Never in our short tenure of a wine shop have we enjoyed so much great wine from such an unknown part of the world than over the past 21 days!
Kudos to WOSA (Wine of South Africa) the official wine commission of South Africa and co-sponsor with us in our current promotion. As many of you know, we are in a battle to sell the most SA wine as well as to educate our guests about the uniqueness and value that SA wines offer. It has been a trip to say the least!
We have sold more than 35 cases to date with lots more set to go out over the next three weeks! A special thank you goes out to our distributors who have assisted in our venture as well: Major Brands/Cape Classics, Garco Wines, Bommorito Wines and Pinnacle Imports have all assisted us in our efforts.
SA Wines have been used for Vino 101, Vino 201, private wine tasting events, donated items for non-profits, fundraising events, Around the Planet cases, Mix of Six packs, Wine Club wines and, as almost all of you have noted, on our tasting table in some form every single day since 9.1.07. So it appears we are really taking this promotion seriously … and why not? The winner may get a trip for two to South Africa for Cape Wine 2008. I would like to go (and my wife Julie would like to accompany me as she is the president of the company). Heck, as you know because you are reading it: we even created our own South African Vino Web site @ http://www.southafricanvino.com/ (Yes, we bought the URL too!)
And then there are the benefits for our guests: 20% off of all cases of SA wines, t-shirts, hats, aprons and books to be given away with every SA wine purchase, maps and posters, and do not forget the contest to see which guest purchases the most SA wines (as of press time the winner is at 4.5 cases and counting – Oy!).
So here we are knee deep in Steen and Shiraz and Cabernet … it’s really good wine at really good prices (What more can we say)
One final note … Vino 201 on 10.9.2007 still has some space left. Every student gets a copy of the John Platter SA Wine Guide for 2007 as well as their choice of a hat, t-shirt or apron from WOSA (Not to mention great SA wines to be tasted). I had the chance to try two of the wines on Monday:
- 2004 Ernie Els Engelbrecht Els Red (A full Bordeaux blend plus Shiraz) … OMG what a pleasant surprise! An explosion of flavor and spice with silky smooth tannins on the finish (This was after three to four hours of breathing). This puppy was big and bold in flavor but velvety smooth on the finish. Perfect for you next big, bold meal! In stock later this week at $42/bottle (Click here for the Web site) – 91 points from WS!
- 2004 Ernie Els Cirrus Syrah (100% Syrah/Shiraz) … Smooth with a hint of bacon fat and soy sauce (I hate using those terms but it was true) I was extremely impressed with the complexity and the flavors that were well-integrated throughout my wine adventure (by the end of the day Monday I have usually tries 15 to 20 wines so, yes, it was an adventure). In stock later this week at $63/bottle (Click here for the Web site) - 91 points from WS!
These are just a sample of what is to come … see you soon on The Blog or in the store!
Michael
