Snoozy SA Sauvignon

“What are you doing here?” asked French wine judge Nellie Salvi on the KLM flight last night. “Returning from judging the Concours du Sauvignon?” Alas no, returning from a mining conference in Toronto. Mines, not Wines. But then it looks like the whole Concours Mondial franchise is running out of road if the extension of the deadline for entries this month is any indication. Still it was a merry ride, if a short one.

So should SA producers bother with international competitions like the Concours? Probably not worth the money.

jsa

But certainly the future for SA Sauvignon is overseas as KLM demonstrate on a daily basis. The white served in poverty class is called Elements – a blend of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc – made by Julien Schaal. The KLM trolly dolly admitted she didn’t understand it – “like mixing tea with coffee” but then she’s not a wine judge, so what is her opinion worth?

How ironic that the biggest volume SA Sauvignon blend is made by a gifted French winemaker and served on a European airline with global reach. Carry on snoozing, Sauvignon Blanc Interest Group, why don’t you. You’re snoring nearly as loudly as WOSA.