Not a particularly sports orientated post, but I love wine and these guys do a better job of explaining it to me than anyone else I have ever come across. Check out their tasting events calendar and make sure you attend in your city.

We have sat and ruminated on what tastings to bring out in the next six months and here they are (from April onwards). More details on each will be posted in the next few weeks, in addition to an exciting chauffeur drive opportunity for the first ten Guests to book any of our tastings in Joburg and Cape Town. Incredible wine, great people, beautiful venues, luxury vehicles. Why the hell not!

Here we go!

• 7 April | Cape Town | Under the Influence of Flavour | A mini wine course exploring South Africa’s leading wines
• 14 April | Cape Town – Roundhouse | Under the Influence of Italy | An exploration of beautiful Italian wines
• 20 April | Joburg | Under the Influence of Italy | An exploration of beautiful Italian wines
• 21 April | Cape Town | Deconstructing Cabernet Sauvignon | An exploration of South Africa’s leading Cabernets
• 21 April | Joburg | Deconstructing Cabernet Sauvignon | An exploration of South Africa’s leading Cabernets
• 22 April | Joburg – Campbell House | Under the Influence of Soil | Exploring leading wines from different soil types
• 23 April | Durban | Deconstructing Cabernet Sauvignon | An exploration of South Africa’s leading Cabernets
• 28 April | Cape Town – Roundhouse | Deconstructing Pinotage | An exploration of leading Pinotages
• 5 May | Joburg | Deconstructing Pinotage | An exploration of leading Pinotages
• 12 May | Cape Town – Roundhouse | Under the Influence of Bottle Age | Exploring older vintage wines
• 19 May | Cape Town | Smaller is better | Discover small and unknown wine Estates
• 25 May | Joburg – Campbell House | Smaller is better | Discover small and unknown wine Estates
• 26 May | Cape Town – Roundhouse | Eben Sadie | A tasting of Eben’s South African and Spanish wines
• 26 May | Joburg | Deconstructing Shiraz | A journey through leading Shiraz wines in South Africa
• 27 May | Durban | Deconstructing Shiraz | A journey through leading Shiraz wines in South Africa
• 1 June | Joburg | SA vs the World | A tasting of international and South African wines against each other
• 2 June | Cape Town | Deconstructing Shiraz | A journey through leading Shiraz wines in South Africa
• 2 June | Joburg | Under the Influence of Bottle Age | Exploring older vintage wines
• 3 June | Joburg – Campbell House | France vs SA bubbly | A comparitive tasting of French and South African sparkling wines
• 9 June | Cape Town | France vs SA bubbly | A comparitive tasting of French and South African sparkling wines
• 16 June | Cape Town – Roundhouse | SA vs the World | A tasting of international and South African wines against each other
• 23 June | Cape Town | The Rhone in South Africa | A tasting of the beautiful wines of the Swartland region
• 30 June | Cape Town – The Roundhouse | De Toren tasting | A journey through various vintages of De Toren wines
• 7 July | Cape Town | Bordeaux in South Africa | A journey through leading Bordeaux blends in South Africa
• 14 July | Cape Town – Roundhouse | Burgundy in South Africa | A tasting of leading Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in South Africa
• 21 July | Cape Town | Under the Influence of Stellenbosch | An exploration of the leading wines of the region
• 27 July | Joburg | Blind vs Sighted Wine Tasting | Learning how to judge wine, unsighted and sighted
• 28 July | Cape Town – Roundhouse | Jordan tasting | Exploring the wines of Jordan, both new and old vintages
• 28 July | Joburg | Burgundy in South Africa | A tasting of leading Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in South Africa
• 29 July | Joburg – Campbell House | Jordan tasting | Exploring the wines of Jordan, both new and old vintages
• 2 August | Durban | Bordeaux in South Africa | A journey through leading Bordeaux blends in South Africa
• 4 August | Cape Town | Deconstructing Pinot Noir | Exploring leading Pinot Noir in South Africa
• 11 August | Cape Town – Roundhouse | Under the Influence of Heaven and Earth | A tasting of the incredible wines of the Hemel en Aarde Valley
• 18 August | Cape Town | Raats tasting | An exploration of new and older vintages of Raats wines
• 24 August | Joburg | Deconstructing Pinot Noir | Exploring leading Pinot Noir in South Africa
• 25 August | Cape Town – Roundhouse | Under the Influence of the South | A journey through the wines of Elim and surrounds
• 26 August | Joburg | Raats tasting | An exploration of new and older vintages of Raats wines
• 27 August | Joburg – Campbell House | Under the Influence of the South | A journey through the wines of Elim and surrounds
• 1 September | Cape Town | Grangehurst vertical tasting | A tasting of the incredible vintage wines of Grangehurst
• 8 September | Cape Town – Roundhouse | Smaller is better | Discover small and unknown wine Estates
• 15 September | Cape Town | Under the Influence of Elgin | A journey through the beautiful wines of Elgin
• 22 September | Cape Town – Roundhouse |  Bordeaux in South Africa | A journey through leading Bordeaux blends in South Africa
• 28 September | Joburg | Grangehurst vertical tasting | A tasting of the incredible vintage wines of Grangehurst
• 29 September | Cape Town | Deconstructing Shiraz | A journey through leading Shiraz wines in South Africa
• 29 September | Joburg | Under the Influence of Elgin | A journey through the beautiful wines of Elgin
• 30 September | Joburg – Campbell House | Bordeaux in South Africa | A journey through leading Bordeaux blends in South Africa

wowzers! get onto it. contact details:

Web link here.

Telephone (021) 438 4391

Email: info@undertheinfluence.co.za

View from the Viljoensdrift Boat

With this?

Viljoensdrift MCC

What started with the cultivation of the estate’s 12-year-old block of chardonnay grapes by viticulturist Manie, resulted in a complex, creamy Cap Classique by Fred, two years later.

I cant wait to head out to Robertson to try some of it. I heard a year ago they were making it, but havent managed to get a sample (insert hair pulling, stomping the floor and general tantrum behavious here). I may jump off the boat after a few bottles. Like we did last time after consuming enough Chenin Blanc / Colombar blend. This behaviour is not condoned in any fashion and totally illegal (unless you buy enough to stay after the staff have left – like we did).

Never heard of this boat? Surf over to Viljoensdrift online to get more information on this amazing farm, and the incredible entertainment Lindy cooks up for us at the river. Or call them on 023 615 1901 or mail them at rivercruises@viljoensdrift.co.za

Remember : A designated driver goes a long way….

The raw product at Backsberg

Generally, the mere mention of the two make the old stalwarts cringe with dismay, how would wine and Facebook fit together?

More realistically, I believe we should be asking how they dont fit together. Lets rewind a few days to Tuesday last week. I was fortunate enought to be able to chat with a very laid back, very smart guy from the wine biz. Kleinhoekkloof Wine prides itself on being a small, elite, private wine label which is distributed through a social network of sorts – friends, family, business connections.

So seriously, how many wine drinkers are on Facebook? An exercise at work this week gathered us nearly 500 quality wine drinkers in a week to create conversation with. I know these are the kinds of wine buyers who spend good money on wine. The problem with social media is to incentivise people to interact. Once they have a reason to speak to you, of course its tough to get them to shut up.

Our online presence is really minimal (soon to change) and the media dont know about us in general, as we tick over and grow at a sustainable pace.

The farm which I was at last week, however, was the total opposite end of the spectrum. A renowned wine making/farming family who`s name conjured up images of quality wine, effortless implementation of essential business structures, and a drive for success that can only be described as “legenday”. Weddings, Jazz evenings, world class wines, it all happens here.

I was sitting with one of South Africas better wine bloggers, and a guy who`s quite passionate about eventual integration of a full social media circle into the farm for which he is the marketing manager, namely Backsberg. His vision is to someday, not have to spend a cent on advertising. As long as we are selling ourselves, we might as well do it properly.

His name is Simon Back, and you can find him at the following places:

Blog – The Back Chat
Twitter – here
Facebook – you`re not that lucky.

Simon Back wants to see his The Back Chat Blog and his newsletters as a chief source of quality conversation with his consumers. The age old story of the farm owner, marketer and wine maker being in the shadows are long gone. This year, conversation will be more on the lips of consumers as far as their purchasing decision goes.

This is what I am talking about:

“Oh, I met Simon at their Jazz evening after some discussions with him after I read something interesting on his blog. I mailed him and strews bob bru, he got back to me almost immediately. We spoke about the farm and I am totally all over what this wine represents and understand the flavours and the tastes so much better now”.

There is an inherent trust with someone who you have had meaningful conversation.

The Back Chat blog and their monthly newsletters are ways for staff at Backsberg to create those conversations with potential buyers. Thats where the peer group leaders and the pioneers are, in his opinion, and its far more useful to have direct conversation with them, than have them searching through forums and other misleading information about their amazing wines.

The way he integrates his vision is quite simple and it has a long term structure and he is clear that he is one of the few who believe in this so far, but better to get in early than try playing catch up.

For a large, local and export driven, commercially driven farm like Backsberg, this, to me, is worthy of applause. I share in his vision and I am sure we will share meaningful conversation about this topic in the years to come, and hopefully, look back in 10 years and laugh at how primitive our attempts now are, compared to what we will be achieving with Social Media in the wine industry by then.

I will post a more comprehensive review of Backsberg and its fabulous wines in just a bit….