Fairview Wines Goats do Roam Red 2008

Coastal Regions, South Africa
$15-19
fairview.co.za
wosa.co.za

World Cup!  In honour of this grand football zenith, drink will be reviewing a number of South African products over the next couple of weeks.  You may know all your choice teams and picked the players for your pool, but have you given much thought to the massive South Africa wine industry? According to the Wines of South Africa (WOSA) website, the country currently has 101 958 hectares (2007) under vines for wine production.

The 2008 harvest is estimated at 787.2 million litres, 56.8 million litres up from the 2007 figure of 730.4 million litres. 

South Africa produces 2.9% of the world’s wine and ranks as number nine in overall volume production (2005).  While admittedly few of those bottles show up in our stores (and even fewer premium bottlings), there are a few you should become friendly with.

Like Goats!  This tongue-in-cheeky blend is the best selling South African red in North America. A riff on France’s Cotes du Rhone blends, this mélange is mainly Shiraz, with
Cinsaut, Mourvèdre, Grenache and Carignan –  whew!  The result?  No gamy goat here – just meaty, ripe black cherry and dusty herbal flavours with an earthy anise finish.  This medium-bodied mix will suit a variety of meat and game dishes – try a grilled pork or veal chop with lentils, or, if you dare find it, goat stew.

Rating:  (click here to see what our wine ratings mean)

By Treve Ring, Online DRINK Editor

June 11, 2010