Viva A Free South Africa

A large part of enjoying a good meal is also enjoying a great wine.

Coming to Montreal from New Brunswick back in 1998, I arrived here without much wine experience as the selections where I grew up usually came in boxes or were fruit-flavoured apple wine concoctions.  Over the years and thanks to the phenomenal knowledge and inventory housed at the "SAQ", I have grown to have a discriminating palate for wines, especially red wines which have become my hands-down favorite.

Now, having a global experience with a variety of vintages, I can clearly say that the wines currently coming out of South Africa are my hands down favorite with the "shiraz" (aka "Syrah") based vintages being at the top of my list.  They seem to have the perfect balance between the peppery and heavy "Cabernet Sauvignon" robustness that I like and the fruity and delicate notes you would find in a "Merlot".

For a country that I only knew as a child as the home of cruel Apartheid policies and unrest, the explosion of their wines onto the local marketplace have been a real "decouverte".  One has to wonder if all those years of harsh oppression did anything to contribute to keeping these new world wines as one of the dark continent's best keep secrets-- allowing these producers to hone their skills to perfection in the shadows and hidden from the world's eyes.

Without further ado, here are some of my favorite South African wines that I encourage you to try:

• Robertson Winery, Shiraz, 2008 - Approx. 14$ a bottle.
  
• Robertson Winery, One Constitution Road, Shiraz, 2006 - Approx. 30$ a bottle
• Dornier, The Pirate Of Cocoa Hill, Cabernet Sauvignon 41%, Merlot 32%, Shiraz 18%, Cabernet Franc 6%, 2007 - Approx 14$ a bottle.

All three of these wines pair well with aged cheeses and rich meat dishes.  One Constitution Road is my top favorite of the three with a lingering heavy note of plum making it the best wine to drink as a stand-alone and for your friends who usually avoid red wine because they find they are too "harsh" for their palates.