Just Trying To Get Transferred
TASTING NOTES: Cape D’Or Sauvignon Blanc - “The wine is aged in stainless steel to maintain the true characteristics of the varietal. The result is a crunchy and zesty palate with a lingering aftertaste. Green apple, pink grapefruit and crushed stone dominate the nose while fresh citrus and tropical flavors, together with an elegant mouthfeel, are felt on the palate.” (AbV 12.5%, pH 3.5)
Cape D’Or Chenin Blanc - “This wine displays classical Chenin Blanc aromatics of straw, lanolin and bruised peach, accompanied by a beautifully refined minerality. On the palate one can expect vibrant acidity and a chalky mouth feel, making this wine extremely versatile when it comes to food pairings.” (AbV 12.5%)
VINEYARD: Vines 25 Years. at 400ft elevation.
BARRELS: Not specified.
PAIRS WITH: N/A
THAT REMINDS ME OF: Jan van Riebeeck.
Jan van Riebeeck arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652 with a mission so mundane it could make a bureaucrat weep: build a refreshment station. Not a colony, not an empire — just a place where Dutch East India Company ships could stop and get some vegetables so sailors wouldn’t die of scurvy on the way to the spice trade. The VOC was, above all else, a logistics company, and Jan was their produce manager. He planted a garden. He built a fort. He introduced Chenin Blanc, which turned out to be the most consequential thing anyone has ever done at a vegetable stand.
Here’s what’s funny about van Riebeeck: he famously did not want to be there. He had previously been fired from the VOC for private trading, and the Cape posting was basically his reinstatement-on-probation assignment. He spent most of his decade at the Cape writing letters asking to be transferred somewhere better — Batavia, Japan, anywhere. He finally got out in 1662 and went on to have a reasonably distinguished career elsewhere. The man who effectively planted the seed of South African wine culture was just trying to get a promotion and go home. Three and a half centuries later, his face was on the South African ten-rand note. You work with what you’ve got.
The Chenin Blanc he brought over — known locally in South Africa as Steen — eventually became the most planted grape in the country, which is exactly the kind of unintended consequence that makes history so enjoyable. Van Riebeeck was keeping sailors from getting scurvy. He was not thinking about minerality or chalky mouthfeel or vibrant acidity. And yet here we are.
VIDEO ICYMI, you have two choices:
Worried Summer heat might get to your wine before your wine gets to you? Order from this sale, the page you’re on right now, and we’ll get it to you at a cooler time of year (October)!
Want Protected Summer Shipping and don’t think heat will be a problem? Order from the sale linked here ! We’ll still try to get them to you with as little travel time as we can.
Some places get absurdly hot during the Summer, and in particularly unpleasant circumstances, it can damage a wine. Most people get theirs no problem, but there are a couple each Summer that fall victim to the sun no matter how fast we get them to you. If you’ve experienced that before or are afraid it’ll happen to you, we’ll hold your order for you until October, if you order from the Summer Hold sale. We are reasonably sure things will be cooler then.
