Having relocated to Joburg a year ago, it’s been difficult (impossible!) to recreate the wine lifestyle I enjoyed in Cape Town, and the few events I’ve attended here have been pretty boring – I know, I probably attended the wrong ones because JOZI LOVES WINE.
The Unusuals Wine Festival, hosted by Wine Menu last week, was packed noisy and fun. I swirled and tasted until both my feet and mouth were numb. Huge thanks to Corlien Morris and the wine producers for creating such an awesome opportunity for ordinary wine-lovers like us to expand our world with these varieties.
The event was an outstanding success and Corlien sums it up perfectly:
“We were overwhelmed by the positive responses from producers and festival goers alike. Most people might have been a little unsure what to expect from such an unusual event, but the word spread quickly that this is where you come to learn about varieties you don’t know and that there was really a wine on offer for every taste. Not one single variety can be singled out as the most successful on the night as our sales show that festival goers were buying different wines across the offering. This is very encouraging and confirms our view that Joburg is ready to explore and broaden their wine horizons.
Corlien Morris
Due to the success of this event we are considering hosting this bi-annually rather than annually like our other festival. So if you missed this one, don’t fear, there’s another on the way early in 2017. It also doesn’t end here as we have a great selection of these wines on offer all year round at store in the Blu Bird Centre.”
Varieties like Verdelho, Mourvèdre, Gewürztraminer and Muscat de Frontignan were rolling in the mouth and rolling off the tongue a little easier towards the end of the evening. Oh, and thanks to the Anselmi San Vincenzo I can now say Garganega! Keep an eye out for the 2017 Unusuals Wine Festival dates, because you definitely do not want to miss out, tickets were limited this year so get in early. If you have a memory like I do, rather sign up for updates on the Wine Menu website www.winemenu.co.za.
And yes, one of my wine tasting notes was “airplane loo and fish tank”, this nose of mine has a long way to go.
Follow me on twitter @MerlotGirl
