A South African Rose

South Africa is a major wine producer, ranking seventh in volume. It has been in the wine business for centuries. Most South African wine is produced within a few hours of Cape Town blessed with a mostly Mediterranean climate. This particular wine comes from the relatively cool Elgin Valley in the western Cape.

South Africa's signature grape is Pinotage, a cross between Cinsault and Pinot Noir, both of which originated in France. This red grape has lost popularity in South Africa over the years and never became popular anywhere else in the world. I don't recall drinking many Pinotage wines. Let's give it a chance.

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed

Slowine Rosé, 2008 13.0% alcohol about $10.00
Let's start with the marketing materials. Description: We agree with Wine Enthusiast, this is a 'very pretty' rosé. Read the note below -- this is a great buy. Tasting Note: [58% Pinotage, 28% Pinot Noir and 14% Shiraz] This classic, restrained rosé offers a wave of lemon, cherry and strawberry on the nose and refreshing, crisp berry flavors on the palate. Acids and fruit are very well balanced and the wine finishes clean with a slight spin of sugar. Very pretty and a great everyday sipper. Score - 86. (Susan Kostrzewa, Wine Enthusiast, March 1, 2009) And now for my review.

At first tasting the wine had mouth-puckering acidity, and yet was light. It lingered in my mouth with a definite berry taste. The initial meal consisted of bagels, cream cheese, and Atlantic smoked salmon (lox). The wine was very refreshing and tasted of raspberries. By the way, with the salmon its acidity was bang on.

The second meal consisted of stewed okra in tomato, garlic, and onion sauce over rice and eggplant grilled with its skin and covered in lots of oil, garlic and lemon. With the okra the rosé tasted of raspberry and some lemon. It had light acidity with just a touch of sweetness and was quite refreshing. With the eggplant the wine was palate cleansing and once again raspberries predominated. On the other hand when accompanying a raspberry and rhubarb pie the wine was initially disappointing. I hoped that the raspberry taste of the wine would meld with the pie. At first this didn't happen but as I continued the combined raspberry taste intensified. The second dessert was a homemade peach, pear, and strawberry cobbler garnished with chocolate chips. The rosé had fine acidity with a touch of sweetness.

The final meal consisted of a commercial boxed vegetarian eggplant rolatini that included eggs, ricotta cheese, and tomatoes. I added a lot of grated Parmesan cheese. The wine had bright acidity with a lot of lemony taste. It wasn't the least bit unpleasant and had a nice length. I finished the meal with a high-quality chocolate-coated vanilla ice cream bar. The wine and the dessert simply didn't mesh.

I finished the tasting with two cheeses. The first cheese was a sheep's milk feta. The rosé was fruity but short. Then I tried a brick cheese. The wine was somewhat longer and fruitier, but all in all the wine and cheese pairings weren't up to the rest.

Final verdict. I really liked this wine. I made sure to finish every drop and would be happy to buy it again.

A Wine Lover's Weekly Guide to $10 Wines - A South African Rose by Levi Reiss
Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten books on computers and the Internet, but to be honest, he would rather just drink fine Italian, French, or other wine, accompanied by the right foods and spend time with his wife and family. He teaches classes in computers at an Ontario French-language community college. Among his many web sites he is particularly proud of his Italian travel site with a special focus on regional food and wine at http://www.travelitalytravel.com. Check out his global wine website at http://www.theworldwidewine.com with his weekly column reviewing $10 wines and his new sections writing about (theory) and tasting (practice) organic and kosher wines.

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