ARE SOUTH AFRICAN WINES GOOD? TASTING WHITE WINES!
Channel: ZIGGING by Mark Sigg
Date: 2021-08-26

Are South African wines be on your shopping list? While it's easy to stock up on these South African red and white wines because of their low price points, are they actually good and deserving our attention?

Buy South African wines at great value when you buy from S&R Memerbship Shopping even if you're not a member when you order via PICK A ROO! Get P250 off when you use my code MARK7188, download the app here: http://bit.ly/zigpqaroo

Throughout the years, I've found myself tasting more and more South African wines. Their presence in wine shops and grocery stores used to be a small section and just a peculiar find. But lately, their presence has grown as retailers and wholesalers alike have stocked up on the growing recognition for wine made from South Africa. South African wines have always seemed like they are great buys because of their low price points --- anyone slightly curious can afford to try them out! But in terms of quality, where do South African wines stand and can they go head-to-head with the best wine producers in the world?

In this video, I'm specifically trying out and tasting white wines from South Africa! To get a good perspective, I'm trying out three white wines: a Sauvignon Blanc, a Chardonnay, and South Africa's wine flag bearer, the Chenin Blanc. All of today's wines are coming from the Western Cape region of South Africa.

The first wine is the Sauvignon Blanc coming from Berdekloof, an area of the Western Cape that is relatively more in-land compared to other wine regions in the area. Berdekloof is designed as a valley, surrounded by mountains with direct access to a river. Thus, this wine region relatively has a gentle climate producing flavors that are generally gentle as well. This Sauvignon Blanc comes from the wine producer Louis Nel, specifically from the Laika collection. This Sauvignon Blanc comes at a great value under P350 ($7), available at Santi's Delicatessen (https://www.facebook.com/SantisDelicatessen).
 
The second wine is the Chardonnay from Table Mountain. From today's wine tasting, this comes at the lowest price point coming out to less than P300 ($6) per piece as it comes a Buy 1 Take 1 offer from S&R Mermbership Shopping at P599 ($12). As the lowest priced wine here, I've already expected this to straightforward and not exhibiting too much depth. But is it at least acceptable or is it just another cheap wine? Buy from S&R via MetroMart and get P200 off when you use my link: http://bit.ly/zigmm

The third wine is the prized varietal Chenin Blanc, South Africa's claim to fame. As with the others, this varietal also hails from France. But Chenin Blanc has not really reached worldwide recognition as much as it has until it was produced in South Africa. Just as Malbec found recognition in Argentina and to some extent, Carmenere in Chile, South African has infused new life into this previously low-key variety of the Chenin Blanc. Today's Chenin Blanc comes from the wine producer Durbanville Hills, wine growers that are situated at Durbanville right beside the popular tourist destination of Cape Town. Durbanville Hills vineyards are situated 250-meters above the sea but, is still a coastal wine region. Here, there is ample supply of sunlight and dampness of the sea breeze but contrasted with a cold climate and mineral-rich soil common to elevated regions. The wine produced here is thus expected to be an interesting mix of grapes made from both a cold but sunny climate. This is the prized tasting of today's set! Durbanville Hills Chenin Blanc is available at Thirst (https://bit.ly/ziggthirstph). If bought as a 4-pack at the sale price of P1,321 ($26), each bottle comes at a steal of P330 ($6.6)!

Can South African wines compete with other New World wines? Can they compete with Old World wines? Watch this video to find out what I think about these bottles from this tasting!
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2019/mar/08/wine-south-africa-chenin-blanc-fiona-beckett

In this video, I'm featuring screenshots from the following articles:

https://www.winemag.com/2012/05/24/chenin-blanc-struts-its-stuff/
https://vinepair.com/articles/best-new-south-africa-wine/
https://durbanvillewine.co.za/

Want to learn some basics about buying wine? Watch these videos below:
Beginner's Guide to Buying Wine https://youtu.be/_02HB2l5jjs
Beginner's Guide to Buying Wine 2 https://youtu.be/qntJvkQCkS8

Can I distinguish between wines in a BLIND TASTING? Watch this video:
https://youtu.be/AgUkffYBvH8

Curious if Filipino food can pair with wine? Watch Jonessa and I take on Andok's new litson baka and find the perfect pairing:
https://youtu.be/HRBanGAMEto

More wine videos? click here for the entire playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOHBMsBtgvjksyXCQ6Zj8VXUVu7DYQh4e

#WineTasting
#CheninBlanc