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Vine Budding Festival opportunity for wine lovers to try red wine
blending
Nottingham Road – Wine lovers will be celebrating the onset of spring
this Saturday at The Stables Wine Estate with another edition of their
popular red wine blending competition.
The innovative fun blending competition was started last year, offering
wine lovers a chance to try out combinations of Cabernet Sauvignon,
Merlot, Shiraz and Pinotage that might impress the judges.
With the weather forecast pointing to a stunning spring day in the
midlands, families will gather at the farm on the Rosetta Road from
12h30 to enjoy the occasion, while the wine “experts” experiment with
their preferred blends.
Last year Sharks skipper Johann Muller surprised the gathering by
producing a blend that impressed the judges in the blind tasting of the
final entries that he won the competition, and so impressed winemaker
Tiny van Niekerk that he used the 60% Pinotage and 40% Cabernet
Sauvignon blend for the popular Raggie Red.
Van Niekerk has once again committed to using the winning blend for his
new release of Raggie Red, should it get the unanimous approval of the
judges on the day.
“Blending wine really is an art more than a science,” said winemaker
Tiny van Niekerk. “The way wines combine in a blend is fascinating, and
produces a wine that is often quite different from the wines that go
into the blend - a real case of the end result being greater than the
sum of it’s parts.”
“Each wine must contribute something to the blend, in terms of
structure, mouthfeel, aroma, and taste,” says Van Niekerk. “it’s also a
very personal process, as each person will have a different view on
blends being tried out.”
“This wine blending competition is stacks of fun, but also a great
opportunity for anyone interested in wine to experiment with the
blending process, and get a feel for what each of these four distinctive
cultivars bring to a wine blend.”
The activity at The Stables Wine Estate starts at 12h30 and runs all
afternoon. Entrance to the festival is free, with the blending
competition costing R85 inclusive of the wines for the blending process.
Places are limited and bookings are strongly encouraged by calling (033)
266 6781.
For more information go to
www.stableswine.co.za
ENDS
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