Current Wines – excellent organics from Waverley Hills

After a visit to Waverley Hills Organic Winery in Wolseley recently we brought home some of their fabulous wine products.

Current White Wine on the Fridge
Waverley Hills Pinot Grigio 2016

The vineyards are planted on shale and decomposed rock and deliver an even handed 8 tons per hectare. Made by Johan Delport in The Waverley Hills Cellar. Organic and excellent.

Pour
From a Bordeaux shaped screw capped bottle with an elegant simple label. Whiffs of tropical fruits, kiwi, melon and desiccated pineapple.  Crisp, fresh with wet river stone flavours on the tail.

Pair
Perfect for summer foods, chilled asparagus, pea or lettuce soups.  Summery salads with smoked fish, smoked chicken or goat cheese.

Current red on the rack

Waverley Hills Grenache 2015

In a study done by Adelaide University in 2010, Grenache Noir

[Garnacha Tinta] was in the top ten of the most planted red wine grapes in the world.  Second in 1990 and 7th in 2010. Some important international wines, usually blends, such as Chateauneuf du Pape are made from Grenache Noir. Waverley Hills are planted on a south facing slope and deliver just 3 tons per hectare. 13% whole bunches added to the fermentation tank. Malolactic fermentation and 9 months in third fill 500 litre French oak barrels which give a gentle oaky support to the fruit.

Pour
Bottled under cork in a Burgundy shaped bottle. Beautiful translucent ruby at the core, paling out to garnet at the edge of the glass. Whiffs of ‘sweet’ fruit, cherries, chunky watermelon and red apples.  Lovely bright fruit on the palate, grinds of white pepper. Fresh crisp and smooth with mildly grippy tannins.

Pair
Charcuterie and fresh baked artisanal bread.  Went well with a sea bass dish offered by chef Francois du Toit, on the day of our visit. Fish off the braai, tomato and chorizo, seared tuna all would be excellent pairings.

Waverley Hills Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Out of interest, Waverly Hills also produces an excellent organically certified Extra Virgin Olive Oil which is a blend of a variety of olives, Mission, Manzanilla, Kalamata, Frantoio and Leccino.

Beautiful golden green in colour, whiffs of hay and fresh mown grass. Grassy, herbaceous, lettuce, rocket and the lovely little peppery grip in the throat. Great for cooking and seasoning.

Read more about Waverley Hills and buy wine online – https://waverleyhills.co.za

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February 5th, 2017|Categories: Michael's Writings|Tags: , , , , , , , |

about

fav-57 As a young aspiring chef, Michael laid a solid foundation for his career at the Cordon Bleu Cooking School in London. Over the next 30 years he had a series of high profile hospitality management posts, was the Public Relations Manager for Boschendal and ran three successful restaurants in the Cape, one of which, Parks, featured in the national top 10 restaurants.

Michael is a family man, author and broadcaster.
A lifetime devoted to the promotion and appreciation of the South African wine and food industry has earned him many accolades, including the Lannice Snyman Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2013 Eat Out Awards.

Michael continues to be prolific, informative and entertaining on his wine and food website, michaelolivier.co.za and on his wine site, wine4friends.co.zawhich sells specially chosen wine boxes.