consider visiting South Africa without spending a few days wine tasting. We spent two days wine tasting in Franschhoek, Stellenbosch, Tulbagh and Swartland. On the third day we ventured out to a stunning farm in Somerset West. We have never toured such a beautiful wine region, and the wines were not overshadowed one bit by the beauty of the scenery. Join our tour of Franschhoek and Stellenbosch in this post.
The final evening of the November #WineStudio program featured Westrey Wine Company’s 2012 Reserve Willamette Valley Chardonnay, and we were joined by Amy Wesselman who together with her husband, David Autrey, shares winemaking duties at their winery.
If it’s week three of Protocol Wine Studio’s November #WineStudio discussion, The Importance of Being a Willamette Valley Chardonnay, then it must be Omero Cellars. We enjoyed two Willamette Valley Chardonnays from Omero Cellars during last Tuesday evening’s online chat with current winemaker Chad Stock.
We enjoy wine, food and travel. Pull That Cork is a chronicle of our wine adventures, the food and wine pairings we create and our travels which are increasingly organized around wine.
