Let’s face it, we’re all suckers for a little indulgence. My friend and I once ate ten waffles. Each. Back at home, I’m losing count of my fiance’s surf and kite boards and my cat can’t lay off the catnip.
Wine is undoubtedly my biggest vice (please, don’t act so surprised!). Once I’m in a wine shop or at an estate, I give restraint a little pat on the head and tell it to go play outside like a good boy.
Winemaker Selection
Luckily the Wade Bales Wine Society makes it a lot easier for me to justify my wine indulgence. They sell an excellent range of carefully selected wines on their website (they also have a membership club and really kickass wine sales, but that’s a whole new blog post). The offices are slap bang on Klein Constantia Road and being inside the warehouse is amazingly similar to my idea of what nirvana must be like (although it lacked an endless nougat supply and a Rage Against the Machine reunion).
Anyhoo, what I really love is the Wade Bales Winemaker Selection. They’ve partnered with several top South African winemakers to create an exclusive range of affordable but high quality wines. Such genius!
The Adam Mason Shiraz 2011 is a real gem. Produced by Adam Mason of Mulderbosch fame, it’s packed with flavour, fruit and overall good vibes. In his own words, “we’re talking Turkish delight and milk chocolate here … And a touch of cherries, rosemary, and herby spice too.” As if things couldn’t get any better, R698.00 gets you a case of 12 bottles, so that’s about R58.00 per bottle. Bargain! I mean, when you see that kind of value…

The lowdown
Name:  Adam Mason Shiraz 2011
Winery: Specially produced for the Wade Bales Wine Society
Price: R698.00 per case (12 bottles)
The verdict: A delicious red at an equally enticing price. Affordable enough to drink every day and good enough for more special occasions too.