View of Table Mountain from Cape Grace Hotel Room I didn’t really know what to expect. It’s one thing to read about history, culture, politics, food, wine, maps… It’s quite another to experience South Africa, and to be entirely enchanted by this beautiful place. It’s springtime. The days are warm, even with intense cloud cover…
Author: Kathy Merchant
I am a passionate wine educator and writer.
Diploma graduate of the Wine & Spirit Education Trust, French Wine Scholar, Italian Wine Scholar, and Certified Specialist of Wine.
(Re)forming Global Wine Markets: The “New” South Africa
What’s red and white, costs millions of dollars to produce, and takes 20 years to mature? The rebirth of a New World player in the global wine market. South Africa’s wine renaissance during the 1990s coincides with three other New World market leaders: Argentina, Chile and New Zealand. Their successes were built on Australia’s previous…
Lost and Found?: 20th Century Wine Games in South Africa
It was the longest imaginable game of ping pong with no declared winner. 80 years. Make wine freely, then control it, then free it up again. Make bad bulk wine, push briefly for quality, and then set policies that all but guaranteed more bad wine. Fortify the wine and jack up the alcohol level (brandy),…
Lost: The Wine Industry in 19th century South Africa
In my last post describing the early history of the South African wine industry (1655-1890), I lamented that very little has been written – or at least not easily found – explaining what happened between the late 1700s and the devastating phylloxera epidemic in 1886. Thanks to International Wine Review (iwinereview.com) and a recent comprehensive…
T-23 to South Africa!
I am thrilled to be just weeks away from a fabulous trip to the Winelands of South Africa. Thanks to Sue Flischel and Lee Flischel, I am joining the first leg of their journey to Africa, indulging our shared passion for wine — no surprises there — before exploring and photographing animals on safari. My…
Perfect Pairings: the Principle of Place in Northern Italy
Matching food with wine, third in a four-part series from the 2013 “Perfect Pairings” series created with The Painted Chef Catering at The Grotto in Mt. Adams, anchored in the principle of place: terroir. Pairing food and wine…simple, right? Chicken goes with white wine, beef goes with red. Cheese is great with anything. Easy! For…
Fruits of the Vine
Sugar on a tomato? Yuck!! It’s fruit, for sure, but honestly, that’s a worse idea than making a butter and sugar sandwich on white bread!! (So Midwestern, so first grade…) Chefs, I totally get it. Sugar cuts acidity, especially in sauce/salsa, and even more importantly adding sugar can harmonize flavors and texture if the tomato’s…
Perfect Pairings: The Principle of Place in Tuscany
Pairing food and wine…simple, right? Chicken goes with white wine, beef goes with red. Cheese is great with anything. Easy! For sure, it takes a bit more effort to create a “perfect pairing” than simply choosing between an entrée meat (or vegetable) and a white or red wine. But the principles are clear and the…
Perfect Pairings: Principle of Place in Latin America
Pairing wine with the foods of Latin America.
“I can’t drink wine. It gives me a headache.”
Much has been written about wine-related headaches. Drink less. Go natural.