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More For Less
How to eat on the cheap, sort of, at Avenue B and its ilk.
-Maxine Keyser

September 5-11, 2002

food

drinktank

by Peter Burwasser

There is a part of the world that has had a presence on the international scene for less than a decade, and yet the culture of wine there goes back over three centuries.

The land is South Africa. Prior to the demise of apartheid in 1994, these wines were virtually unknown in the great wine-drinking markets of the world, but since then, output has tripled, and South Africa is now the seventh largest wine producer in the world. Excellent soil conditions combined with cooling oceanic winds make the Cape of Africa an ideal locale for the cultivation of wine grapes.

The most planted vines are Cabernet Sauvignon for red wine, and Chenin Blanc, known here as Steen, is the popular white varietal for the locals. Pinotage is a native red wine type, a hybrid of Pinot Noir and Cinsault. This reasonably priced varietal, usually $10 per bottle or less, drinks light and fruity, as such a lineage would predict.

South African vintners are savvy marketers, and so the classic French models now dominate the export inventory. As in Australia, the South Africans boldly mix grapes from different French cultures, as in the mellow yet rewardingly complex Guardian Peak '99, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Elsewhere, very traditional Bordeaux formulas are used, such as the Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Malbec grape juice cocktail for the compelling Mulderbosch '97 "Faithful Hound" ($21), from the major red wine grape region of Stellenbosch.

Sauvignon Blanc is a popular choice for white wine. A Cape Indaba 2000 ($8) delivered a fruitiness and full-mouth feel not normally associated with the more austere French style of this wine.

A fine example of sophisticated wine-making is the Brampton '98 "Unoaked" Chardonnay, reflecting the negative reaction, among serious wine drinkers, to the hugely popular, heavily oaked Chardonnays that pour out of the American West Coast. Many of these mass-market swills have never seen the inside of a true oak cask, and are artificially flavored. The Brampton is fermented in stainless steel, as are many of the great French Chardonnay-based whites. The result is a superbly crisp, citrus-infused quaff, wonderful with seafood, and a bargain, to boot, at around $12 bucks per bottle.

For the politically conscious, it is worth noting that the South African wine industry has made great strides in bringing black farmers into the business, with many partnerships formed with the more experienced white vintners. The first wholly black-owned winery is now in operation. For bargain-conscious American consumers, it may be enough that a formerly forbidden fruit may now be partaken and enjoyed.

Many South African wines are available at the state store at 1218 Chestnut St. (215-560-4380) and at Corkscrewed, Village Walk Shopping Center, Route 70, Cherry Hill, N.J. (856-874-1090).