National Wine Day

What a week it’s been!

First, there was the Royal Wedding.  My friends and I loved watching these two lovebirds tie the knot.  It was a beautiful wedding.

We celebrated in fine style, with mimosas and a fine feast.  A grand time was had by all.

The very next day I then ran the 10K portion of Halifax’s famous race, the Bluenose.  A gruelling course with lots of hills, but we did it.

And then of course yesterday was National Wine Day…

A very full week, which entailed lots of celebrating, and a glass or two of wine.  There are two wines I would like to tell you about this week.

The first one is the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon from the House of Mandela.  This is the Royal Reserve and I tried the 2012 version, and in my opinion, the 2012 is ready to drink now.  I bought the 2014 because I would like to keep it for a while.  This is a good South African Cabernet and my bottle is special to me because it was signed by Nelson Mandela’s granddaughter Tukwini Mandela.  Tukwini, and her mom Dr. Makaziwe Mandela, started the House of Mandela in 2010, launching the first wine in 2013.  As a négociant, House of Mandela does not maintain its own vineyards, but purchases grapes and juice from small farms and markets them under its label.  The Royal Reserve bottles really focus on stringent quality standards. This wine is not overly tannic, and quite smooth on the palate, and the story behind the wine is also so interesting.  The label has the 100th sticker, representing what would have been Nelson Mandela’s 100th birthday on July 18th of this year.

And now for my wine of the week…

I tried this wine on Thursday evening and honestly, it’s probably the best Primitivo I have ever tasted coming out of Italy.  In a word, WOW!  Fantastic cherry aromas on the nose with spicy fruit on the palate.  This is a tantalizing full-bodied wine and I’ll be treating myself to this one again soon.  It’s a treat wine, coming in at $44 here in eastern Canada, but worth every penny.  I loved this wine and it definitely earns the title of my wine of the week.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.  Thanks for reading, and I’ll be in touch next week.

Cheers

Darlene