The Lemon Fool

Anyone got any recommendations? Haven't tried many SA wines but would appreciate if any one is able to offer suggestions. Like both red and white so am open to any of your preferences.

R6

Rhyd6 wrote:Anyone got any recommendations? Haven't tried many SA wines but would appreciate if any one is able to offer suggestions. Like both red and white so am open to any of your preferences.

R6

When I moved back to the UK in 1999 after 23 years in SA I knew the wines quite well but not one familiar lable was available in the UK. It seems that the exported wine is labeled differently to home market. Frustrating in the extreme I recall.

Long answer to say sorry, can't help

I'm not much of a wine buff - it takes a lot to make me shell out more than £8 or £10 for a bottle. Which might be the reason why I've only ever tasted SA wines that are either too coarse or too (ahem) unsophisticated for my palate. (Too much sun? Too much oak? Wrong soil? No idea.) But I'm struck by the number of South African wines in my local supermarket that seem to be trying to pass themselves off - largely unsuccessfully - as New Zealand. I reckon I could tell the difference blindfold. Would be quite interested to hear of any recommendations.

BJ

I love dry white wine and drink quite a lot of South African dry white wine. I suppose it all depends on just how sophisticated you are and the depth of your purse! I have very definite tastes in wine but they are my own tastes rather than being 'informed' as it were by anyone else. I would regard paying more than £8 for a bottle of wine as a definite 'treat' rather than an everyday pleasure.

I'd just mention that the Co-op, even in its smaller stores, sells a bigger range of fairtrade wine than you'd find in most places, both red and white and a lot of it from South Africa. By and large it isn't expensive nor ultra cheap but it is an interesting range to try out.

If I see anything red by 'Journey's End' in my local supermarket, especially if it's on special offer, I usually buy it and haven't been disappointed yet.

As I posted a while back there are some very nice South African Chenin Blancs, sometimes blended with Viognier.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. We've had a Majestic voucher from Santa so a trip to Chester is called for. Hopefully we'll be able to sample before buying as there are one or two SA wines I quite fancy.

R6

Rhyd6 wrote:Thanks everyone for your suggestions. We've had a Majestic voucher from Santa so a trip to Chester is called for. Hopefully we'll be able to sample before buying as there are one or two SA wines I quite fancy.

R6

https://www.independent.co.uk/extras/in ... 42131.html

This might be useful.

John

redsturgeon wrote:This might be useful.

John

I looked, and can say with certainty I don't share the writer's taste. Only one of those would be a possible candidate for my basket if I were browsing the shelves: there are more in that selection I'd actively avoid. We all have different tastes, but there's clearly scope to disagree strongly with a particular writer.

I haven't previously posted to this thread, because my knowledge of SA wines is far too limited to make positive recommendations.