Best of the Braai: South Africa Invades Toronto

I’ve been missing South Africa even more than usual lately while watching the World Cup preparations and opening (even despite the vuvuzelas). My two co-workers and fellow wine geeks were thus subject to a blasting of South African pop music during the two-hour drive to Toronto last week for Best of the Braai, a South African wine tasting and dinner event. They were eager to taste some of the food and wine that I enjoyed while abroad, and I was eager to roll into a South African event blasting Kurt Darren tunes out of my car windows.

 

A small but delicious spread greeted us as we arrived; I was happily surprised to find tasty lamb kabobs and boerewors that closely mirrored the braai meat I had grown to love. Mealies and roasted sweet potato completed the actual South African portion of the food, while various side salads rounded out the meal. But food obviously wasn’t meant to be the showcase of the evening, and we quickly moved on to the wine tasting area.

 

I was pleased to find several excellent producers at the event; Stellenbosch was well represented with big names such as Tokara and Ken Forrester, while several Paarl and Darling producers were also present. I was most interested in how my partners in crime would react to the selection: one is a certified sommelier with an affinity for French classics; the other is a wine writer (check out his blog, Water into Wino, as he’s reviewed some good South African wines in recent months!). Both had a bit of a prejudicial attitude about South African wine initially but have been expanding their horizons lately.

   

They were impressed at the “restraint” of many of the wines; since South African wine in the U.S. has a reputation for being “new world” in style, with big oak, fruit, tannins, brett, etc. they were surprised to find whites that showed deliberate limitation of oak (typically a minimal use of new oak, perhaps 5-10%) but retained a sex appeal that is uniquely South African. They were also impressed with some of the blends, which showed lovely tar, leather and cassis flavors that I’m pretty sure convinced my sommelier friend that not all SA wines “smell like band-aids.”

 

A fine example of a wine that overcame prejudice was the Beyerskloof 2008 Pinotage. Reserved oak and clean fruit on the nose, a fleshy palate and very little brett made this pinotage a phenomenal example of what South Africa’s controversial grape can produce in the right hands. I was so happy to see Beyerskloof at this event – if anyone is going to reshape pinotage’s reputation, it is Beyerskloof, Kanonkop, Warwick, and other such producers putting effort into dignified, elegant pinotage wines.

   

Boschendal was a true highlight with a gorgeous Grand Cuvee Brut 2006, a lovely Methode Cap Classique (Champagne-style sparkling wine), and Grande Reserve 2005 which caught my fellow cab franc lover’s eye as a blend of 72% cab franc, 24% cab sauv, and 4% shiraz. It showed notes of graphite and tar and grainy tannins which won over the sommelier, too. All three of us were in love at first sight, which means I’ll have to get my hands on a bottle for us to share sometime!

 

I loved Delheim when I was in Stellenbosch and was pleased to see them at Best of the Braai with an earthy, buttery Sur Lie Chardonnay 2009. Other highlights included Kumkani’s green-but-clean 2009 Sauvignon Blanc and thick, tannic Crade Hill Cabernet Sauvignon 2005, and The Winery of Good Hope’s delicately oaked Radford Dale Chardonnay 2008.

   

But it was at the Ken Forrester table, where Ken Forrester himself was pouring wine and answering questions, that the evening really got interesting. Ken is a fascinating winemaker with strong opinions (“Oak is not the answer! What part of terroir is oak? Tell me that!”) and a candid demeanor, and he stood up well to a barrage of questions from my increasingly wine-emboldened colleagues. He was pouring both the Ken Forrester Chenin Blanc 2009, an affordable $16 wine, and his FMC Chenin Blanc 2008 which retails at $59. My friends were aghast at the idea of an American consumer spending $60 on a South African white wine, but Ken explained that this is a single-vineyard offering from low-yielding bush vines and repetitive harvesting (the botrytis from the final harvest is what gives this wine its slight sweetness). It’s absolutely delicious, complex, and ageworthy, but I don’t think my wine-blogging friend was convinced that its price point was justified. And maybe it’s not – but do people ask why Mollydooker can charge $90 for its Carnival of Love Shiraz when there’s perfectly good $10 Aussie shiraz on the market? I don’t think its fair to accuse South Africa of exporting mediocre products and then protest when the higher-end wines don’t fit into the “budget new world wines” mold; it’s a vicious cycle.

 

Altogether I think the event was an outstanding education for North Americans new to South African wines. With a few exceptions the wines on offer were classy, elegant and complex, and I believe many guests including my friends were happily surprised. Events like this, with top-end producers in attendance and South African winemakers there to answer questions, are exactly what South African wine needs overseas.

 

Finally, all in attendance received a beautiful cookbook of South African braai cuisine with wine farm profiles and wonderful pictures. I’ll definitely be using those recipes next week for my South African-themed birthday party, so stay tuned!

Comments

[DombeyaWine]

Price- it is always a tough argument to win. Are French and Napa vignerons the only ones in the world who are allowed a sense of ambition when putting their best wines into a market? Ultimately the market will decide if the wine sells or not, but if South Africa only puts sub $10 and $20 wines out there then it will always be pigeon holed as a country only capable of making good commercial wines, which patently isn't the case.

Cheers

Grant Dodd
www.haskellvineyards.com
www.dombeyawines.com