Lock, stock and wine barrel: Winter reds

Winter is synonymous with red wine – and fuller bodied reds at that. But if you can, choose between a Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon, a Shiraz or a Pinotage – blends are some of the best ways to experience what’s happening on wine estates. Using quality grapes, red blends really do bring the best of the best together in a symphony.

Roodeberg, at about R85 a bottle is a great addition to the 2018 releases of red blends. The 2016 vintage offers layers of cranberry, dry herbs, cinnamon, and semi-bitter chocolate with a rounded pallete of oak (a taste that just makes winter more bearable). Paired with red meats (venison especially), this is the wine that makes an evening next to a fire magical – regardless of the cold.

Real value also comes in the form of the 2016 Alto Rouge which is being introduced to the market right now. The latest vintage includes 34% Shiraz, 23% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Cabarnet Franc, 17% Merlot and again (from previous vintages) 5% Petit Verdot to round out the blend.

On the nose, it presents berries, dark chocolate, tobacco, vanilla, and oak spices. Rouge, available at most stores and selling from R80, is a great wine to cellar for a while. But if you drink it immediately, there is still some age in it – making it a wine you can almost never pass on. It is also a wine that goes great with red meats, game and crispy duck.