SuperFANS – Incogvino https://incogvino.co.za Mon, 28 Nov 2016 07:46:39 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.6.1 A Visit to Lithos {Guest Post} https://incogvino.co.za/visit-lithos-guest-post/ https://incogvino.co.za/visit-lithos-guest-post/#respond Thu, 18 Sep 2014 08:53:21 +0000 https://incogvino.co.za/?p=290 After one of our most interactive and exciting Twitter tastings with Lithos wines, one of our SuperFANS, Stephen Brierley, went along to the farm to discover where the magic is made. If you want to follow Stephen on Twitter for his magnificent tweets about wine, you can find him at @sbrierley75. If you’d like to visit… Read More

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]]> Lithos Cellar

Lithos Cellar

After one of our most interactive and exciting Twitter tastings with Lithos wines, one of our SuperFANS, Stephen Brierley, went along to the farm to discover where the magic is made. If you want to follow Stephen on Twitter for his magnificent tweets about wine, you can find him at @sbrierley75. If you’d like to visit Lithos, contact them at @wines_lithos or visit their website.

I had a long overdue engagement with Tim Hoek, the winemaker from Lithos wines and just under two hours in traffic from Century City to Somerset West was not going to stop me. The farm is on Old Sir Lowrys Pass Road, on Wedderwill Country Estate. The Estate has another wine farm on its property, but that is a topic for another post. Lithos wine farm is situated between the Schapenberg mountain range to the east, the vistas of False Bay, that go on and on all the way to Cape point, to the west.

Lithos is owned by Sean and Lorraine. Sean is a financier, who still spends time travelling around the country on business, while Lorraine is an artist and a dreamer and conceptualised the name of the farm. Lithos comes from the word Lithosphere which is the outermost shell of our planet. The terroir in the area is excellent, previously being submerged beneath the waves of the Agulhas and now comprises of a top layer of sandy loam, with clay beneath which requires very little or no irrigation during summer months. The vines were planted in 2003 by the previous owners, who made wine for their own consumption, and the farm was bought and developed by Sean and Lorraine in 2011.

Tim Hoek found his way as winemaker to the farm from Jordan, where he was the assistant winemaker for five years. Tim and his wife, also a winemaker, have spent time in Bordeaux, Napa, New Zealand and have also made sparkling wine in the UK. Tim was born in Swellendam and obtained his agricultural degree in Wellington.

Tim Hoek, winemaker at Lithos

Tim’s manner is cool, calm and collected. He had previous aspirations to make beer, if the wine industry turned out not to be for him. But fate dealt him good hand and he now produces both wine and beer for the farm. An unusual occurrence; a wine farm that produces beer, but as Lorraine states: “We make and sell beer during the off season when we are not focused solely on the wines”. Nothing wrong with a dual income, I say! The beer is bottled under the Lithos labels: a haunting set of winged designs which were conceptualised by Lorraine, but designed by Vim Botha.

The beer is an interesting offering and ranges from 3.5% to 5% in alcohol. The lightest is a Raspberry Weiss which Lorraine thinks should be aimed at the female market. It is clean and refreshing with the obvious hint of rasberries, which is by no means sweet and overpowering. Sunset Ale is their pale ale, which is snappish and has slightly more a finish to it than the previous. The Midnight Stout is sharp and bitter and was my favourite. I took a carry bag of this home with me. All the beers are fairly light and would go down well with a range of food dishes.

After the beer tasting (apt for recovering from a Friday spent in too traffic), we moved onto their wines. They offer a range of 3 wines. The first was a Blanc De Noir, made with Pinotage, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. It offers a strawberry fruit jam nose, light acidity and a layered freshness which was drier in terms of sugar content than a more typical rosé, but presents a good balanced between the three cultivars. This wine would go very well with a cream based pasta, or even a big hunk of salmon where the acidity would cut through the fat and oil.

Their Cape Blend, of which a limited quantity is available as they produced only 2100 bottles, is clean and balanced with Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Pinotage and Cabernet Franc grapes. The wine is fermented in 2nd, 3rd and 4th fill barrels, so it only had a hint of tannins and wood to it.

Lithos wines, patiently maturing in their barrels

Their last wine on offer was the Syrah, which they referred to us such rather than a Shiraz as it was grown in the cooler climate of the area, which is generally 2-3 degrees colder than Stellenbosch. The wine gave me a wonderful delivery of plums on the nose, slightly moist biltong too and the mouth delivered a subtle smack of white pepper. It is a wine that is light on the palate with 40% matured in new oak.

Tim has recently produced a Cabernet Sauvignon with grapes bought in from Stellenbosch, which he matured in barrels for 28 months. He is not ready to release this yet, but the excitement of this new addition was evident.

I only managed to catch a glimpse of the landscape views on arriving at the Estate, but what I did see was breathtaking and worth a visit earlier in the day. Lorraine is an aspiring cook and offers food and wine evenings, where clients can sample the beer and wine with a hearty meal alongside. I could have spent more time with the family but sadly after 90 minutes I had to drag myself out and home, just catching glimpses of the most impressive scenery below before the sun disappeared from sight.

The farm is well worth the visit and is along the same road as other impressive estates in Journeys End and Waterkloof. The wines are available from Wine Concepts and Vino Pronto, but I would suggest a visit to the farm for the sights, sounds and warmth of Lithos wines.

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]]> https://incogvino.co.za/visit-lithos-guest-post/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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]]> https://incogvino.co.za/tastelithos-twitter-wine-tasting/feed/ 2 A VIP visit to De Toren {Guest Post} https://incogvino.co.za/a-vip-visit-to-de-toren/ https://incogvino.co.za/a-vip-visit-to-de-toren/#respond Wed, 23 Apr 2014 08:01:59 +0000 https://incogvino.co.za/?p=54 *This article was originally published on Real Time Wine by guest writer Bryce Gillespie – 10 January 2014* Earlier in the year, SuperFAN Charl Engels and I were invited by another SuperFAN, Charlotte Spicer, to head over to De Toren for a special VIP tasting with them. The De Toren tasting is already pretty special, so… Read More

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]]> *This article was originally published on Real Time Wine by guest writer Bryce Gillespie – 10 January 2014*

Earlier in the year, SuperFAN Charl Engels and I were invited by another SuperFAN, Charlotte Spicer, to head over to De Toren for a special VIP tasting with them. The De Toren tasting is already pretty special, so I was extra excited for this one. I had absolutely no idea it would turn into what it did… This is my attempt at an enthralling “recap” of the afternoon’s events.

We’re on our way to De Toren Wine Estate for a VIP tasting courtesy of our high-level status on the popular social wine review app, Real Time Wine. My expectations are well and truly through the roof and I’m beginning to doubt whether the unsuspecting marketing manager will have any chance of meeting them. Cutting to the chase, I soon realise that I am indeed going to be disappointed. There is no Book XVII lined up for the tasting this evening.

The Book.

For those of you not in the know, Book XVII is a limited production wine made by De Toren that retails at a cool R1800 a bottle. How do you like them apples?

However, as we are taken through the recently developed cellar space where the Book XVII elixir is brought to life, the consulting winemaker/viticulturist/project leader/big-boss-man comes strolling into the room. After a brief introduction, Gregor Drescher questions our knowledge of French wines. Visibly unimpressed by our meek “hmms” and “uhms”, he reaches for a magnificent bottle standing open on the table in the centre of the cellar.

“You guys ever heard of this?” he asks as he pours a tasting into a wine glass the size of my head. It is the 2010 Visionnaire. A French wine falling under the Expression Unique portfolio managed by De Toren owner, Emil den Dulk, and Gregor Drescher. I’m assuming there are other players involved as well. The De Toren Book XVII, another wine called Red Granite (from somewhere in Europe) and the Visionnaire make up the portfolio of site specific wines of a nature and form you have never imagined.

Visionary.

The Visionnaire is a wine made from grapes that have received the kind of attention that numerous families would never even dream of giving their firstborn. In fact, from Gregor’s explanation of “diva” viticulture, the image in my mind is of him spending every waking moment with the vines as they go through their yearly cycle, with him being extra careful not to spit out his mouthwash on to the soil or roll into them as he’s tossing and turning in his sleeping bag every night.

If I’m honest, smelling the wine does not prompt the nervous little girl inside of me to wet her panties with delight, and it seems rather uninviting. The wine’s caretaker dutifully informs us that this is simply a result of the wine still being a bit “closed off”, kind of like your girlfriend should you forget that thing she’s been reminding you about before you even started dating.

Yet lo and behold, as the wine graces my lips and tongue with it’s almighty presence, something far above and beyond a simple wine tasting experience emerges from my sensory organs. What seems like the Closing Ceremony fireworks from the 2010 FIFA World Cup combined with all the purple and black berries from every LiquiFruit advert ever made explode all over my mouth and my tongue just falls limp in joyous drunken shock. When I finally gather the courage to swallow the fluid that surely stems from the Fountain of Youth, I am anything but relieved of the moment of Utopian bliss from just a second ago. As if ghost wine now resides in my mouth, all the tastes and sensations remain, if not even heightened as a result of the influx of oxygen into the crevice that will no doubt ever be the same again, even should I be blessed with but one brief tongue tickling session with Rachel McAdams.

Whilst my brain and soul are dealing with sensory overload, there is some talking in the background and we move on to taste a few other wines. Needless to say, at that stage I was but a jealous lover who had no interest in any other vinous specimen, as they were in no way suitable to even think of being able to be sipped upon by me.

And thus, as a result, that day shall forever be known as “Unsurpassable wine drinking experience benchmark day that will never ever be beaten by anything ever in the world ever niki touch-backs, touch black can’t give back” day.

On a side note, I have tasted the De Toren wines in another setting, and they are superb.

So that’s my story! Turns out this foray into Real Time Wine has its perks!

Ciao for now.

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