TRADE DINNER: Durbanville Hills wines, Oct 8, 2008

The Time and Date: Wednesday, October 8, 2008   6 PM to 10 PM

The Event: winemaker's dinner for Durbanville Hills Wines (South Africa). Martin Moore the winemaker was assisted by Albert Gerber (marketing director) and Deveron Wilcock (DISTELL Canada).

The Venue: Pure Spirits Oyster House, Distillery District.

The Target Audience: wine media.

The Availability/Catalogue: all the wines are here, or they will be. The South African Wine Society had just hosted a winemaker's dinner the night before at Stonegrill on Winchester.

The Quote: "Without women or agents around, we can really cut loose".

The Wines: Martin believes that the wines are made in the vineyards, so everything is "fat" and sustainable, and ready to drink 2 – 4 years. The wines are terroir-driven as Martin spoke with a positive voice.  The wines are repped in Ontario by PMA Wines.

 **** Four Stars (91+ in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-Rhinofields 2007 Chardonnay - $16.00 (not at the LCBO), 50/50 wood/stainless, no ML, exhibits a bit of orange mold which I adored.
-Rhinofields 2006 Merlot - $16.00 (not at the LCBO) – cool climate but soft

***1/2 Three and a Half Stars (88 – 90 in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-Durbanville Hills 2007 Sauvignon Blanc - $13.05 (available at the LCBO)
-Durbanville Hills 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon - $13.05 (not at the LCBO)
-Rhinofields 2008 Sauvignon Blanc - $16 (not at LCBO) – les grassy

-Durbanville Hills 2005 Shiraz - $13.05 (at LCBO)

 

The Food:  we ordered off the menu, with a variety of appetizers to go with the white wines (scallops, shrimps, fish, fries, mussels, calamari, mushrooms, caramelized onions) and a main to go with the reds (salmon, roasted sable fish, steaks). It was a damager.

The Downside: Doris Anest from PMA could not stay for dinner.

The Upside: it was bags of fun even without Doris, a sort of boys night out.

The Contact Person: danalee.harris@shaw.ca

The Marketing Effectiveness (numerical grade): 96.

 

Chimo!  www.deantudor.com