A red wine tasting was held at the Presbyterian Church Hall on the 6 September.
The tasting was designed to illustrate the varietal character of red wines from New World producers.
Countries have built a reputation for a variety and are now often thought to be the original
home of that variety. The wines were all tasted blind.
They were:
- Chilean Carmenere, Montes 2021 Alpha;
- Argentinian Malbec, Zuccardi 2021 Q, Uco Valley;
- Australian Barossa Shiraz. Saltram 2001 Pepperjack;
- South African Pinotage, Kaapzicht Skraalhans 2022, Stellenbosch;
- USA Zinfandel, Gnarly Head 2021 Old Vine, Lodi, California;
- New Zealand Pinot Noir, McArthur Ridge 2022 Southern Tor Otago.
- The Pinot Noir was perhaps the easiest to pick because of its lighter colour followed by the Zinfandel for its sheer weight of dark fruit and blackberry jam finish.
Of the varieties tasted four originated in France. Zinfandel originates from Croatia, and grows in Italy as Primitivo.
Pinotage is a South African variety created at Stellenbosch in 1925.
We would like to thank John Penney, Cellarmaster, for an interesting and informative presentation.
If you’d like to join us, contact Philippa on 021 434 163 or Dave on 027 453 0475.
