Slurping whyne
It was with great excitement that I attended Slurp, a wine tasting of a selection of South African wine at South Africa House officially known as the SA High Commission at Trafalgar Square in London last week.
I was promised 3 hours and 60 wines. An incredible personal challenge!
I calculated beforehand that I would need to conquer no less than 20 wines per hour in order to try them all and somehow stay standing.
Never one to shy away from a good challenge I managed to arrive 30 minutes after the tasting had started figuring I could knock a few back and skip those brands I know well and am unlikely to either like or want to try.
So there I was in iconic surroundings, "menu" in hand to discover the wines were all numbered, so the “wine by numbers” game began. What better place to start than with sparkling number 1 and 2 - a white and rosé brut, also known as “champagne”. Just to be clear they aren’t mixed colours like softserve but 2 separate bottles in case you were wondering (and laughing). This was quickly followed by the whites . Of course each table had the national delicacy biltong available but being 30 minutes behind meant the offerings had been ravaged at each table I visited by those who had gone before.
There was a fancy shmancy professional sommelier there but I only liked one of the wines she chose - just goes to show, we each have our favourites and very unique taste buds.
Notching up the wines and comparing notes with other tasters on a similar challenge I even managed to have a had a go at not one but two dessert not desert wines available (numbers 59 and 60 on the wine by numbers list).
My winners for the night were, wine 18 (a white Chardonnay called Ataraxia Chardonnay from Hemel-en-Aarde region), wine 59 (a dessert wine from Klein Constantia called Vin de Constance) and a wine 31 (a pinotage called Spice Route from the Swartland).
So I hear you all mutter who cares what number won, did you or did you not make it through 60 wines and were you still standing!?
Dear readers the answer is this, I conquered 42 wines in three hours... but I did have 3 wines twice just because I could and yes! I was “still standing” (as Elton John would say)
So go on, next time you're looking for a challenge try the 60 in 3 challenge. I look forward to hearing your results.