Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

Welcome to another Carpe Vinum Newsletter and Tasting Announcement! This week we’re exploring again, and headed way South to South Africa to try a number of their fine wines. It’s fairly safe to say that most people in this country know little about South Africa and its wines. There are a number of historical occurrences contributing to and leading up to this apparent lack of knowledge. What these are remain unknown. Perhaps because it’s just so far away. Perhaps it’s because History taught in American schools is restricted to Ancient Rome and World War II. So let’s do South African History, with an emphasis on wine, in a nutshell.

South Africa is on the Southernmost tip of Africa, as the clever name “South Africa” might imply. Consequently, Africa is the continent which includes and lies to the North of South Africa. Still with me? Good! Africa was also the continent that Europeans would have to sail around to get to India and points East for spices that would make their food not-so-bland. Being appropriately situated at this Southern point of the continent, it made a good rest stop for trading companies that made that trek from the Indies back to Europe. The Dutch East India Company was one such company.

As the name might imply, the Dutch East India Company was a company from the Netherlands (Where the Dutch come from. Why aren’t they called Netherlanders?) Also as the name implies, the Dutch went to the East and to India. And they were a company, hence the name “company”. Being appropriately situated at this Southern point of the continent, The Cape in South Africa made a great resting spot for the Dutch on their trips East (And back West, of course. . .for the return trip).

Okay, this is already taking too long. Let’s speed things up a bit, eh?

In 1655 they Dutch that had settled there planted grapevines. They didn’t really know how to make wine, so the wines weren’t that good. Then the second governor of The Cape, Simon van der Stel, came to power in 1679 and knew a lot about winemaking. The wines got better. Then a bunch of French Huguenots moved there. They were French, and the French DO love their wine, so the wines improved again, however the wines still struggled to compete against the European wines.

Then England went to war with the Dutch, seized control of The Cape AND went to war with the French, subsequently boycotting French wines. But they still needed wine, so the South African wine industry flourished. Then England and France kissed and made-up and the English were buying French wines again. South African wines slumped again. To make things worse, that pesky louse Phylloxera wiped out the South African vineyards. To sum up the rest: Wars, wars, wars, wars, apartheid, apartheid ends, wine industry flourishes again.

At any rate, it’s more than I learned in High School about South Africa. And it includes wine.

So I’ve assembled a collection of South African wines, some of what they do best. Pinotage is in there, which is a South African exclusive, and some pretty powerful reds, old favorites, and wonderful values in there too!

So Friday, March 3rd, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

South Africa!!
Kumkani 2003 Pinotage, Coastal Region
Headbutt 2003 Merlot/Pinotage/Cinsault
Goats do Roam in Villages 2004 Red, Western Cape
Excelsior 2004 Shiraz, Robertson
De Toren 2002 Diversity Gamma, Stellenbosch

Even South-er. . .and Even More African!!
Rudera 2002 Syrah, Stellenbosch
Leidersburg 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon, Paarl

A stellar deal at $10 for the First 5, $6 for the Extra 2 Premium Pours
Hope to see you here!
Seize the Wine!

Next Friday tasting Australia!

Oh, and by the way. . .if you normally find out about the wine tastings in town from the Oregonian’s FoodDay, I’ve been informed that they will no longer be doing this, except for a few “select” tastings. This may be a bit irritating to many people, considering this has been quite a resource for the wine tasters as well as the shops. If you find this sudden change irritating, perhaps the Oregonian might like to hear about it. . .y’know. . .just a little letter to the editor or something. Just a thought.

M