Never be rude. Accept the bottle graciously and let the household staff fight over it later.

We also greatly enjoy SA wines and plan to spend more time in the winelands next time we visit but if you are ever in Orlando, the Animal Kingdom lodge at Disney has a wonderful selection of SA wines to sample. So far, we've really enjoyed Meerlust, Fairview and Warwick but have so many more experience.

Thanks for all the tips on SA wines and Aussie Shiraz - guess I know what I'll be doing from now until we leave for Africa :D

James: thanks for posting this -- I picked up the Wine Spectator last night just in time to make some buys for my Saturday nigh Safari Palooza Slide Show from my March trip party.

I was thinking of running a little wine tasting. Can any of you experts tell me the correct order to serve? I made the best selections I could find:

My best guess on the order:

1) Ken Forrester Petite Chenin 2004
2) Jardin Sauvignon Blanc 2005
3) Fairview Pinotage 2004
4) Fairview Shiraz 2002
5) Boekenhoutskloof The Wolftrap (mix of Syrah, Cinsault, Cab Sauv., Grenache, Merlot, Ruby Cab. 2004 -- it was the only one by this vineyard in my store and I know they make lots of good ones
6) Man Vinters Cab. Sauvignon 2003

Order looks good -

Save the big reds for last and finish with any sweet / dessert wines.

Just picked up some Ice Wines (Inniskillin Oak Aged Vidal) made in Ontario, Canada. I tried one the other night at a restaurant here in Chicago and found it to be amazing stuff.

If you enjoy SWEET dessert wines, this wine is the nectar of the Gods!

To make Icewine, grapes are left on the vine well into the winter months. The resulting freezing and thawing of the grapes dehydrates the fruit, and concentrates the sugars, acids, and extracts in the berries, thereby intensifying the flavors and adding complexity to the wine made from it.

Anyone else tried Icewine?

Got a bottle of cabernet sauv. 2004 Royal deMaria- I'm waiting to pop for a good cause (has anyone had this?) - got a photo session coming up from our recent trip. I'll be making a choc. cheesecake topped with strawberries to go with it. Thinking that I may not share :) .
Sherry

Pred,

HI! This is a coincidence.....i just picked up a few bottles of the fairview from my local wine store here in India.

Hari

Fairview makes an excellent dessert wine, Le Beryl Blanc...yumm!

James, thanks for the confirmation - I have not tried Icewine, I'll have to check that out.

Cheers Hari - enjoy the Fairview, I'll be having mine tomorrow night as I relive the Kwando experience with friends!

Hi Pred,

Wine tasting parties combined with an African safari slide show are one of my favorite things to do and host.

Make sure you don't go too long with the slides (I was always guilty of this).

A fun thing to try sometime is a "blind tasting". Have a few bottles of each variety (enough for everyone to get a taste) and place the bottles in brown bags and number each variety (ie, 1 = Cab, 2 = Syrah, etc)

Have guests try to guess the variety of wine for each bottle tasted. Educational and good fun. I had little scorecards and let people make tasting notes, etc.

Of course, everyone wins in that they improve their wine appreciation!

Let us know how the party went.

Cheers,
James

sorry James,

Ice wines are really not my cup of tea. Nothing matches a nice port for a nice dessert wine. But yes, they are both very different and cant be compared.

Hari

Jim I have a number of icewine in the portfolio, and early in June, we will be adding Inniskillen!

Another Shiraz to try

Marqusis Phillips - about $18, screw cap and delish.

I bought Inniskillen a few years ago as I recall it was in the $80-100 range for a small bottle. I savored every last drop, a true delicacy! Yummm

Still waiting to pop the 04 cab.sauv. R. de Maria icewine - I forgot to ask in my earlier post if any of you have tried it. Is it very sweet? Think it will be good with the choc. cheesecake?
Sherry

Hello,

Speaking of port...

SA does some very nice ports as well. They are more often produced by wineries a bit more off the beaten path, but are worthwhile to seek out.

Cheers,
Julian

My party was fantastic. I managed to keep my slide show to about an hour and not go too into the natural history of each species. Our bobotie dish was well received and the wines were a hit.

Both the whites went over very well as did the pinotage and I thought each of them was very good. The Wolftrap was a good solid choice. Shiraz was not smooth and I would not recommend it, and the Cab was also just o.k.

Further, my Springbok's were a huge hit.

These were the wines.
1) Ken Forrester Petite Chenin 2004
2) Jardin Sauvignon Blanc 2005
3) Fairview Pinotage 2004
4) Fairview Shiraz 2002
5) Boekenhoutskloof The Wolftrap (mix of Syrah, Cinsault, Cab Sauv., Grenache, Merlot, Ruby Cab. 2004 -- it was the only one by this vineyard in my store and I know they make lots of good ones
6) Man Vinters Cab. Sauvignon 2003

sounds like a nice party.

Pred -

Great to hear the party was a hit. I'me sure I would have personally loved it. if you don't mind me asking, whereabouts do you stay?

Any plans for an encore in the future?

James

James, I'm in Golden, Colorado. Where are you based?

I will definitely be doing a similar party again in the future -- I just need to make another trip for new pics.

Don't know how I missed this thread for so long. OK James, what about the SA chardonnays? That's my chosen poison. I tried all I could lay hands on in the camps. I liked one called Golden Kaan which I chased down through Sam's and bought a few cases of but it wasn't top notch if you know what I mean. Now that I'm going back in June I'd love to know whether you have any rec's. I like the old style oaky, buttery chardonnays. I'm thinking of grabbing a few bottles in the JNB airport to bring along to camp.

Re: ice wine, have you tried late harvest wines? I think the harvesting process is similar and they're found in the dessert wine sections of wine shops. On a recent trip to Napa I picked up the Beringer and the Kendall Jackson late harvest chardonnays and they are YUMMY.