Matt,

As you know I have been raving about New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs.

I saw a piece in the Wall Street Journal last week about South African Sauvingnon Blanc. I wish i had saved it because it listed some favored labels. Have you tried any?

jf

Its still available to online subscribers...

Mulderbosch 2004 (Stellenbosch) $19.99 Very Good/ Delicious Best of tasting. Totally juicy. Explodes with fresh, lemon-lime tastes and good varietal grassiness. Clean, crisp and fresh.

Zonnebloem Wines 2003 (Western Cape) $7.99* Very Good Best value. Seamless and easy, with lovely, vibrant fruit, some green pepper and a bit of weight. Try it with shrimp cocktail.

Brampton (Rustenberg Wines ) 2004 (Western Cape) $12.99 Very Good Crackling fresh, like breaking open a fresh head of lettuce. Vibrant and light. An excellent summer wine .
Neil Ellis Wines 2004 (Groenekloof) $15.99 Very Good So fresh and alive it seems to vibrate in your mouth. A happy wine that tastes like sunshine.

Thelema Mountain Vineyards 2004 (Stellenbosch) $16.99 Very Good Effortlessly charming, with relaxed, pure, almost ephemeral tastes of honeydew and other ripe fruits. Beautiful. A long-time favorite.

Boschendal 'Grand Cuvee' 2004 (Coastal Region) $15.49 Good/Very Good Fascinating and controversial, with real stature and complexity. Some might find it heavy.

Buitenverwachting 2003 (Constantia) $14.99 Good/Very Good Classy. Pineapple, grapefruit and other fruits, but restrained and a little smoky. A more serious style than some, good with food.

Fleur du Cap (the Bergkelder) 'Unfiltered' 2004 (Coastal Region) $14.99 Good/Very Good Tart and as refreshing as a just-picked Persian lime, but it also has nice minerals underneath that give it some complexity and special interest.

Do any of those come in a box?

Or at least a bottle with a screw-top?

Or are they all those snooty wines with the pain-in-the-rump corks?

Thanks Jon. I get a paper copy at work.

PJ, some of the very best New Zealand wines now come with a screw top---and they market it as a badge of honor.

jf

I'm a huge fan of NZ Sauvignon Blancs as well.. I've always preferred SBs, Rieslings and Gewurz to Chardonnay..

BUT.. Pianojuggler, I guess wineinabox is very popular in Europe, and now there is a line in the states that is quite good. It's called Black Box, and comes in (u guessed it) a black box. About 4 bottles per. I've had the Napa Chard, the Monterrey Chard and the Aussie Shiraz. I liked the two whites a lot better than the red, and actually preferred the Monterrey whichis the less expensive of the two. I can get them across the river in KY (which has much more compteitive pricing) for about $15 a box.

I like the new screwtops too.. (or Stelvin Closures as they are referred to). It is the way of the future. No more corked wines.

Bump.
Now that Matt's back.

jf

I just wrote a wonderfully lengthy reply that got eaten by my injudicious use of the backspace key. I think I'll go lie down now.....

quote:

Originally posted by Matt G.:
I just wrote a wonderfully lengthy reply that got eaten by my injudicious use of the backspace key. I think I'll go lie down now.....

Oh darn.

jf

Last time I drank wine it had these wonderful features:

-It had a screw cap
-It cost $1.25 for a pint
-It got you nearly as high as Quaaludes, but was much cheaper.

That would have been late '79.

All right, let's try this again....

South Africa's Cape province and the northern part of New Zealand's South Island are nearly identical in latitude (34° and 35° South, respectively) and are in very similar climate zones. Thus, it would not surprise me in the least that SA would also be a good spot for Sauvignon Blanc cultivation. I'm usually not all that big on white wines until the heat of summer arrives. I definitely will check out some of the South African SB's.

As for the current rage about Stelvin closures, I think we'll continue to see an increase in their use. But, there is still considerable debate and ongoing research into the viability of Stelvin closures when used on the bottles of wines that benefit greatly from ageing. Why's that, you ask?

Well, it's simple, really. The Stelvin closure forms an air- and water-tight, hermetic seal to the bottle. The debate and research centers around the porosity of cork. The contention is that the ambient temperature and humidity of the air in which wines are aged has a significant influence on the wine. Thus, if the wine is sealed off from the ambient air, the kind of ageing on which some of the world's finest wines depend would not take place.

Several makers of wines that are designed to be aged are experimenting to see exactly what (if anything) happens when a bottle is cellared using a Stelvin closure. It may turn out that the permeability of the cork may have little bearing, but the early results are not that promising. The creation of some of the world's most prized wines relies heavily on proper cellaring and ageing for the wines to achieve their full potential. A move to abolish the use of cork closures would seriously imperil many of the makers of such wines.

All of that notwithstanding, though, the Stelvin closure makes perfect sense for a huge variety of wines where cellaring and ageing is not even an issue: wines created to be drunk young. Most white wines fit this category, as do all rosés, and even a majority of red wines. These could all be served well by bottles with Stelvin closures.

As Mikhailoh rightly points out, there is no danger of "corked" wines with a "screw cap" since "corking" comes from what amounts to an infection of the cork with a fungus. While the incidence of "corked" bottles is relatively low, it can certainly be irritating, especially if you only have one bottle!

Now for tonight's wine trivia.

Do you know why a wine steward, sommelier or server hands the just-pulled cork to the person who ordered the wine, then offers a swig for tasting? Some people think it's some kind of thing for wine snobs so they can gush about how great (or horrible) the wine is. WRONG! It's simply for the person who ordered it to tell if the bottle has become "corked" or not. When you smell the cork from a "corked" bottle, you'll immediately recognize the musty, mildewy scent on the cork. But, sometimes the wine still remains unaffected, which is why you taste a little of it. If it tastes musty, the entire bottle should be discarded, and every steward, sommelier or server is taught this. They will then bring another to replace it. (You never send a wine back just because you don't like it... sorry!)

Actually, I knew that (about determining if the wine is 'corked'), and I'm not a wine snob. I can't remember the last time I paid over $6 for a bottle of wine (unless it was a 1.5 liter bottle).

Tonight's wine was a central coast CA pinot noir, remarkably good for the measly 7 bucks I paid for it. 67-pound rooster on the label.

I tend to be a cheapskate value drinker when it comes to wine. Great Portuguese and Spanish values just over the bridge in New Jersey.

I save my big bucks for tea. Twenty to thirty bucks will get me a fabulour 1/4 pound of tea that will yield, with multiple steeps, more cups than I can count.

I do envy the folks who can afford fabulous wine.

Joe

quote:

Originally posted by RealPlayer:
Tonight's wine was a central coast CA pinot noir, remarkably good for the measly 7 bucks I paid for it. 67-pound rooster on the label.

Rex Goliath! Their stuff is a really good bargain. Their Cabernet Sauvignon, while decidedly unusual, is really good, and for $7 a bottle, I can drink a lot of it!

quote:

Originally posted by Matt G.:

quote:

Originally posted by RealPlayer:
Tonight's wine was a central coast CA pinot noir, remarkably good for the measly 7 bucks I paid for it. 67-pound rooster on the label.

Rex Goliath! Their stuff is a really good bargain. Their Cabernet Sauvignon, while decidedly unusual, is really good, and for $7 a bottle, I can drink a lot of it!

Obviously, we Geminis think a lot alike!

Gee, I've been remiss in not posting a critique of tonight's wine...

We enjoyed our second bottle of a 2001 Guenoc Petite Syrah from California's "North Coast". It seems that 2001 was some kind of magical year for California Petite Syrahs, as the several I've had from various California wineries (North Coast, Paso Robles, Sonoma, Central Valley, etc.) have all been outstanding. The Guenoc is one of the least expensive, but still a great, fruity powerhouse of flavors ranging from the typical black cherry and cassis to vanilla and licorice. Not a spicy vintage from any of the wineries so far, but full and voluptuous. It would make a great match for grilled chicken, dishes with tomato sauces, or even just paired with some cheeses and fruits. This one set me back only $11.