Sweet spot

Friday, June 19th, 2009

A week or two and it’ll be the winter solstice marking the longest night and shortest day in the southern hemisphere. It doesn’t automatically follow that this is the depth of winter and that summer’s around the corner, unfortunately! Cold, wet and snowy weather is here to stay for a while yet.

I know people automatically link red wine and fires to winter, but on a wet day recently I was offered either a glass of sherry or muscadel. What a treat it was. I can’t say I’d forgotten just how delicious our muscadels are – I know that we make some of the best sweet wines in the world, fortified and unfortified – but it brought home how unappreciated they are.

Since Chenin Blanc has gone from being the unloved Cinders, darning ugly stepsister’s socks by the fire in a dingy kitchen, to one of the belles of the ball, maybe we should focus renewed attention on other unsexy wines which need a boost? My vote would go to muscadel.

Off the top of my head I can think of great examples, with great marketing stories to match. Nuy, between Worcester and Robertson, have a treasure trove of both white and red muscadels – but then former cellar master Wilhelm Linde was a magician. No wonder he was Diners Club Winemaker of the Year – twice – for those delicious sweeties. And what about Rietvallei’s 100-year-old vineyard – or Deetlefs’ 25-year-old Muscat d’Alexandrie, the 1974 Phillipus Petrus Deetlefs which was auctioned for charity, attaining a €3 130 bid – or Weltevrede with their Oupa and Ouma se Wyn?

Just thinking about those raisiny, grape, honey and barley sugar flavours makes my mouth water…