Funny to taste wines for someone who doesn’t drink! Naturally curious, especially since my photo shoots in the Douro and Bordeaux, I enjoy discovering through the wine: travel, know-how, culture and landscapes. Invited by Chacalli Wines, I discovered the South African wine, Avondale (pictured above) at La quincaillerie (a great restaurant with the Japanese Chief Minoru, sugoi ne!).

Jonathan Grieve, passionate  proprietor of Avondale wine estate, near Cape Town, keen on ecology and biodynamic farming, presented several of his wines. Instead using chemical pesticides, he prefers a squad of Pekin ducks. Large white ducks that look like geese. A regard to the environment that reminded me the South African holistic environmentally-friendly cosmetics brand,  Africology. Before this tasting, I didn’t know the principles of biodynamic and felt a bit lost at the benning of Jonathan’s presentation. In each wines presentation form, there is an introduction that refers to biodynamic, with “cosmic influences” and “astronomical on soil …” (like for La Luna 2006 wine). Really interesting and innovative and clever marketing, like the contemporary sorber labels on the bottles, positioning these wines in a mid to high range. They are rooted in their time. About grapes, for La luna 2006, I was nicely surprised by the presence of Petit Verdot (referring to my SF experience in a blend workshop in Bordeaux, lol).

So what about the wine tasting Miss never-without-my-spittoon? Far from being an expert, I really liked Anima, a white wine made ​​with an organic Chenin Blanc : very fruity aromas (including pineapple!) and light acidity. Cyclus 2009 is more aggressive, more acidic and less elegant than Anima. La Luna 2006, is a blend of grapes I know: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot. This is the subtlest and most sophisticated between the different nuances of aromas. The most classic too, quoted by Jonathan as a “vintage”. And finally Samsara, a strong character wine: spicy (white pepper, clove, cinnamon), fruity (mulberry), tannic. Conclusion: now I really have to discover this land of wine close to Table Mountain… Is the globetrotter awake, Mademoiselle Le K?

www.avondalewine.co.za 

Photos 2 & 3 : La Quincaillerie (source photos: www.quincaillerie.be – Lay out: Mademoiselle Le K). Photo 1 : Avondale’s wines (source photos: www.avondalewine.co.za – Lay out: Mademoiselle Le K).  

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Bordeaux, France: The Bordeaux Wine School  

Bordeaux, France: Wines &  Design @ Ad Francos   

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