This was an all-day affair hosted on the 2nd floor of Morton\u2019s Steakhouse (on Avenue Road).\u00a0 Four seminars all dealing with South African wine and their many ilk.<\/p>\n
Seminar One \u2013 Chenin Blanc (10:30am) \u2026<\/strong> We were here to taste some 39 wines starting with the (once and future) king of South African whites, Chenin Blanc, described as the Cinderella grape.\u00a0 Years ago the South Africans called it \u201cSteen\u201d, which means brick, because the bunches come off the vine in a seemingly heavy brick form \u2026 but recently the proper name for the grape is being used to market the wines outside of South Africa.\u00a0 Originally this noble variety was planted as a Brandy grape, but many winemakers have taken it under their wing and decided to make more serious wines from it.\u00a0 South Africa has the largest production area of Chenin, double its nearest competition for the grape\u2019s affection, the Loire Valley in France.\u00a0 The reason for its popularity is simple: 9 out of 10 years the majority of regions of South Africa can ripen all their grapes.\u00a0 It represents 50% of all white production, 20% of all wine production, and 55% of all Chenin vines in South Africa are 15+ years old.\u00a0 We tasted 11 Chenins, with vintage dates ranging from 2006-2010 here is my top three:\u00a0 (To read about my tops wines tasted during all four seminars, click here<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n