Archive for October, 2011

Wine lovers in and around Johannesburg will be able to sample this year’s double gold and gold Veritas Award-winning wines ,including the Kumkani Sauvignon Blanc 2010.

The tasting and gourmet evening will be held at the Bill Gallagher Room of the Sandton Convention Centre on 26 October.

For more info on this event visit wine.co.za

When it comes to deciding on complementary wines and cheeses, there are a few suggestions to make the choice easier. Soft, strong cheeses tend to go well with white wines, while hard, mild cheeses work well with red. Sweet wines and fruity wines work with a lot more cheeses,  especially the smelly ones. Of course, there’s also the issue of which variety of cheese goes with which variety of wine. For example, there are several types of mild cheddar, Stilton and Gouda, so how’s a poor dinner party hostess to know which one to choose?

Some suggest pairing cheese with wine from the same region, as the flavors will almost certainly be complementary. Brie and Chardonnay, Parmesan and Chianti – these are a couple of suggested pairings. You could try Shiraz with a mature cheddar or the Kumkani Sauvignon Blanc  (a the recent Veritas Gold Medal winner )  to accompany goat’s cheese. And a salty Blue Cheese is best accompanied by a drop of Port. With hundreds of wine and cheese varieties, it can get difficult to choose, so perhaps you shouldn’t. Instead, place a selection of wines and cheeses on the table and leave it to your guests to choose their own pairings.

Kumkani, the ‘king’ of South African wines, showed its royal pedigree this weekend after scooping up six medals at the 21st annual Veritas Awards ceremony, including a gold, two silvers and three bronze.

The Veritas Awards is South Africa’s biggest wine competition, and is widely regarded as its most highly esteemed indicator of quality, market-ready wines.

The Veritas Gold medal was awarded to Kumkani Sauvignon Blanc. Sourced from the coastal regions of Darling and Stellenbosch, the grapes were chosen for optimal quality to produce this fresh and well-balanced wine.

Bursting with crisp, fruit-driven flavours and characterised by aromas of ripe gooseberry and underlying notes of grass and green pepper, this refreshing wine is makes an exceptional food partner, especially for green salads, asparagus and shell fish.

The Veritas Silver medals were awarded to Kumkani Cradle Hill Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 and the Kumkani Shiraz 2009. Bronze medals were awarded to the Kumkani Shiraz-Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, the Kumkani Pinotage 2009, and the Kumkani Inifiniti Brut 2007 – which was also ranked 4-stars in the 2011 Wine Magazine Amorim Cork Cap Classique Challenge.

Kumkani wines – which are renowned for delivering exceptional value and quality – are available from just R49 per bottle directly at the cellar door or at chosen wine outlets nationwide.

Join us at the upcoming Cape Wine Europe show, taking place today at London’s The Brompton Hall in Earls Court.

Our expert team will be showcasing a selection of our top wines at our stand (#38), including the Veritas Gold medal winner , the Kumkani Sauvignon Blanc 2010.

For more info on this event visit capewineeurope.com

The uniquely South African wine brand Kumkani (derived from the Xhosa word for ‘king’ ) were awarded a gold medal at this year’s Veritas Awards.

The impressive Kumkani Sauvignon Blanc 2010 received a gold medal while five other Kumkani  wines were also in the medals.

Here is a summary of the Kumkani wine which received medals at this year Veritas Awards

GOLD

• Kumkani Sauvignon Blanc 2010

SILVER

• Kumkani Cradle Hill Cab 2005
• Kumkani Shiraz 2009

BRONZE

• Kumkani Infiniti Brut 2007
• Kumkani Shiraz/Cab 2009
• Kumkani Pinotage 2009

About the competition:

Out of the 1,739 entries, 42 double golds were awarded, 158 golds, 609 silvers and 619 bronze.

For more information you can visit www.veritas.co.za