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The New Style of South African Wine

The room was so packed that the speakers had to give up their seats at the front to accommodate more of those who came to hear them.

This is what happened at "South Africa Redefined," a master class in South African wines held at République. Sitting on the sidelines, the five winemakers who were going to speak were tired, a few yawns escaped, voices were strained. 

And justifiably so. Los Angeles was their last stop on an exhausting one-week promotional tour. The crowding in the tight venue (above) was a good thing. It showed how much interest there is today in South African wines. 

The country has moved on from the boycott of its products during apartheid to a resurgence of wine-making. At one stage, winemakers copied the big, juicy, extracted wines produced elsewhere. Now, they're making wines that represent South Africa's own terroir and style.

The five winemakers on the tour brought 11 wines to show what is happening today. 

The first up was the 2017 Ramnasgras Cinsault, presented by Adi Badenhorst of A.A. Badenhorst Family Wines (above).The grapes came from a vineyard planted in 1963 in Swartland. "I fell in love with this grape long before I knew what it was," he said, noting that "Cinsault ages fantastically."

Badenhorst's experimental drive has led him beyond wine to produce a South African mezcal, made according to the traditional Oaxacan process. It's not legally mezcal, so it has to go by another name, "The 4th Rabbit."

Sebastian Beaumont of Beaumont Family Wines (above) is known as the "king of Chenin" and brought the Beaumont Hope Marguerite Chenin Blanc 2018. The wine was named for his grandmother and made in an elegant style to reflect her character, he said. 

Abrie Beeslaar of Beeslaar & Kanonkop Estate showed the Beeslaar PInotage 2018. In the '90s, Pinotage really took off, and "a lot of bad bottles turned up," he said, adding "you can't make Pinotage with a recipe, but if you get it right it's one of the most rewarding [grapes] to work with."

Graham Weerts of Capensis (above) brought the Capensis 2015 Chardonnay. Born in Cape Town, Weerts moved to California and has dual citizenship. He returned to South Africa to see what he could do with Chardonnay there, seeking land at high elevation for a vineyard.

How did it turn out?  "What an amazing expression of the grape this is," was the answer from the audience. Weerts makes just 700 to 1,000 cases of Chardonnay a year. 


Eben Sadie of The Sadie Family Wines provided the 2017 Soldaat Grenache Noir. After encountering bad Grenache Noir while working in Spain, Sadie finally found good examples from high altitude vineyards. This inspired him to make the wine himself at a high elevation in South Africa.

His Grenache Noir has done so well that it's "highly allocated," he said, meaning it's hard to get. He made only 4,000 bottles of the 2018, which is less than 400 cases.

The most expensive wine poured was The Sadie Family Wines Palladius 2016, a blend of 11 white varieties from 17 vineyards, priced at $150. In a "very good vintage," Sadie makes less than 1,000 cases of this wine, which can age 10 to 15 years, he said.

Referring to such quality, Sadie (above) said,  "When it comes to white wine in the New World, we're happy to take on anybody." 

The other wines presented were the Storm Vrede 2016 Pinot Noir, from an area that produces only Pinot Noir and Chardonnay; the Kanonkop Estate Paul Sauer 2015 Bordeaux blend, the Boekenhoutskloof 2015 Syrah, and the Vergelegen Flagship G.V.B. White 2016, which is a blend of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc.

The final wine was the Klein Constantia Vin de Constance 2015, a rich, honeyed wine made from vine-dried Muscat de Frontignan grapes. Constantia wine has long been admired and referred to by such luminaries as Charles Dickens and Jane Austen. 

Today, South Africa has 750 wine producers. The wines are "world class" and attracting foreign investment, said Abrie Beeslaar (above). However, vineyard area has shrunk because growers are not making enough money, he added. 

Small production and limited distribution can make the wines hard to find in the United States. The seminar program even stated that the Vergelegen Flagship G.V.B. White is "not available in US."

But Graham Weerts looks on the bright side. There may be minimal distribution, he acknowledged, "but it's telling the correct story," and that story is the focus on vineyard sites, varietals and quality backed up by skilled technology. 

Mt. Hood--a Winery with a View

Good wine paired with good food. That was the program for a dinner hosted by Mt. Hood Winery in Oregon's Hood River Valley.

The famous mountain for which the winery is named was hiding behind clouds that evening, but the view from the dining table was spectacular enough.

And the mountain can always be seen on Mt. Hood wine labels.

Pouring that night was Rick Cushman (above), who makes wines for Mt. Hood Winery and for his own label, Viento Wines.

Cushman started things off with the Viento Cuvee Diamante Rosé, made by the traditional champagne method. The wine is 50% Pinot Noir, 30% Tempranillo,15% Riesling and 5% Pinot Gris. 

The Rosé was paired with this lavish charcuterie board. 

Next up was a salad of shaved asparagus and carrots with ricotta salata and preserved lemon vinaigrette.

Viento's 2017 Dry Riesling, accompanied the salad. Cushman went to Germany to study Riesling and makes his with low alcohol, 12.9%. 

Next came brined, lemon-rubbed rotisserie chicken on a bed of rosemary.

The wine for the chicken was the Mt. Hood 2016 Gewürztraminer. 

Before Mt. Hood Winery was established, the property was devoted to pears and apples, so it was appropriate that Hood River apple chutney accompanied fennel and herb-stuffed porchetta.

The pork came from Carlton Farms, a family-owned Oregon company that supplies artisanal fresh pork, smoked pork and beef products. 

Mt. Hood's 2016 Estate Pinot Noir went with the porchetta. Guests also tasted the 2017 Estate Chardonnay.  

Guess what wine would go with a hearty dish such as polenta topped with roasted root vegetables with garlic scape pesto?


The answer is, an equally hearty Barbera. 

And here is dessert, a to-die-for strawberry rhubarb panna cotta. 

Cushman brought out a special treat to go with this, the Viento 2009 Icewine, which is 55% Riesling and 45% Gewürztraminer. 

In 1909, the Bickford family started the farm that is now home to Mt. Hood Winery. Steve (above) and Don Bickford tore out apples and planted grape vines in 2,000. Nine years later, they opened the tasting room. 

Apples and pears still grow on the property, and some of the pears go into this wine. 

Mt. Hood Winery is easy to reach from the town of Mount Hood. Boda's Kitchen, a cafe and deli there, supplied the food for the dinner. If you want to taste the same lemon herb rotisserie chicken that was served at the winery dinner, it's on Boda's deli menu.  

Home Cooking at Hightower Cellars

You've moved to a new area, and you have to entertain visitors. The problem is, where you live is so isolated there aren't any restaurants to help out.

So what do you do? You cook for guests yourself. 

This is the way it was in 2002, when winemakers Tim and Kelly Hightower, at the top, moved their wine-making operation from Woodinville, Washington, to Red Mountain, a small AVA in southeastern Washington known for powerful red wines.

The Hightowers chose that area because they wanted to use only Red Mountain grapes. It was a wonderful treat to taste what they are producing along with lunch in the tasting room.  

Here, Tim Hightower is opening the wines for lunch. 

First up was the 2018 Murray Syrah Rosé.

It's a lovely dry Rosé, paired with a beautiful vineyard view. 

Then guests helped themselves to crispy chickpeas and lamb with greens and garlicky yogurt sauce.

The recipe is from a book the Hightowers rely on, "Dining In" by Alison Roman.  

Here's a snippet of the recipe. Search online for more detailed versions of this dish.

First, guests sampled cheeses.

Along with bread based on a starter made from the natural yeast on wine grapes by Leslie Mackie of Macrina Bakery in Seattle. 

With the main course came the Murray Cabernet Sauvignon 2017, 78% Cabernet blended with Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot.

Next, the 2015 Hightower Merlot, which blends 91% Merlot with 9% Cabernet Sauvignon.

This is the richest Hightower red, the 2015 Reserve, which is 86% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Malbec, aged in 90% new oak. 

Then came dessert, chocolates from Fran's in Seattle, which is famous for its salted caramels.

After dessert, visitors toured the wine-making facilities. The Hightowers now have 12 acres under vines, half of that devoted to Cabernet Sauvignon, followed by Merlot, Cabernet Franc and others.

Their red wines are unfined, unfiltered and aged in oak for 18 to 20 months. In 2018, they made 4,000 cases.  

And to think that Hightower Cellars, its winery, vineyards and the Hightower home were once only an alfalfa field. This shows what vision can achieve.

Any Time's the Right Time for Prosecco

Pizza and Prosecco. Is this a match made in heaven?

No, it's a match made at Eataly in Century City. 

The occasion: a Prosecco master class conducted by Luigi Capasso of Eataly's beverage operations.

The class reviewed eight Proseccos paired with pizzas from Fabio Ugoletti, Eataly's chef de cuisine. 

They weren't Neapolitan style pizzas but pizza romana, thick-crusted, crunchy at the bottom and soft inside. The dough for pizza romana is more moist and baked at a lower temperature than Neapolitan style pizza, Ugoletti said.

Unlike individual Neapolitan pizzas, pizza romana is large and long, meant to be cut into multiple servings.

Ugoletti (above) brought out five, with savory, sweet, earthy and bitter toppings designed to show how well Prosecco pairs with a variety of flavors.

Meanwhile, Capasso explained that Prosecco isn't just a popular sparkling wine but a tightly controlled product, named for the region in northeastern Italy where it is produced.

Bright and fresh, it's less expensive than classic Champagne, delivering quality at a reasonable price.

In 2018, 464,000,000 bottles were produced, of which 75% was exported. Slightly more than 20% of this went to the United States, the second largest export market.

Here are more Prosecco facts from Capasso:

The dominant grape is Giera, a semi-aromatic variety. Legally, Prosecco must be 85% Giera. The remaining 15% can be from a variety of approved grapes.

Prosecco is at it's best one year after harvest, but don't wait longer than two years to drink it.

There have been bogus Proseccos on the market. To make sure you have the real thing, look for Prosecco DOC on the label and the state mark and seal. Above is an example.

Each of the wines poured at the class tasted slightly different, some a little sweeter, some more aromatic or acidic, but all paired well with the pizzas.

They were Zonin Brut, Valdo Brut, Le Contesse Brut, Villa Sandi Il Fresco Brut, Torresella Extra Dry, Villa degli Olmi Extra Dry, La Marca Extra Dry and Mionetto Organic Extra Dry.

The first pizza was topped with calamari, clams, mussels  and shrimp.

Next came pizza with burrata, mortadella and pistachios.

If any flavor could challenge a wine, it would be the bitterness of radicchio on this pizza. But the Proseccos could handle it. Asiago cheese and walnuts helped to counteract the bitterness.

Truffles dominated this pizza. On top are zucchini and zucchini blossoms.

The most unusual was a sweet pizza with wildflower honey, Pecorino cheese and black pepper. This would be perfect for a sunny summer brunch.

As Capasso said, the balance of sugar and acidity makes Prosecco perfect with different cuisines and at any time of day. It's "something fun to drink."