New to wine

[spoki]

I am new to wine, I do enjoy wine with or without food, in fact its one alcohol I can drink (without pulling face) get drunk and still behave normally, I would like to know what is good wine, how do you know it, taste, I come from a beautiful country - South Africa that has a wide vareity of wine (Excellent choices I hear them say)

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[jaimz]

Great...I'm fairly new to this as well...i love south african wines...look forward to talking more...

[wineguruchgo]

Hello Spoki and Jaimz,

Welcome to both of you to the wineboard!

South Africa is best known for the Pinotage grape which is a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault. It was developed in 1925 and has fallen in and out of favor. Here is what I have found on the internet about the flavor profile:

Pinotage may be made in several different styles: young, light, and fruity, like Beaujolais, deep and rich like a Cotes du Rhone or Zinfandel, or elegant and restrained like Bordeaux are the most common styles. There are also a few rare 'blush' versions and several fortified into "Ports." At least one producer makes Methode Champenoise sparkling red Pinotage.

There should be an abundant choice of wine from the motherland where you are. They are bottling Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir.

Quick run down: Chardonnay can taste like toasted fresh fruit, apples, pears, etc.. Sauvignon Blanc will be slightly sweeter like mangos or melon.

For the reds: The Pinot Noir will more than likely taste like fresh cherries while the cabernet will be more like dark berry fruit -blackberries.

The level of tannin will differ from producer to producer so unfortunately a lot of what you are going to learn will be from trial and error.

As for producers I believe the most famous is probably Stellenbach. We import a lot of their wines into the states.

I'm sure others on this board will offer an opinion on this as well.

[Thomas]

For white wine, Steen (Chenin Blanc) is also a well respected So. African wine, not to mention upcoming versions of Shiraz and Sauvignon Blanc.

[Kcwhippet]

More specifically, the RSA wines I like are Hamilton Russell Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and Excelsior Cab Sauv. There are many other really good wines there, but those are my current faves.

[spoki]

The responses are overwhelming,THANK YOU VERY MUCH! now I can enjoy wine with some knowledge and choose what I want, another quizz, FOOD: it would be really lovely to include this topic on this site, like recipes (The one's with bright pictures), general topic on food what does everyone think, WEBMASTER AND OWNER OF THE SITE?

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[hotwine]

We already include food pairing comments within our tasting notes, and also recipes when that's indicated - such as the influence of the recipe on the wine, and vice versa. Since there are already plenty of food sites on the Web, I'd prefer to keep this site focused on wine.

[Innkeeper]

For one I always mention what I'm eating with the wines I drink. When appropriate, recipes and complete menus are also included. Here is an example from last June: "2001 Simonsig Estate, Sauvignon Blanc, Stellenbosch, SA ($10.99 SHWC). This is the best fresh New World SB we have ever had. The eye is met with straw colored liquid with a green hue. A blast of tropical fruit with undercuts of herbs and grass on the nose and upfront, translates to bonedry, mouthfilling flavor on the palate. All followed by a completely refreshing finish. Nary a trace of oak. Matched incredibly with take out fried native shrimp baskets. Far, far superior to what was available eating in. Will be ordering more of this immediately." And I did; now it's one of our favorites.