The group Wines of South Africa, which has been travelling around the UK promoting some of the country’s best eco-friendly wines, has finally landed at Potters Fields Park in London.
The group’s wine tasting tour visited Oxford, Edinburgh, Leeds, Birmingham, Bristol, Plymouth, Brighton and before making it to the capital city.
Pippa Herbert, the South African Wine Trail representative, has been enjoying the journey.
“It’s been interesting to see how differently the wines are received in every city. In some of the more suburban areas, like Leeds, the visitors were older and tended to prefer sweeter wines – but here in London, it has been a younger crowd who tend to prefer the drier wines.”
The promoters want consumers to know there’s more to South African wine than Shiraz – and with 17 whites, 17 reds and five rosés for the tasting, the likelihood of finding something new to suit your palette is high.
The wines are listed on a take-away sheet that included the stores where they are available. As most wines were priced between £4.49 and £6.99, this was not your average inaccessible wine tasting that you can enjoy at the time, but never afford to duplicate at home.
Some of the wines are part of the Fairtrade scheme, and the rest originate from regions practicing biodiversity under the Biodiversity and Wine Initiative.
Every wine growing region has its own ‘terroir’ - and while it is the French who are the best known for focusing on this aspect of production, the South African viticulture soil is of great interest to ‘terroir’ enthusiasts. The regions, between 400 and 500 million years old, are affected by the climate influences of two oceans, the chillier Atlantic and the temperate Mediterranean.
There have also been almost 10,000 more plant species identified in South Africa than are found in the whole northern hemisphere. These factors all combine to create a unique terrain – something which is key to the diversity we enjoy in the world’s wine.
Despite the lunchtime multitudes enjoying a cloudless day at Potters Fields Park, the South African Wine Trail station was surprisingly free of crowds.
“It’s funny,” Pippa Herbert laughs. “People don’t believe the tastings are free, there has to be a catch. I think people here in the UK are a little suspicious of something being too good to be true, but yes, we’re here all day and you may try as many as you like!”
With the helpful staff, welcoming umbrellas and chairs and gorgeous view of the Thames, South African wine goes down quite nicely indeed. No complaints here that I haven’t had to fight the masses to enjoy it.
Standout South African wines to try:
Whites
Porcupine Ridge Sauvignon Blanc – Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Oddbins £6.99
Sweetest, almost woody flavour, reminiscent of oak aging
FirstCape Limited Release Chenin Blanc – Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Tesco £6.99
Medium fruit, crisp finish, on the sweeter side, but not cloying
Fairhills Colombard Sauvignon (Fairtrade) – Waitrose £4.99
Driest, lovely summer white, rich but wouldn’t compete with food
Reds
Beyerskloof Pinotage –Tesco, Sainbury’s, Majestic,Morrisons , http://www.asda.co.uk/ASDA £5.99
A ‘love it or hate it’ wine. The complexity of Shiraz with a lighter finish. A hybrid varietal blending Pinot noir and Cinsaut.
Fish Hook Shiraz – Tesco, Sainsbury’s $6.49
Good, classic Shiraz, great value for money
Foot of Africa Shiraz Viognier – Food City, Verres du Vin £6.25
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