We tasted 9 of 2 500 wines from Makro. These are our faves…

With the cost of living having increased significantly during the last couple of years, consumers have been doing away with luxuries to get their monthly budgets to balance.

Often, these luxury cuts include swopping a good bottle of wine for a cheaper alternative to save some money.

But, thanks to Makro’s Winter Wine Catalogue you can once again splurge on your favourite bottle of red without messing up your budget.

At the launch of the Winter Wine Catalogue last week, VP for Liquor Makro, Mpho Thagisa said their merchants are dedicated to finding the best price and quality for their customers on wine.

“We cater to everyone’s budget and needs. Whether you are looking for a 5L box wine or a Jeroboam,” we have you covered.

Thagisa says their range in liquor is 3800 SKU’s (3 800 articles) with wine making up 2 500 articles in the liquor range.

Divan van Wyk, Senior Wine buyer for Makro explained that South Africa has 542 registered wineries who collectively produce R825 million litres of wine on an annual basis.   

Van Wyk said as a wine buyer he is dedicated to their company’s vision – to save customer’s money so that they can live better at the end of the day.

“Over the last couple of years, we’ve built good relationships with our local suppliers as well as international suppliers. And through these relationships we are able to give our customers the widest range of wines available in the country,” said Van Wyk.

ALSO SEE: Get ‘schooled’ in Cape Saint Blaize gin at the Gin School

Our favourite winter wines from Makro

While we didn’t have the time, nor the capacity to taste all 2 500 wines available from Makro, we had the opportunity to taste nine of their wines – three entry-level, three mid-priced and three premium wines.

These are the wines that stood out for me

Chocoholic Pinotage

The Chocolate Block from Boekenhoutkloof is one of my ultimate favourite wines. My purse strings, however, do not agree. So, when I tasted the Chocoholic Pinotage from Darling Cellars, which sells for only R70, I knew that I had found a wine to tide my taste buds over until bonus time in December when I’ll be able to splurge a little more.

What I liked about this Pinotage is that, for a red wine, and especially a Pinotage, it is a very light and easy drinking wine. A wine you’ll be able to drink every night if you want as it’s not too overpowering.

With nuances of dark chocolate, plums and vanilla it is still smooth on your palate, albeit an entry-level wine.

Diemersdal Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

I love a crisp Sauvignon Blanc on a sunny day. I am very familiar with most of the wines in the Diemersdal stable, but was completely bowled over when I tasted this Marlborough Sauvignon blank (currently on promotion for R219), even more so when I was told that it originates from New Zealand.

Thys Louw of Diemersdal made this wine in conjunction with Ben Glover of Glover Family Vineyards. The grapes were harvested from a vineyard in New Zealand.

I loved how light and fruity this wine was, not to mention the delicious sparkly after-taste it left in my mouth. It will be a winner in summer.

Benguela Cove Collage

Usually, I’m a little wary of blends, because you’re never sure if it will be a smooth blend, like a Merlot or something more in the region of a Cabernet Sauvignon, which I find to be a little harsh on my palate.

This Bordeaux-style Red blend from Walker Bay, however, pushed one of my favourite blends, Seriously old Dirt by Vilafonté right of its pedestal. I loved how smooth the wine was despite it being a blend dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon.

The price tag on this one is around R290, so it will also need to wait for a special occasion before finding its way into my shopping basket.

NOW READ: Sunday lunch: 3 fine-dining recipes paired with Steenberg wines