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A Taste of South Africa

Stop by the shop this Friday for a taste of South Africa and the Stellenbosch in particular. The Dutch brought winemaking to this beautiful and troubled country more than 350 years ago. South Africans are struggling to overcome centuries of injustice, a stumbling government, and a dismal economy, but the end of apartheid was the best thing that could have happened to the South African wine industry. There’s been new investment, the abolition of laws and regulation favoring big land owners, greatly improved conditions for workers, and a new generation of wine makers with new ideas and new techniques. Guess what? They are making much, much better wine.

We’ll sample wine from two producers located in South Africa’s celebrated Stellenbosch (near Cape Town), Simonsig and Rust en Vrede. Here, the cool currents of Antarctica temper the Cape’s heat and produce wine that is full bodied but balanced by lively acidity. Tasty, distinctive, and affordable—that’s South African wine today. The free tasting is 4:30 – 6:30pm, Friday, October 2.