PART ONE – The Travelling Sommelier: Sipping through Sydney, Perth and beyond
My last article, described the beers, wines and spirits I experienced on my cruise across Southern Australia including Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. In this article, I will continue my travels and tastings through the Indian Ocean with stops in Mauritius, Cape Town (South Africa), Walvis Bay (Namibia), and Cape Verde. I’ll finish with some LCBO local recommendations. Next month, I will continue the voyage covering Funchal (Madeira) and the Mediterranean countries visited.
Arriving in Port Louis, Mauritius in March, we woke up to 24 degree sunshine and 95% humidity. At the local market I looked for the much sought after Reunion Island coffee from a nearby island, but the Mauritians don’t carry this world famous coffee, rather, they prefer to promote their own small coffee plantation supplemented by Ivory Coast coffee. I passed on that sitting in the shade by the canal in the shopping district sipping a Phoenix beer (MUR 175 =$5.26CAD). It is a pale, golden lager with a light, biscuity, and grapefruit aroma with a thin white head; clean, crisp, and lightly hopped finish. I noticed an understated spicy aroma with floral notes of pine. On hot and humid days this is an easy-drinking, approachable, well-balanced, clean, and refreshing thirst quencher, similar to many light lagers made in tropical climes all over the world.
Next stop for 2 days was Cape Town, starting with a tour of Stellenbosch wine region and a tasting at Blaauwklippen, founded in 1682 nestled amongst Cape Dutch buildings and vineyards. Chardonnay fermented on the lees using 1st, 2nd and 3rd year barrels that underwent full malolactic fermentation leaving us with a gorgeous light golden, medium full bodied wine (13.5%abv); aromas of vanilla/butterscotch and a light oak spice; taste of mouth-filling tropical fruit with a balanced fruit acidity backbone leaving a long, satisfying clean, fresh finish.
Then it was their fabulous refreshing Sauvignon Blanc (under $20!) with classic fresh grass and yellow tree fruit profile. Into the reds with De Blaawe Klip 2020 grown in the Dwarsriver blue granite soil, their Bordeaux blend style wine consisting of 30% Cab Sauv, 26% Malbec, Petit Verdot 13%, and Merlot 5%. Even priced at the high $20s it was a steal and I bought a bottle for onboard enjoyment.
Each grape varietal is separately whole-bunch fermented, punched down on the skins for colour and flavour extraction, spending 18 months in French oak barrels before blending, incorporating 35% new oak barrels.
Tasting notes: dark graphite colour, plush cassis and blueberry aromas with a creamy entrance taste and plush fruit tannins leading to a velvet mid-palate and an aromatic finish.
In the quaint town of Stellenbosch, we dined al fresca on the sidewalk (in the shade!) ordering South African delicacies. I had a Namibian made Windhoek draught beer with my ostrich kebobs and tsatziki sauce surrounded by one of the best fresh Greek salads I have ever had full of tomatoes, black kalamata olives, crunchy fresh cucumber, and really fresh creamy feta cheese perfectly drizzled in their tasty house Greek salad dressing.
For the second day, I walked from the ship at beautiful Victoria and Alfred wharf visiting the multitude of shops and eateries. Lunch outside overlooking the yacht harbour, I had fresh fish and chips and when I asked for a local beer I was given a ‘Black’ which turned out to be Carling Black Label!
Two days sailing north along the western African coast, we docked at Walvis Bay, Namibia, land of sand dunes to the ocean. After driving my 4 X4 over the sand dunes of Prince Edward Island in the 1980s accessing shipwreck dive sites, I passed on the chance to be a ‘Desert Rat’ in the jeeps, preferring instead a walk through town to the Namibian Brewery which makes a number of beers under license: Windhoek, Heineken and others. I tried their local King lager which is rich in taste with a substantially fuller body than most lagers. It is the first beer to contain home-grown Namibian barley coming in at 5.5%abv. It was unique and reminded me of our local Lug Tread, Beau’s flagship beer, a lagered ale that is top-fermented and then cold-aged. Both also have that malty presence.
After 7 days we reached Mindelo, Sao Vincente island, one of 10 islands that comprise the independent Portuguese Republic of Cape Verde located 570 kilometres off the western coast of the African continent, near Senegal. Other than its strategic mid-Atlantic ocean location, Cape Verde relies on tourism. I toured the island of Sao Vicente all day for only $121. The majority of the population is young; 49% of the population is under the age of 25, and 7.4% of the population is over the age of 65. We were told to watch out for groups of kids pick pocketing tourists. Our guide kept them at bay in the quaint towns and beaches we visited. Unfortunately, there was no local beer, wines or spirits to try.
To begin Summer, try these new products at LCBO:
Casillero Del Diablo Belight Sauvignon Blanc LCBO#42710 $13 at a light 8.5%abv for easy summer drinking from a good Chilean producer. This light wine shows aromas of peach and pear, complementing a reserved herbal note. The palate is vibrant and fresh, boasting orchard fruit, citrus and mineral flavours. Pair it with grilled fish!
Wolf Blass Yellow Label Cabernet Sauvignon LCBO#251876 $15 ($3 off till 22 June!) 14.5% made with fruit from Australia’s Langhorne Creek and McLaren Vale regions. Enjoy flavours of coffee, smoky oak, black plum along with floral and wild honey notes. A superb pairing for roast lamb with rosemary.
Brian Preston – The Travelling Sommelier
brianpreston@hotmail.com
613.272.3129
The Travelling Sommelier column is a regular feature in our print/digital edition.
