Simondium Spectacular

The opening of the new all-singing, all-dancing tasting room of Rupert & Rothschild last night put Simondium on the map. What a pity Sediment weren’t in attendance to record the festivities for their thousands of KykNet viewers. The venue was opened by the King of SA wine, Johann Rupert (below), for whom Mr. Zuma’s ceiling of 12,000 ha land ownership might cause a few problems. But then Johann and Jacob are co-owners of SA liquor giant Distell through the recent investment by the PIC in CapeVin Holdings. No wonder the Distell share price is shooting out the lights on the JSE.

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While you’ll search in vain for Platter ratings of Johann’s wines (increasingly SA producers reject the biased sighted tasting methodology of the guide now owned and managed by Diners Club), the million bottles of his R&R Classique confirm it as the most successful high-priced wine in SA. A wine that now has an elegant new home (below).

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The wines served last night confirmed the international portfolio of Johann’s tastes. Champagne from France (natch), Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand (confirming that the Sauvignon Blanc Interest Group have more mountains to climb than Julie Andrews) and a red from Argentina.

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Aleit Swanepoel helped organize the affair and as expected, the food was outstanding. Star of the evening was Johnny Cash look alike Schalk-Willem Joubert (above, with Johan Wegner from GetWine) who is so committed to his R&R wines, he’s now moved on to the farm.