On short notice I have decided to go to the Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show Public Tasting. I got a free ticket while the Nebbiolo Nymph had to resort to her characteristic charm to beg, borrow or steal a ticket for herself. It was a few stressful minutes before both of us had our tickets arranged. It is good to know people in the industry!
So after work I hurried home, I gave her a call to give a heads up and to ask her to get a couple of samies ready for me, since the tasting starts at 17:00 and I had no time to get something to eat. When I got to her house she was already waiting outside with some cheese and tomato on toasted rye. Since she was Designated Dave, we drove in her car, while I had time to scoff down the samies. Everything was going according to plan until we pulled out of the driveway and was involved with a hit-and-run with a rosebush. This we only managed to shake off by driving at high-speed over a speed hump.
Half way out of the complex, I put the plate of sandwiches on the dashboard to do my habitual “spectacles, testicles, wallet and watch” body-search to find out if I had brought everything with me. Realising that I forgot the tickets in my car, the Nymph pulled over and discussed if it is better run back or drive back to my car. When the conclusion was reached, the Nymph decided to pull away at the speed of a F1 racer resulting in the plate of sandwiches to come flying my direction like a frisbee, adorning me in tomato and christening me in cheese. With no time to change, I had to wing it with tomato smudges on my pants. All in all a pretty good start… To the Tasting!
When we arrived at the CTICC the tasting was so full, we had to scrum through throngs of people just to get the stalls. All the museum class wines were already finished and there was a farm already packing up, since they had no wine left and this was only at 18:45! Apparently, Eagle’s Nest and Mooiplaas wines were awesome, but alas, by the time we scrummed through, there was none left. I did manage to bump into one of my wine blogging heroes, Harry Reginald (I later realised that I had pen marks all over my face. Great introduction).
Some of the wines that stood out for me were:
Cederberg’s David Nieuwoudt Ghost Corner Semillon 2008: Grapes from the cool Elim area close to Cape Agulhas. 1/3 Barrel ferment, 6 months on the lees. Fresh and lemony with dusty creamy characters
De Wetshof Limestone Hill Chardonnay 2009: Caught myself asking, “So why the name?” Blind moment. “Uhm, the soil is calcareous” the tasting lady says. I decided to move away quickly and save myself from further embarrassment. De Wetshof captures the Chardonnay varietal flavours beautifully in this unoaked wine. With ample maturation on the lees and regular battonage, the wine has a nice full mouth feel without loosing the freshness.
Oak Valley Pinot Noir 2008: Good red-berry fruit nose, picked up khaki-bush with a nice earthy character and elegant structures.
A wine that surprised me was Spier’s Viognier 2008: Full fruit and creamy. Matured for 8 months in oak. A good example a good Viognier.
Basically, the over-all feel that The Nymph and I had about the Old Mutual Trophy Public Tasting, while having a angry mildly annoyed Asian beef at a Sushi Bar restaurant around the corner were the following:
1) Too many people in a space too small.
2) Tasting glasses should have been bigger, not the normal international tasters. The wines did not open as well as we wanted.
3) It is a great way to network with the wine makers and like-minded wine people.
In hind sight, I have decided that the next time, I’ll definitely have to get to these events early and take my own glasses… a scrum-cap might come in handy as well.
Agree on your criticism of the event. We were there at 5, managed to taste the museum class wines we wanted to, but still had to scrum our way through the throngs. Managed very few chats with winemakers because inevitably you’d take up space at the table and have 20 people behind you waiting to be served. I dont agree with the venue being too small – I think they sold too many tickets. I remember having gone to a OMTW tasting a number of years ago in the Westin across the road, and it was much more intimate and less of a scrum. I hope they learn their lesson, because frankly I wont take money out to go to this again. Rather go directly to the source on the farm.
Hi Hennie!
You got a good point there, we were discussing the value option as well since (If I’m not mistaken) the tickets were R80.00 last year as oppose to the R120.00 of this year. I would rather go to the farm as well, but it’s bit of a catch 22 situation since the winemakers are not always available at the tasting room and the museum wines are not always available (not that I had any!) but I was frustrated to stand in que for a tasting just to realise that the taster and the wine maker were having a casual chat about the rugby!
Cheers!