Friday afternoon saw the Cybercellar staff celebrating the completion of their brand new warehouse and office space, located just around the corner from the Cape Town International Airport. After a tough few months of working on the warehouse floor while the office space was under construction, the staff were eager to unwind and enjoy a relaxing braai and wine tasting, all planned by our own knowledgeable colleagues.
We were lucky enough to have three reds and three whites to taste, plus an added bonus of two gins. As we all gathered, glasses at the ready, the bottles were cracked open and an in-depth tasting began with a lot of knowledge shared about each wine.
The wines that we tasted were from three farms, one white and one red each and as we all gathered, Inacio, our knowledgeable sales manager, began the firs
t tasting lesson for our Warehousewarming, starting with the Iona wines and working through to the Gins.
This delicate bottle, crammed with a sprig of Agothosma Betulina, or Buchu is a
delicious combination of Juniper berries, citrus, coriander and the unique taste of Buchu. Splashed with Fitch and Leedes Tonic Water and topped with a slice of lemon, this gin held various flavours of sweetness, orange peel and naturally, herbal fynbos.
Iona
This turned out to be a huge favorite among the staff with votes coming in from Jeremy (Merchandise and Marketing Coordinator), Gavin (Chief Marketing Officer)and myself as the favourite of the afternoon. Grown in cool conditions, this wine is the perfect Sauvignon Blanc. Crisp, delicate and distinctive, it displays gorgeous floral, herbal and tropical fruit notes. It has a perfect finish that just makes you want to come back for more.
This beautiful blend from Iona includes Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, , Petit Verdot and Mourvedre. It is a wonderfully red fruity wine, rich with spice, peppers, and powdery tannins that sit on the palate and eventually end off in a smooth structured finish. Popular among everyone, many commented that the beautiful, eye-catching artwork on the label would make this a definite wine to look out for.
Barrel Fermented 2015 Chardonnay
Fans of Chardonnay, like Melissa our designer, loved this wine! It’s beautiful rich flavours were enjoyed by all who tasted Burgundian barrel fermented wine. It hit the tongue with a ripe and intense citrusy flavour and slowly moved to bring out its richer, butterscotch taste. The absolute elegance of the wine won over most of the girls, with its deep oak taste.
This Merlot, also turned out to be popular among everyone gathered. Its full, plum taste integrate berry flavours, spicy oak and soft ripe tannins. It is a smooth, easy drinking red with characteristics traditional to a Merlot.
This wine, grown at a high altitude, and matured in French oak for 9 months is a surprising Chenin Blanc. Tina, our developer, commented that if it was a blind tasting, she would never have put it as a Chenin. It is full bodied, with a perfect balance of stony fruit with spiced oak characters. It develops perfectly on the palate, growing into a almost acidic finish, with a perfect after taste.
This unique wine came with very mixed reviews from the staff. Its heavy liquorice nose hit you as soon as you went to take a whiff of the wine. It’s listed as a soft elegant wine with heavy fynbos aromas, cinnamon and spice and its palate reflects that it is grown in a cool, high climate. Should you not have a taste for liquorice, this wine is not for you, but if you do, this wine is on the forefront of the evolution of Southern African wines.
This tuned out to be the surprising favourite of the afternoon, with its unexpected smooth, citrusy taste. Desp
ite being served on a typical Cape winter day, this gin was raved about, and everyone went back for another tasting. A tot of the gin was poured
into the glass, Fitch and Leedes Tonic water splashed over it and then a dash of Socks Grapefruit Tonic Cordial added to the glass. A sliver of fresh grapefruit topped off this refreshing, delicious drink and this beautiful combination came as a genuine surprise to everyone, including , including Gavin and Claire (our customer care extraordinaire), who had never tasted Gin.
All in all, the afternoon proved to be a fun and educational event for the loyal Cybercellar team!
