For those of you who have been paying attention, and we assume that that includes the vast majority of our readers, we indicated a while back that we would be running the next installment in our “Days of Wine and Music” series this week. But, as you know, all lengthy performances of a certain stature require an intermission, so we have decided to include ours this week. The following entry was inspired by a wine that we encountered at the Sakura Awards Grand Tasting, which was held at the Hotel Gajoen on April 24, 2024.
There was a time when the sight of color pictures in a newspaper would elicit gasps and avian-like clucks from some members of the literati. Indeed, in those days the nickname of the American “paper of record”—The New York Times—was the “Gray Lady”: those boys on Times Square were strictly monochrome. Similarly, the sight or even the thought of canned wine would bring audible manifestations of opprobrium from most serious wine drinkers. But happily that is not the case anymore, thanks largely to wines like the one mentioned herein.
This little can of South Africa’s most popular white variety—Chenin Blanc—made the beautiful spring day on which we tasted it even better. Chenin Blanc is, according to Wine Grapes, “the most widely planted variety in the country.”1 Audacia’s Chenin Blanc is off-dry with medium (+) acidity, and 13.5% ABV. Primary notes of pineapple, peach, straw, apple, and honeysuckle and a hint of oak make this a pleasure to drink. Furthermore, no sulfites are used in its production. It is naturally preserved with honey bush and rooibos, according to information on their flyer. And the rebus on the label is a nice touch, too.
1Robinson, J. et al. Wine Grapes (UK: Penguin, Random House, 2012).
Drinking Japan 