Wine Diva

I always love finding best value wines, undiscovered gems that can be merrily quaffed with evening meals for under R30 a bottle. Djembe wines are four such “djems”, and quality quaffers at that! I especially enjoy finding these great value gulps online, as it does not involve carrying heavy boxes of wine and trying to fit them in my MINI boot (tsk tsk such a diva!)

I also get a kick out of a product that is eye catching. Standing in a store isle with many labels staring back at me, it is fun to find a label that is bright, bold and uniquely South African.

Western Cape Wines offers us four wines in their Djembe range and it makes me think they should have put 4 gold drums on the label instead of 3. The Djembe four boasts bright colours of racy red for Merlot, bold blue for Cab, sunshine yellow for Chardonnay and cool green for Sauvignon Blanc. When I was offered a bottle of each to review I wasn’t sure what to expect. After finishing off the Merlot with some friends and quickly moving onto the Cabernet Sauvignon, I couldn’t believe the value. The Merlot is suberb, smooth and a real juicy darling to consume with hints of plums and the Cab is meaty, and bold, yet quite rounded, well-balanced and easy to lap up. I am so well impressed that both Djembe Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon wines have been added to my online shopping basket. Stunning and affordable table wine for functions and weddings, and good to keep in mind that Western Cape Wines are BEE compliant should you want to partner with them for a corporate event or office pub supply.

Djembe is available at your fingertips online (easiest for Diva me), at Makro and Metcash countrywide, and selected Top Spars. For under R30 a bottle I urge you to buy a case of Merlot or Cab to try, share a few with friends and let me know what you think.

I particularly enjoy the Djembe ad slogan “Finding your own rhythm” as I believe that is what wine appreciation is all about.

I’ll let you know about the Chardonnay and Sauv Blanc in the weeks to come, but at the moment the cold weather is only encouraging my red wine cravings.

If you’re keen to taste Djembe at your next wine club meeting or to discuss any other options, then contact Cobus on info@westerncapewines.co.za or visit www.westerncapewines.co.za

The Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show 2008 winning wines will be available for tasting during the first fortnight of June. The 66 trophy, gold and silver  winning wines will be presented to Johannesburg and Cape Town wine lovers at public tastings hot on the heels of the  announcement of the competition’s results.

South Africa’s most highly reputed wine show has produced the following industry winners over the past six shows: Cape Point Vineyards, Vergelegen, Diemersfontein and De Trafford. Visitors to last year’s tastings also sampled the trophy winning wines from Backsberg, Bredell’s Chamonix, Hartenberg, Hillcrest, Longridge, Meerendal,  Môreson, Nederburg, Quoin Rock, Rijk’s, Seidelberg and Woolworths.  All wines can be ordered at the tastings, including the ‘Discovery of the Show’ – the best value wine of the year.

The tasting panel, chaired by South African expert Michael Fridjhon, comprised two UK-based judges – viz. Sam Harrop MW (co-chairman of the International Wine Challenge) and Anthony Rose (wine columnist for The Independent and contributor to Decanter) – and Germany-based Joël Payne (member of Grand Jury Europeén).  Local specialists on the panel were Angela Lloyd, Cathy van Zyl MW, Christian Eedes, James Pietersen and winemakers Gary Jordan and Chris Williams.

Public Tasting Johannesburg:
Date:  Friday, 6 June 2008
Venue: The Ballroom, Hilton Sandton, Rivonia Road, Sandton
Time: 18h00 to 21h00
Parking: Secure underground parking available at the hotel

Public Tasting Cape Town:
Date:Thursday, 12 June 2008
Venue:The Grand Ballroom, The Westin Grand Cape Town Arabella Quays, Lower Long Street, Cape Town
Time:17h00 to 20h00
Parking: Available in the hotel and CTICC parkades

Tickets are limited: ‘Early bird’ tickets bought by the end of May will cost R75 each and tickets sold thereafter and at the door (subject to availability), R90 per person. Bookings can be made via Computicket from 5 May by telephoning 083 915 8000 or (011) 340 8000 or online: www.computicket.com

The Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show 2008 results will be announced on 2 June: for more information and a full set of results visit www.trophywineshow.co.za

Situated on the Simondium Road, Klapmuts, Paarl, with easy access from the N1, R44 and R45.

Spend a leisurely lunch at the tranquil winelands restaurant on Backsberg Estate. Take a seat in the beautiful gardens or in the cosy restaurant and soak up soulful live guitar music on a Sunday. Serving up sumptuous lamb on the spit with greek salad, farm-style veggies and famous roast potatoes or choose from the a-la-carte menu in the week with everything from fresh soups to chocolate roulade.

This stress-free lunch retreat is open everyday of the year and has en-suite a wine tasting room and a chocolate shop to entice the wine lover and sweet tooth alike.

Contact Jenny on 021 875-5952 for bookings.