Wine Tasting Notes 3-23-09

Ok, so I probably don't drink wine EVERY night, but I do enjoy a glass or 2 on most evenings, so i figured why not start posting some tasting notes while I'm at it. After all, my dream is to one day open my own winery, and I fully believe effective use of social media will be an important part of making that successful, so I might as well start now.

So, tonight's wine for review is a Sebeka Cabernet Pinotage from South Africa. This past Saturday night an old friend from Germany stayed with us overnight and brought this as a thank you gift. Having just sampled some South African Pinotage at the Cincinnati Wine Festival recently, I was anxious to pop the cork on this. A bottle of this retails somewhere around $10 (but hey, I didn't buy this one! In case you're shopping for it, it has the Cheetah on the label).

This is a very dark, deep red wine, I really like it's color. The nose on this wine (in other words, it's smell) is like a berry jam. You get a sweet grape and blackberry aroma from the glass. As I take a sip, my first impression is that this is a very soft wine, easy to drink. For those who aren't big red wine fans, this is a great "starter" red wine. There's no bitterness to it as it sits on the tongue and goes down very easy. The mix is 65% Cabernet and 35% Pinotage and the Pinotage adds an almost sweetness to the typical Cabernet flavor. Again, this blending makes it an easy drinking wine for someone who may not yet be a fan of the dryness of Cabernet. We had this with some bacon-wrapped BBQ chicken and my only complaint would be that it can't quite stand up to a dish with flavors like that. It's great on it's own, or probably with a milder flavored meal, but a bit flabby for something with BBQ flavors. It also leaves your mouth a bit dry or parched feeling, which is more typically of a dry red like Cabernet.

Overall, I liked the wine, and at the price point I would definitely recommend it. So try a bottle next time your out shopping and let me know what you think. And stayed tuned to see what tomorrow (or the next night) brings.