Bubbly

Champagne first gained world renown because of its association with the anointment of French kings. Royalty from throughout Europe spread the message of the unique sparkling wine from Champagne and its association with luxury and power in the 17th, 18th and 19th century. The leading manufacturers devoted considerable energy to creating a history and identity for their wine, associating it and themselves with nobility and royalty. Through advertising and packaging they sought to associate Champagne with high luxury, festivities, and rites of passage.

Sparkling wine is wine with enough levels of carbon dioxide to make the drink bubbly. Sparkling wine produced in the Champagne region of France is called champagne.

Methode Cap Classique (MCC) denotes a South African sparkling wine made by the traditional Champagne method. Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin blanc have been the traditional Cap Classique grapes but the use of Chardonnay and Pinot noir have been on the increase. 

The carbon dioxide may result from natural fermentation, either in a bottle, as with the méthode champenoise, in a large tank designed to withstand the pressures involved (as in the Charmat process), or as a result of carbon dioxide injection.

The most common method used in France for producing is by ‘methode champenoise’ or the champagne method. This process basically consists of the secondary fermentation happening in the bottle. After the primary fermentation and bottling certain amount of selected yeast and sugar are added in the bottle and it is closed with a crown cap. The wine is then left to age for a minimum prescribed period. On completion of this period the bottled are taken out and placed in special racks at a 45 degrees angle. They are taken out every few days and slightly shaken and then replaced in the racks at a slightly steeper angle. This process continues till the bottles are pointing straight down. This process ensures that the sediment of the yeast settles in the neck. The neck is then frozen and the cap removed pushing the sediment out. The bottle is quickly topped up and corked.

The sweetness of sparkling wine can range from very dry "brut" styles to sweeter "doux" varieties.

The cork flies at such speeds when released because of the pressure built up behind it.

The second fermentation process of champagne, also known as, en triage is where the pressure is built up. During the second fermentation process of champagne, cane sugar and yeast is added to each bottle. The cane sugar and yeast produces alcohol and carbon dioxide, which is the source of the pressure in the champagne. This is also the reason why all champagnes have extremely thick corks.

The pressure of champagne varies from different champagnes. The sources I encountered ranged the pressure of champagne from 4 to 6 atmospheres.   

A pressure of this magnitude is only seen from double-decker bus tires and champagne. 

Ambeloui

We do not need a reason to drink bubbly...especially not when Ambeloui is concerned!

Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vines were planted at Ambeloui, situated in the picturesque valley of Hout Bay, in September 1995 when the Christodoulou family moved from Pretoria to settle in Cape Town. The house and wine production facility with maturation cellar surrounded by a garden of lavender and roses was established in 1996.

The cellar produces only Methode Cap Classique, a bottle fermented sparkling wine in the true Champagne tradition. Grapes are harvested primarily from their own and other vineyards in the maritime climatic valley of Hout Bay, supplemented by a limited quantity from the cool areas of Elgin. Harvesting takes place in late January and early February and carefully timed for optimum berry maturity and balance. Winemaker Nick and his assistant winemaker Alexis, together with the cellar staff of Alfred and David attend to the production, while Ann manages the sales and marketing.

The mainly hand operated specialist equipment used in the cellar was imported from France and Italy. Riddling still takes place in traditional wooden riddling racks and disgorgement is meticulously managed to produce the hand crafted fine wines offered by Ambeloui. In a normal year 7000 bottles are produced and aged on the lees for 2 to 3 years before release. 

Ambeloui is very proud of its bubbly and as the label says “enjoy every drop…you never know if you will find another bottle.”

To enquire about Ambeloui please click here.

Platter's South African Wine Guide

South Africa’s first and still best-selling wine annual, Platter's Guide is the comprehensive, up-to-date and authoritative guide to who's who and what's what in the winelands. Featuring hundreds of producers, negociants and brands, and thousands of individual wines, Platter's Guide packs everything you need to know about the South African wine scene into an informative and entertaining format.
The Platter star ratings gives you a good indication of what to expect from a wine, where five stars is the highest rating a wine can get.   

Platter's Guide was conceived in 1978 by wine lovers and print journalists John and Erica Platter, after reading Hugh Johnson's ground-breaking Pocket Wine Book. The couple wryly recall that the first (1980) edition – an attempt at assembling a local version of the Pocket Book, recording as many of the why, where, when and how specifics as possible – was dismissed as “boring” and a “waste of their money” by a compositor employed by the very company commissioned to do the printing! But three decades, two Best Wine Guide Worldwide awards, and well over a million copies later, we’d like to think the Platters were onto something.

Veritas

After almost two decades the Veritas Awards has earned its reputation as one of South Africa’s most authoritative and credible competitions for market ready wines.

The Awards with its coveted Veritas emblem, has become synonymous with top quality wines. The results are trusted implicitly when international as well as local wine buyers use them to assist in their buying decisions and also when the ordinary wine lover simply selects a bottle from the shelf to enjoy with dinner.

The first National Bottled Wine Show in South Africa was introduced by the SANWSA in 1990 and renamed the Veritas Awards from 1991.

Gold and double gold awards are of significant value to the wine industry as well, as it offers a prestigious image for the wine, winery and winemaker and contributes to growth in sales.

Veritas is the only wine competition in South Africa for the industry by the industry and there is no commercial gain for the organisers, the South African National Wine Association (SANWSA).

Creation Wine and Food Pairing

Wine Village is situated at the foot of the Hemel-en-Aarde (Heaven and Earth) Road. This road has become known for its’ natural beauty and award winning wines that are produced from the clay-rich, stony soils, and cool climate being unusually close to the South Atlantic Ocean.

One of the many wine producers that stand out is Creation Wines, situated 18km from the Wine Village on the Hemel-en-Aarde Road (the R320). 

Our team attended one of the famous wine and food pairing experiences at Creation Wines. They have put one of the most remote cellars in the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge on the map as a gourmet destination - by offering some of the most sublime wine and food pairings.  

The winemakers, JC Martin and Christoph Kaser, along with Carolyn Martin and the rest of the team give you an experience that is close to heaven on earth! Their tasting room shows how it should be done and the views and welcoming atmosphere makes the trip out there worth it!  

André van Vuuren, owner and chef of one of the local restaurants in Hermanus, Season To Taste, is responsible for the delectable food creations that make their way on to the plate with the wine and food pairing and the rest of the menu for Creation’s tasting room. 
For bookings to Season click here.

You can look forward to Asian salmon dumplings,  spicy chicken and apricot satay, cauliflower soup, springbok rillete with cherry jelly, bobotie spring rolls…to name only a few.  Each of the wines is paired with a particular bite to enhance both the flavour of the wine and the food. 

To book a tasting or for directions to the farm click here.

 

QR Codes

The wine industry has always been innovative and in today’s fast moving world you have to keep up or you will quickly fall behind in the masses!

QR Codes are the latest craze in the wine industry as more and more wine producers are adding these codes to their labels.

QR-Codes are being used world-wide to provide information to consumers in a quick, easy and accessible format. QR-Codes are an image which is printed on a product or label which can be photographed or scanned by a (smart) mobile phone and is then a quick link to a web page/mobi page, without having to type in the website address.

By placing a QR-Code (Quick Response Codes) on say a back label, a wine producer can supply much more detailed information about their wine, directly to the consumer, at the time of purchase.

If you do not have a QR or barcode reader on your mobile phone you will need to download one from your ‘Android Market’, ‘BlackBerry App-world’, ‘I Phone Store’ or similar site depending on your phone.

You then hold your phone’s camera over the square until your phone beeps.  Within a few seconds, the home page will open on your phone’s screen and you can scroll through the information on the web pages.  Hence the name Quick Response Code

Many of our local wine producers have now added these codes to their labels. Ataraxia, Creation and Hermanuspietersfontein are just a few who have taken the step in their marketing approach. 

 

Under the sea

Following the fascinating experiment into the benefits of ageing bottled Southern Right Sauvignon Blanc in the sea versus on land in the cellar, the team at Southern Right decided to repeat the experiment this year (the 2004 vintage was taken out of the Walker Bay waters on 16 September 2010).

We were very fortunate to have received 180 of these bottles last year and they sold out in a few days at R60 per bottle.  We have kept a couple of these bottles for ourselves and they are currently on display in the shop, but not for sale.

On August 3^rd, 2011, the second consignment of Southern Right Sauvignon blanc was floated out into the cold Walker Bay waters and sunk in approximately 10 meters of water. This time they have submerged two vintages – 200 bottles each of the 2010 and 2011. They have sealed each vintage with a wax capsule of a different colour, to avoid confusing the vintage with barnacle and seaweed encrusted bottles and to minimize the risk of seawater getting around the cork.

With this trial they will be able to determine (with the 2011) the possible benefits of submerging the wine immediately after bottling. Having two vintages ageing together will help get an idea if different vintages react differently to sea ageing versus land ageing.

Both vintages will be tasted once a year and compared to the same vintages ageing in our cellar. All the wine will be raised from the sea for sale in local restaurants (barnacles, seaweed and all) in September 2016.

We hope you will get a chance to taste the wines then!