South Africa Wines Checked Flashcards
SA Cabernet Sauvignon
Most widely planted - Small berries
Used as a varietal or Bordeaux Blends blend with Merlot & Cabernet Franc
Deep Color, Medium Full Body, Tannic Early Drinking
Ripe Red & Black Fruit, Blackcurrant, Cedar from Oak
SA Merlot
Early Flowering & Ripening (in SA)
Full Bodied
Plummy Wines similar to Pomerol
SA Hot Climate Syrah
v
Cooler Syrah
Widely Planted, Rich, Full Body, High Alcohol
Late budding but doesnt ripen too late
Ripe Black Fruit, Earthy or Meaty Character
v
Less Full Body, Elegant & Peppery
Pinotage
Pinot Noir X Cinsault
Range of Style - rarely grown anywhere else
Cape Blend - with international varieties 30-70% Pinotage
- Light, Fruity, Red Berry
- Full Body (old bush vines) Rich, Spiced Berry fruit
- When used fermented or aged with Heavily Toasted Oak Staves = Intense coffee and chocolate aromas when fermented and/or stored with heavily toasted oak staves
SA Chenin Blanc (Steen) - Complex
World’s most versatile grape - Early budding, Later rippening
Old vines
High Acidity (susceptible to Noble Rot), Apple, Floral, Honey
From Barrel Ageing - Concentrated & Complex flavors, Fuller Texture - Extra Body & Toast Oak flavors
SA Chenin Blanc - Basic
Most Widely Planted - Early bud / Late ripen
Dry & Sweet
High Natural Acidity
Simple Stone Fruit
SA Colombard
2nd most widely planted
Production of Brandy
SA Sauvignon Blanc
Herbaceous
Planted in Coolest Site - Buds Early / Ripens Early
Vigourous vine (use low vigor root stock + canopy managemnt)
Very Pure Citrus & Green Fruit, Grass, Elderflower
Keep High Acidity by picking early in warmer sites
SA Chardonnay
Can be exceptional at cooler sites (Walker Bay)
Burgandian style such as lees & Oak Barrel fermentation for complexity
Base for Cap Classique sparkling wines
SA Muscat of Alexandria (Hanepoot)
Called Hanepoot - not widely planted
Late Harvest Desert Wine
Floral & Intense Honey
Use Late Harvest and sometime Noble Rot
SA Viognier
Increased plantings
Rich, perfumed whites with a hint of toasty oak
Swartland Blended Wines (Coastal Region)
Emerging as High Quality blends
Known for old Vine Chenin Blanc
Dry Farmed without Irrigation
Blends - Chenin Blanc and Rhône varieties such as Marsanne, Rousanne, Grenache Blanc and Viognier
Stellenbosch Blends (Coastal Region)
Bordeaux Style - Cabernet Sauvignon + Merlot
Red Blends Style - Cabernet Sauvignon + Syrah
White varietirs in Higher altitudes make high quality Sauvignon Blanc & Chardonnay
Vin de Constance
Late-harvested Muscat in Constantia
Eastern Table Mountain
Oldest vines
Cooled by Cape Doctor
Worcester Wine (Breed River Valley)
Hot & Dry with irrigation from river + fertile soils produces a significant proportion of SA annual production
Mostly white Chenin Blanc & Colombard (mostly distilled)
Also reliable source for High Volume, Branded Red & White
Elgin Sauvignon Blanc (Cape South Coast)
Intense. Fresh
Dry, Med-Full Body
Green Apple & Wet Stone
SA Elim Sauvignon Blanc (Cape South Coast)
SavBlanc
Pungent, Herbaceous
Hemel-en-Aarde, SA Wines (Cape South Coast)
Home to SA’s best Chardonnay & Pinot Noir
Constantia Wines (Coastal Region)
South facing on Table Mountain
Exposed to Ocean Cooling
Specialty Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon
Swartzland Syrah (Coastal District)
High Quality Dry Farmed without irrigation
Darling District Wines (Coastal Region)
SW of Swartzland, near coast
Cooling sea breezes
Source of Old VInes
Known for Sauvignon Blanc
Paarl Wines (Coastal Region)
Large district to the north of Stellenbosch
Less cooling seas influence (further inland, higher temps)
Hotter summers, moderate night temps
Mountain terrain eg altitude
Growing mostly CabSav, Syrah, Pinotage and Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay
Durbanville Ward Wine (Coastal Region)
Tygerberg district north side of Cape Town
Cooled by sea breaze from Cape Point
Reputation for Sauvignon Blanc
Robertson District Wines (Breed River Valley)
East of Worcester & similar but slightly cooler climate
Syrah and Full-Bodied Chardonnay’s
