Illustration by Alyssa Nassner
Stroll off the beaten track of a mountainside or valley vineyard in the Western Cape winelands of South Africa and step into wild, straggly vegetation of every shape and size. Brushing through these bushes releases many scents: heady dried herbs, wildflowers, pungent spice and more.
This is fynbos, the Afrikaans word meaning fine-leaved plants. Fynbos is composed of around 8,500 species from several key families Restionaceae, Proteaceae, Ericaceae, Rutaceae and Iridaceae many endemic to and part of the Cape Floristic Region, or the Cape Floral Kingdom.
UNESCO added the Cape Floral Region to its World Heritage List in 2004, citing it as one of the world’s greatest centers of terrestrial biodiversity.
Duncan Savage is one of South Africa’s pre-eminent crafters of elegant white wines, especially the Sauvignon Blanc based wines of Cape Point Vineyards.
He graduated from Elsenburg Agricultural College as top student in 2002. That same year he joined Cape Point Vineyards as Winemaker and took over all Viticultural responsibilities in 2004.
In 2007 he was elected to the prestigious Cape Winemakers Guild. In 2011 he created his own brand, Savage. In 2016, he left Cape Point at the end of May to concentrate on his own Savage Wines label.
The Savage style: picking early, looking for acidity, using a lot of whole cluster where appropriate, and old vines where he can, although he recognizes that there aren’t a lot of old Syrah vineyards in the country.
Booze News: Imperial Stouts at Beersmith, Savage Wines at Merchants, and All-You-Can-Drink for Teachers Dec 18, 2020 2:30 pm | 1 comment | 167 reads
Thirsty? Wet your whistle with Booze News, our wrap-up of the week s best bar deals, parties, drink concoctions, industry gossip, and more.
Beersmith imperial stout tasting
It s a god-given fact that thick black liquids with creamy and frothy heads are one of the easiest ways to dispel winter shivers. Or maybe it s because these particular liquids ring in at a huge 10 percent-plus ABV. Either way, Beersmith is doing their part to keep us warm over the winter months with their annual imperial stout vertical tasting. For RMB 148 you ll get a tasting paddle with Beersmith s newly released Russian imperial stout (and boy is it smooth!), its coffee-flavored cousin, and last year s ever-so-frothy edition for comparison purposes, as well as a side dish. In fact, this new tradition of savin