Twitter Wine Tastings – Incogvino https://incogvino.co.za Mon, 28 Nov 2016 07:46:39 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.6.1 Sediment – Wyn op die Kassie https://incogvino.co.za/sediment-wyn-op-die-kassie/ https://incogvino.co.za/sediment-wyn-op-die-kassie/#comments Fri, 23 Jan 2015 12:16:58 +0000 https://incogvino.co.za/?p=488 Tydens Desember 2014 het ek op Twitter kennis gemaak met die @SedimentTV rekening wat voorbrand gemaak het vir ‘n Afrikaanse KykNet reeks wat handel oor die plaaslike wyn wêreld. Op Vrydag 2 Januarie 2015 om 17:30 het die eerste episode die lug gesien, met ‘n gemengde ontvangs van die industrie af. Enige interessante nuuthede (veral dié… Read More

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]]> Sediment. Vrydae 17:30 op Kanaal 144

Sediment. Vrydae 17:30 op Kanaal 144

Tydens Desember 2014 het ek op Twitter kennis gemaak met die @SedimentTV rekening wat voorbrand gemaak het vir ‘n Afrikaanse KykNet reeks wat handel oor die plaaslike wyn wêreld. Op Vrydag 2 Januarie 2015 om 17:30 het die eerste episode die lug gesien, met ‘n gemengde ontvangs van die industrie af. Enige interessante nuuthede (veral dié wat ‘n bietjie omstredenheid veroorsaak) verdien om van naderby ondersoek te word.  Daar is reeds drie episodes uitgesaai en Episode 4 wys vanaand. Incogvino het die PVR hierdie week laat les opsê en al drie episodes bestudeer, en ek is reg om my beskeie uitspraak te lewer.

Die debuut episode het ‘n redelike mengsel van kommentaar op sosiale media ontlok; van uitermatige hoë lofprysing tot ‘n paar bitsige aanmerkings, sommige blykbaar meer gefokus op die aanbieder en die produksiespan as die inhoud self. Dit verras my glad nie. Sommige mense lewer altyd hul opinies as blindelingse lofsangers en ander het maar net ‘n skerp tong. Daarom het ek eers besluit om nog ‘n paar episodes te beloer voordat ek my R0.02 ook in die pot gooi.

Ek moet bieg, ek het maar gesukkel met die eerste episode. Die bewerige kameraman het my na my Stiguron laat gryp om die seesiek gevoel af te weer. En ek het by tye gewonder of hulle betaal word vir elke keer wat die skoot verander: 5 sekondes op die wynmaker, 2 sekondes op ‘n uit-fokus wynglas, terug op die wynmaker vir 3 sekondes, dan 2 sekondes op die bottel en so aan, en so voort. Ook maar goed ek het gesit en kyk want ek het begin duiselig voel. Ek besef ek is nou baie krities oor aspekte van die televisiebedryf waarmee ek nie bekend is nie (my gebrek aan terminologie in die opsig verklik dit reeds) maar vir my as kyker was dit te opvallend. Dit daar gelaat, die kamerawerk het myns insiens baie verbeter in die derde episode, ‘n tendens wat ek hoop om deur die res van die reeks te sien.

JP Quickelberge as aanbieder het ook my opinie verdeel. Hy’s jonk, vriendelik en kom baie gemaklik voor: ‘n vars gesig uit die wynbedryf. Die toon van die reeks is ontspanne en sy interaksie met die wynmakers en almal wat op die program verskyn is informeel; minder soos ‘n onderhoud en meer net ‘n lekker gesprek. Sy dikwels gemaklike ‘ad-lib’ styl laat hom soms amper in die steek wanneer hy effens minder voorbereid voorkom. Ek verstaan dat om die insetsel 27 keer oor te skiet om die dialoog 100% te kry sal beslis die natuurlike gevoel van die gesprek heeltemal vernietig, maar in veral die eerste episode kon die aanbieding miskien ‘n bietjie meer afgerond gewees het.

Maar ek is nie net hier om krities te wees nie. Ek het nie KykNet genader met ‘n idee vir ‘n wyn program nie, ek het niemand oortuig dat ek ‘n goeie aanbieder vir so iets sal wees nie en ek is beslis nie op die kassie om te gesels oor wyn nie. Die konsep is fantasties en presies wat Suid-Afrika benodig om die wyn boodskap na sy mense te bring: wyn vir die massas in die gemak van hul sitkamer. Ek verneem die plase het betaal om deel te neem aan die program en ek is nie bekend met hoe die proses verloop het nie maar ek is verheug om te sien dat die fokus weg is van die tradisionele “groot”, meer kommersiële plase en meer op kleiner, boetiek landgoedere. Die plekke besoek tot en met Episode 3 sluit in Black Elephant Vintners, Môreson (terloops ook een van die Incogvino lede), Rickety Bridge, Clos Malverne, Middelvlei, Marianne, Klawer, Lutzville en Fryer’s Cove. JP en die span snuffel die stories agter die wyn uit, gesels met die wynmakers en meng ‘n goeie dosis wynkennis by, veral met die gebruik van die “Wynfeit” oomblikke (die visuele aanduiding van die wynfeite – ‘n klein logo wat op die skerm verskyn wanneer JP ‘n wynfeit uitlig – is afwesig in die eerste twee episodes maar duik dan op in episode 3. ‘n Klein redegerings foutjie miskien?) en geselsies met die wynmakers, nie net in die proelokale of kelders nie maar ook in die wingerd.

My grootste teleurstelling is dat daar nie meer gemaak word van die saamproe aspek van die program nie. Deel van die Sediment aanbieding is die geleentheid vir kykers om by die Wyn Klub aan te sluit en elke week 6 bottels van die wyne wat in daardie week se episode geproe word, te ontvang. By elke plaas wat besoek word, word een van die wyne in die pak geproe. Ten spyte van al die moeite wat met die wyn klub gedoen word, is dit baie maklik om die proe deel tydens die episode heeltemal te mis. ‘n Vinnige bekendstelling of visuele aankondiging van die saamproe sou nie te versmaaie gewees het nie. Hulle mis ook uit op ‘n reuse geleentheid om  tydens die episode met die wyn klub lede op Twitter ‘n bietjie interaksie te skep, veral om die wyne wat geproe word. Hier by Incogvino weet ons darem al ‘n ding of twee van Twitter wynproeë. *kug*

Ek sluit af: dis ‘n uitstekende konsep. Ek haal my hoed af vir JP en almal wat dit uitgedink en deurgevoer het. Dit is hoogtyd dat die wynindustrie sien wat die jonger garde kan bemag en hoe gedrewe ons is om ons liefde vir wyn met die wêreld te deel. Nietemin, soms laat die vervaardiging en afronding die inhoud in die steek. Tog, soos ek opgelet het, blyk dit dat elke episode ‘n verbetering op die vorige een is en dit maak my hartjie bly. Ek gaan aanhou kyk, die PVR is gestel vir elke episode ingeval ek iets mis. Dit is beslis ‘n eerste vir SA televisie en vir die wyn industrie, en hopelik is dit ook nie ‘n laaste nie.

Sediment. Vrydae om 17:30 op KykNet, Kanaal 144

 

 

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]]> https://incogvino.co.za/sediment-wyn-op-die-kassie/feed/ 2 Tech-savvy #TasteVilafonte https://incogvino.co.za/tech-savvy-tastevilafonte/ https://incogvino.co.za/tech-savvy-tastevilafonte/#respond Fri, 24 Oct 2014 06:24:14 +0000 https://incogvino.co.za/?p=387 On Wednesday evening, SuperFANS from around the country joined up via Twitter again for another Incogvino Twitter Tasting. This time, Vilafonté stepped up to the plate with the 2012 release of their Series M and Series C (which is in its 10th vintage). This time, the team from Vilafonté really upped the ante by adding a… Read More

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]]> Are there more technologically advanced tastings out there?

Are there more technologically advanced tastings out there?

On Wednesday evening, SuperFANS from around the country joined up via Twitter again for another Incogvino Twitter Tasting. This time, Vilafonté stepped up to the plate with the 2012 release of their Series M and Series C (which is in its 10th vintage). This time, the team from Vilafonté really upped the ante by adding a live stream of the tasting, with Mike Ratcliffe at the helm. Wine fans around the country: check. Social media channel for interaction: check. Audiovisual enrichment via live feed: check. The live stream was also used to answer questions that were posted via Twitter, on the #TasteVilafonte hashtag.

Admittedly, it boggles even my mind how these tastings have evolved, and keep evolving. From what began as a few people in Cape Town and Johannesburg tasting one or two wines and discussing it through a few Tweets to elaborate planning, pairings, dinners and intense discussions. The winemakers and teams involved in each Twitter tasting need to be on their toes, because our SuperFANS come prepared with questions and comments. A few days before the tasting, emails fly through cyberspace, enquiring about the best pairings to go with each wine. Dinners are planned and, in some cases, restaurant reservations are made. On the night, culinary prep commences with aplomb, wine is decanted (sometimes into the poor man’s decanter and sometimes in more luxurious ones) and now, with the live feed, screens are set up. iPads, TV’s, laptops, phones, monitors. Screens to follow the hashtag on, screens to watch the live feed and backup screens in case of battery death.

The Vilafonté team outdid themselves. Incogvino Twitter tastings were taken to another level. If you missed it, here are some of the highlights, in Tweets:

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]]> https://incogvino.co.za/tech-savvy-tastevilafonte/feed/ 0 #TasteHautEspoir – A Tremendous Twitter Wine Tasting https://incogvino.co.za/tastehautespoir-tremendous-twitter-tasting/ https://incogvino.co.za/tastehautespoir-tremendous-twitter-tasting/#comments Mon, 08 Sep 2014 06:47:28 +0000 https://incogvino.co.za/?p=260 Haut Espoir. Literally translated, it means “high hopes”. And I certainly had high hopes for our Haut Espoir Twitter tasting. Not only has Haute Espoir been one of our longest standing SuperFAN Wine Farms, they are also amazing to work with. We don’t play favourites here at Incogvino, but if we had to, Rob and his team… Read More

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]]> Haut Espoir. Literally translated, it means “high hopes”. And I certainly had high hopes for our Haut Espoir Twitter tasting. Not only has Haute Espoir been one of our longest standing SuperFAN Wine Farms, they are also amazing to work with. We don’t play favourites here at Incogvino, but if we had to, Rob and his team would definitely be contenders. But I digress. I could go on and on about the farm all day, but that will have to wait for another post. Right now, I want to tell you about what went down in Twitter town on Thursday evening.

Haut Espoir

Haut Espoir

This past Thursday, wine lovers from all over SA joined up virtually – via the Twittersphere (a twitter wine tasting!) – to swirl, sniff, sip, gurgle, gulp and imbibe in a handful of Haut Espoir offerings. The Incogvino SuperFANS were offered their pick of Haut Espoir wines a few weeks ago. Rob and his team put together two fantastic “Fan Boxes” for the SuperFANS to choose from. One was a Shiraz vertical box, with vintages from ’05-’09 (of which ’08 and ’09 are unlabelled and unreleased) and a bottle of Gentle Giant 2009 to round it off. The other box was more a mixed bag: Shiraz 2007, Gentle Giant 2009 (two bottles), Chardonnay 2010, Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 and a very special, not-released-commercially, botrytis Semillon Solera white port. Orders were put in and records were broken. Our SuperFANS have always been partial to buying a few bottles of wine when the Fan Boxes come around, but this time they outdid themselves. 73 Fan Boxes were sold. Most of those in the first two days of the offer.

Orders rolled in, invoices were sent off, EFT’s went flying and deliveries were dispatched all over the country. The date was set and the SuperFANS were prepping in all earnestness for #TasteHautEspoir. The Twitter tastings have come a long way and they have become events where wine drinkers gather, prepare special dinners to pair with the wines being tasted and invite friends to join the experience. #TasteHautEspoir was no exception. Here’s what went down, in tweets and images:

Haut Espoir is a boutique wine farm in Franschhoek, entirely family run, with the focus on making the best wine possible (and a spot of buchu brandy on the side). They’re also known for their conservation efforts, restoring fynbos on the farm, their BWI accreditation and simply for crafting truly fantastic wines. Even in an industry that is built on passion, you will be hard pressed to find a more passionate team than Rob and his family. For more information, visit their website or follow Rob (@rambowine) or the farm (@hautespoir) on Twitter.

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]]> https://incogvino.co.za/tastehautespoir-tremendous-twitter-tasting/feed/ 1 #TasteHautEspoir https://incogvino.co.za/tastehauteespoir/ https://incogvino.co.za/tastehauteespoir/#respond Wed, 03 Sep 2014 13:38:48 +0000 https://incogvino.co.za/?p=256 Yes, you guessed it. The time has come for another #SuperFANS Twitter tasting. We’ll be hashtagging it tomorrow night (Thursday 4 September) with SuperFANS from around SA, digging into their Haut Espoir stash and sharing thoughts, opinions, tasting notes and sprinklings of white people.. err… pepper… (you had to be there). For those not in the… Read More

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]]> HE Shiraz 07

Haut Espoir Shiraz 2007

Yes, you guessed it. The time has come for another #SuperFANS Twitter tasting. We’ll be hashtagging it tomorrow night (Thursday 4 September) with SuperFANS from around SA, digging into their Haut Espoir stash and sharing thoughts, opinions, tasting notes and sprinklings of white people.. err… pepper… (you had to be there).

For those not in the know, SuperFAN Twitter tastings are a fun li’l thing we do every two months or so. Our gobsmackingly fantastic member farms treat us to a special fan pack, filled with liquid treasure. We then pick two or three wines from the packs and set them aside for tasting on the night. A date and time is agreed upon by all the SuperFANS and on the night, we take to Twitter from all over the country. We sniff, swirl, squint, tweet, type, drink, hiccup and gulp our way through the wines and the whole thing plays out real-time, online.

Our lineup for tomorrow night’s tasting is as follows:

2009 Gentle Giant
2007 Shiraz
Bonus round: 2008 Shiraz (to do a mini “vertical” tasting and compare years)

Last time around, we did #TasteLithos, possibly our most interactive tasting yet. 15,236 saw #TasteLithos and the potential reach was 26,958. That’s not half bad. And I think that #TasteHautEspoir will be topping those numbers.

If you’re NOT a SuperFAN, but you want to see what all the fuss is about, follow the hashtag #TasteHautEspoir from 19:00 on Thursday 4 September. If you have some of the Haut Espoir up for tasting lying around, feel free to join in! We’re not exclusive or snobby, we think we’re pretty cool. And if you want to become a SuperFAN and be in on the action with special fan packs, events and tastings, roll on over to our contact page and give us a shout, and we’ll add you to the list. No spam, nary a newsletter or unwanted content. Just super content.

 

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]]> https://incogvino.co.za/tastehauteespoir/feed/ 0 #TasteLithos [Twitter Wine Tasting] https://incogvino.co.za/tastelithos-twitter-wine-tasting/ https://incogvino.co.za/tastelithos-twitter-wine-tasting/#comments Thu, 17 Jul 2014 11:00:21 +0000 https://incogvino.co.za/?p=201 Another of our infamous Twitter Wine Tastings, hosted by AndyHadfield and the team from Lithos Wines, a new boutique winery in Somerset West – that brews beer in the down time! As usual, the Twitter tasting went down a treat and Lithos can now claim to be one of the most responsive wine farms on… Read More

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http://www.lithos.co.za

Another of our infamous Twitter Wine Tastings, hosted by AndyHadfield and the team from Lithos Wines, a new boutique winery in Somerset West – that brews beer in the down time! As usual, the Twitter tasting went down a treat and Lithos can now claim to be one of the most responsive wine farms on this medium. I heard afterwards that the team sweated a bit – but hey, that’s the game.

Huge thanks to Lithos for taking part. Here’s a gallery of some of the images shared during the Twitter tasting and the stats we achieved. And thanks again to the SuperFANS – SA’s greatest wine community

TASTING: Sunset Ale. Lithos Cape Blend. Lithos Syrah.

Follow Lithos on Twitter here.

Some of the SuperFAN comments:

lindakemp111: #TasteLithos I love this Shiraz. Dark chocolate, white pepper. Elegant, smooth, accessible but with real class. #wine140

xivoni111: #TasteLithos #wine140 Red Riedel better nose but harsher taste. White Riedel slightly closed nose – great taste. Restaurant glass: kak.

xivoni111: #TasteLithos @wines_lithos #wine140 @WeAreIncogvino Very classy Shiraz. Lovely elegance. White pepper, coffee-hint. Delicious.

Konfytbekkie: I’m trying to #wine140 about this @wines_lithos Syrah but I actually can’t be arsed because it’s just TOO good to describe.

AntonyStiglingh: Based on the @wines_lithos 2012 Syrah reviews, you best get to the cellar soon or compete in a trolley dash of death. #wine140 #TasteLithos

Konfytbekkie: Cape Blend: fresh and green but deliciously so. Ready to drink now but gut says a few years will REALLY perform magic #Wine140

GrapeWhine: #TasteLithos @wines_lithos #wine140 Syrah is delicious white pepper and mango nose with a more spicy and meaty mouth

andyhadfield: ’12 @wines_lithos Cape Blend. Perfumey spicy Shiraz dom blend. Kinda tour-the-world flavours. Well priced. Will age. YUM (decanted) #wine140

Photos and stats below…

Reach calculated using KeyHole.co

 

Additional stats provided by KeyHole.co

 

Additional stats provided by KeyHole.co

 

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