Welcome to Van Pepper Wines' blog

Hello fellow fine crazy people and welcome to Van Pepper Wines' blog. To find out more about Van Pepper Wines, visit our website: www.vanpepper.com
Coming soon:
- News about our first wine tasting
- Feedback on Cape Wine 2008
- Must-do events for summer

Season of Sauvignon Blanc 20080913

Being a great lover of Sauvignon Blanc, I was really looking forward to spending the day in the Durbanville area and tasting some.
So, off we went to Durbanville. Had a quick stop at Villiera on the way and tried some bubbly, just to get in the mood...
Got to Meerendal as the rest of our group was still on their way from De Grendel. Had a quick taste of the 2007 and 2008 Sauvignon Blanc as we waited.
The Season of Sauvignon Blanc gave each wine farm in the Durbanville ward the chance to showcase their Sauvignon Blanc. Each farm had a little festival going, it was great fun! The clever organisers also offered festival-goers the chance to try each wine farm's offering at all the other farms, meaning that one didn't have to drive to all the farms to try all the wines.
So, long story short, once our friends arrived, we did a comprehensive tasting of all the Sauvignon Blancs on offer. (My personal favourite still the Durbanhille Hills, with Meerendal a close second). We were honoured by the presence of Bennie Howard, who enticed us with some of Meerendal's red offerings as well.
Then off to Diemersdal where the real party was going on, white tent and bands included! They only had their Sauvignon Blanc or Sauvignon Rose... and because I'm such a fan of pink, I had a lot of Rose. Definitely one of the wines I'll be drinking this summer!
(According to the website: "Pink, the season's new white. Diemersdal Sauvignon Rose: Is the first of its kind in South Africa: a Sauvignon Blanc base infused with a whisper of Cabernet Sauvignon, to create a compelling marriage of fruit flavours. 93% Sauvignon Blanc / 7% Cabernet Sauvignon.)

WineX 20080910

September is a gem for wine shows and festivals and the RMB WineX was no exception.
M attended on the Wednesday evening. It was great, not a lot of people and the organisers must be congratulated on the professional exhibit they organised.
I bumped into David from Overgaauw and tasted their 2008 Sauvignon Blanc - absolutely superb! Can't wait for Monday evening when we will be having the 2007 at dinner at Lovane.
Our good friend, Schalk Opperman suggested I stick to the whites for the evening. A first for me, but definitely a good recommendation if one wants to experience the whites on their own. Pity I couldn't go another evening to drink the reds.
Other highlights were the FMC (Forrester, Meinert Chenin), Jordan Chardonnay (both the Nine Yards - reserve, and Jordan superb), the Asara Sauvignon Blanc and off course, Krohne Rose*. I'm such a sucker for a pink bubbly!
*Don't miss the Summer Elegance party on 13 December at Twee Jonge Gezellen (The House of Krohne).

Lourensford Barrel tasting 20080905

The Lourensford barrel tasting has become somewhat of a tradition to attend by at least one of the Van Pepper crew.
We have photos from last year's event with purple tongues... Happy memories!
This year M attended with some friends. It was once again a delightful evening. The 2008 Shiraz shows a lot of potential, some dark fruity, peppery, smoky flavours... definitely worth waiting for! (But beware if you drink too much from the barrel - the tongue turns purple!)
Assistant wine maker, Hannes, was spotted giving some foody tips in the latest issue of Weg. Seems these guys are multi-talented!
PS: Don't miss the Honey Liquer - a great accompaniment to desserts. Very sweet, so try with some ice and check out the funky packaging - they've won an award for that.