Sips 'n Sounds introduces Avondale in perfect music and wine pairing

The Herald

2 days ago

When guests exit a wine tasting with a spring in their step, swaying and humming snatches of catchy songs, the reason is usually predictable — but not so at a wine tasting with a difference at the PE St George's Club earlier this week.
Here the swaying was the inevitable result of two hours spent in the musical company of father-daughter duo Andre Strydom and Caron Strydom at a 'Sips 'n Sounds' event to introduce Avondale wines to local wine lovers.
The Strydoms are well known on local musical stages, and now Caron has brought her entertainment flair into her business as representative of a number of boutique wine brands.
A former maths and science teacher, she aims for wine tastings to be educational but non-intimidating, with the addition of music making for a relaxed, fun and interactive experience.
The concept is catching on, with this week's second edition of Sips 'n Sounds at the Bird Street Club sold out within hours.
A loose theme of dreams and nature in songs from the '60s through to the '90s helped to tell the story of Avondale Estate on the fynbos-covered slopes of the Klein Drakenstein in Paarl, a pioneer of certified organic, biodynamic farming and sustainability in the SA wine industry.
As proprietor Johnathan Grieve puts it: 'We regard our wine estate as a dynamic living system where all its elements form part of a complex web of relationships that are interconnected and interdependent.'
The elements extend from care of the soil, encouraging wildlife and biodiversity in the vineyards and the vegetable gardens that supply the award-winning FABER restaurant, flocks of ducks that control vineyard pests, to preserving and upgrading the farm's heritage buildings dating back to the 1700s.
To the gentle sounds of What a Wonderful World and Mr Bojangles , we tasted the Armilla Blanc de Blanc Cap Classique 2017, a superb bubbly made from 100% chardonnay and matured for seven years on the lees, making for an intricate balance of fresh crispness and rich creaminess.
Anima Chenin Blanc 2022 has soft creaminess from time on the lees and gentle wood maturation, the wine soft and supple with unfolding layers of rich fruit flavours, a touch of honey balanced with a fresh mineral streak. One for the lovers of a more serious chenin.
Camissa 2024 blends bold flavourful grenache, mourvèdre and muscat de frontignan into a delicate pink that's richly aromatic with roses and Turkish delight, fresh red fruits balanced with lemon zest for a delicious, crisp and dry blanc de noir.
Qvevri Red 2023, pronounced 'kway-vree', is a soft, savoury blend of grenache, syrah and mourvèdre made in qvevri, large underground clay vessels first used in the birthplace of wine, Georgia, 8 000 years ago.
These are modern versions, of course, with Avondale the first in SA to use them.
The highly porous clay brings earthiness and minerality to the wine's succulent red berries and florals woven through spicy notes.
In the spirit of the evening's non-technical approach to wine, my tasting notes are summed up in one word — 'fabulous!'
Samsara 2018 encapsulates all that is best about a syrah that is serious but smoothly easy to drink — vibrantly fruity with typical notes of violets, white pepper and warm spices, firm tannins and a deeply lingering finish.
With the musical tempo shifting upwards as we moved through the wine flight, an ending in a rousing, foot-tapping, shoulder-grooving Bee Gees medley lingered, because no performance by Andre Strydom is complete without his mastery of the Barry Gibb falsetto.
Mostly priced upwards of R300, these wines are not a cheap date, but well worth it for wines of distinctiveness, superb quality and the intention and attention to detail, blending tradition and science, that goes into growing and making them.
Avondale wines aren't available on local shelves (yet), but orders can be placed via Kobus Gerber at the PE St George's Club — email [e-mail].
Follow Goodnight Productions on Facebook for Caron's next Sips 'n Sounds and other musically-themed wine events.
The Herald