| You may have noticed that we have recently | | | | At the first sips the wine tasted grapey, slightly |
| reviewed several quite good South African wines, | | | | sweet, and a bit thin. The initial meal was a boxed |
| both bargain and organic. Today's offering is an | | | | vegetarian lasagna with Ricotta and Mozzeralla |
| Ubuntu Shiraz. Ubuntu is a humanist ideology often | | | | cheese that I liberally doused with grated |
| found in South Africa, expressing the idea that "a | | | | Parmesan cheese. The wine's acidity seemed |
| person is a person through people." Ubuntu is also | | | | untamed and out of balance. But I did note |
| a major version of the Linux operating system, a | | | | tobacco in the background as well as black |
| competitor to Windows. And now back to wine. | | | | cherries. |
| South Africa is the world's eighth largest wine | | | | The second meal consisted of zucchinis and onions |
| producer and has been producing wine for | | | | stuffed with rice and lightly spiced ground beef on |
| hundreds of years. After World War I as a | | | | a bed of sliced potatoes. I tasted lots of oak. The |
| reaction to overproduction millions of vines were | | | | Shiraz had soft tannins and some black cherries |
| uprooted and replanted in alfalfa to feed the | | | | but was a wee bit harsh. It actually got harsher |
| ostriches whose feathers were a hot fashion item | | | | as the meal went on. |
| in post-War Europe. When these feathers lost | | | | The final meal included home barbecued skin-on |
| popularity the land went back to grapes. The | | | | chicken thighs and wings that had been marinated |
| Coop. Winegrowers Association whose initials are | | | | for two days in a fruity Thai barbecue sauce, |
| KWV was founded by the government in 1918. | | | | accompanied by potato patties and a fresh, |
| This group once controlled almost all South African | | | | garden-style tomato. With the wings the Ubuntu |
| wine and still handles about a quarter of the | | | | was dark, oaky, and flavorful. It was dark but |
| production. Shiraz is an up and coming red variety | | | | went fine with the white meat. With the more |
| in South Africa (it rules the roost in Australia and | | | | powerful tasting thighs I still got black cherries, |
| in parts of the Rhone Valley in France under the | | | | tobacco, and oak. The tomato did a fine job of |
| name Syrah.) | | | | cutting the wine's acidity. |
| OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we | | | | Before i paired this wine with two cheeses I tried |
| taste and review are purchased at the full retail | | | | it with Matjes herring. The wine was slightly sweet |
| price. | | | | with soft tannins. With Asiago cheese the Shiraz |
| Wine Reviewed Ubuntu Shiraz South Africa 2007 | | | | lost some of its bite, while maintaining a presence. |
| 13.7% alcohol about $9 | | | | With a Swiss Emmenthaler the wine picked up a |
| Let's start with the marketing materials. Tasting | | | | bit of fruit. |
| Note: Light to medium ruby red color; aromas and | | | | Final verdict. I certainly don't plan to buy this wine |
| flavors of black cherry, cedar, and vanilla with | | | | again. But if you want a not bad red with a lot of |
| hints of tar and earth; dry, medium bodied, with | | | | alcohol at a fairly low price you could certainly do |
| sweet fruit center; good length. And now for my | | | | worse. I recently tasted several South African |
| review. | | | | wines so I don't plan to go back there fairly soon. |