Welcome to the Western Cape Wineries - a kiwi's opinion blog

I originally set up this blog to help foreigners have an enjoyable experience when visiting the western cape wineries in South Africa.

I realised that it is very difficult for a tourist to choose where to go and which wineries to visit, when you have 600+ wine producers to choose from.

When I first moved to SA December 2010, my palate struggled to adjust to SA wine, b
ut after living here for a while and after visiting over 100+ wine estates, I have found many wines which I really like and can highly recommend.

Admittingly, when you come from another country it is hard not to compare the wine in SA to what you are used to back home. However, once you realise they are not the same (they have their own characteristics due to the different soil, climate etc) and appreciate their wines for being SA wines, it will improve your opinion and experience of the wines immediately.

If you are staying in SA for a while, don't dispair, your palate will change, and you will soon find yourself liking SA wine over your home countries wine!!

I hope my blog will help wine lovers have an enjoyable wine experience while in SA.

Please note: I am not a wine connoisseur. The comments I write about the wine is mostly for my own benefit of having them on record.



Thursday 13 December 2012

2012 Christmas MCC Blind Tasting

This year's Christmas MCC tasting was held at the Cape Town Club on the 13th of December 2012.


We started the night off with Haskell Vineyard's Methode Cap Classique for the arrival drink. This MCC was produced for the owner of the winery (Preston Haskell) and only a limited number of bottles were produced. Everyone appreciated the opportunity to try this Blanc de Blanc MCC and enjoyed it very much. If you are interested in tasting Haskell Vineyard's wines you can visit their winery in Helderberg, Stellenbosch http://haskellvineyards.com/documents/directionstohaskellvineyards.pdf. They are open Tuesday - Sunday 10am - 5pm.


We were priviledged to have the winemaker from Wonderfontein join us for this year's MCC tasting. He was able to tell us about Wonderfontein Estate and how MCC is made.


After trying 12 MCCs throughout the night, we voted to see which MCC's were liked the most. The votes were quite high this year and the majority were enjoyed by most who attended.

The results were:
  1. Pongracz Rose at 26 votes
  2. Neil Joubert Chirstine-Marie at 24 votes
  3. Chabivin Mademoiselle Megane at 23 votes
  4. Viljoensdrift Blanc de Blanc at 22 votes
  5. Plaisir de Merle Grand Brut at 22 votes
  6. Wonderfontein Paul Rene at 21 votes
  7. De Wetshof Brut at 20 votes
  8. Muratie MCC at 20 votes
  9. Pongracz Brut at 19 votes
  10. JC LE Roux Pinot Noir Rose at 16 votes
  11. Cederberg Blanc de Blanc at 12 votes
  12. Graham Beck at 7 votes 

Throughout the night we played a 'steal the present' game. This game is a lot of fun and it is always interesting to see which present is stolen the most. This year 'The Stig' soap from Clicks was the most stolen present. All presents were R30-R40 each making the game slightly more interesting.


I have loaded all the photos from this event on Facebook. My facebook page is called Western Cape Wineries. Be sure to check it out, like the page and keep up to date with all the wine tasting events in 2013.


Crystal Direct was so kind as to sponsor a wine decanter and 6 wine glasses for this event. The person who won the prize was Gerhard Claassens.


If you would like to attend my wine tastings or be added to the mailing list, please email me on westerncapewineries@gmail.com.