This was a great wine-tasting following upon the heels of this recent year's Soccer World Cup competition held in Cape Town, South Africa.
It's great to be able to sell and to taste excellent wine. It's even better to be able to sell and to taste them when they have interesting stories as these certainly do. It's even better to be able to sell and to taste fine wines when there is also a noble cause/pursuit/striving for excellent, purpose and serving, too as a shining example to many as these two wines will become pivotal points along with those that are making them.
THese wines do have fabulous stories and I began to hear more of them as I heard Theresa Morrison tell them over and over and over again with conviction and real focus to each and everyone that came to taste or that I directed towards here and John Morrison her husband to taste.
I forgot to mention the winery in Stellenbosch called DE MEYE that is owned by a white South African family but that has done quite a lot to help some of the local black South African population by employing them first and teaching them second. I will have to get the full story again from you Theresa as I cannot recall it exactly. It's like our " reading, writing and arithmetic " with a twist that involves " right " and that being the right way to behave and approach things? Do I have that correctly? Help me out here.
By the way the wines practically all sold out at this tasting : we had just a few bottles of the DE MEYE " Little River " Shiraz 2006 ( $13.49 I believe ) to still sell at the end of Saturday at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 Tel:202-363-4265. That's really good news for the wines and says both that our customers liked the wines and liked supporting the cause which is to get these two families and groups of local black South Africans out of poverty and into a meaningful future making and selling South African wines.
By the way I liked all three of these wines from M'HUDI, DE MEYE and SEVEN SISTERS. They were all well-prices : all under $15.49 a bottle for the M'HUDI Sauvignon Blanc that was crisp and bright and flavorful and distinct. Reminded me of France's Loire Valley. The works M'HUDI means harvester according to what Theresa kept saying in their local tribe/ area language. What language is that, Theresa?
I loved my visit with John Morrison two years ago to see owner Phillip and wine-maker/sales managers, too at DE MEYE in Stellenbosch. They rolled out the red carpet for the two of us and between the grand winery tour and tasting there we also enjoyed a fabulous luncheon in Stellenbosch at the famous restaurant with all the winery displays right there for everyone to see and be inspired by as they drank the wines and enjoyed their first-rate meal, too. Thanks Phillip.
The SEVEN SISTERS wine was created indeed by seven local South African sisters that had become separated over time. One of them had been in Germany and was inspired by a German example where wine helped to reunite their German family. This sister was able to take this transforming example back to South Africa with her and reunite her sisters with the project of making their own wines and the rest is history and the very real " now " of having had their wines poured by John & Theresa Morrison this past Saturday, September 19th, 2010 ( from 3-7 PM ) and having had them all sold within the this three hour period : wonderful and bravo!
I have more to add but I will post this now and finish it later this week as time permits.
Thanks John and Theresa, this was a blast! Great times, fine, fine, fine wines ... TONY
1 comment:
Hi Tony,
Great going on the blog!
The 3 wines we tasted are what I refer to as "Socially Active" wines/wineries: M'Hudi, Seven Sisters and De Meye.
Each winery is a social activist - economic empowerment and poverty upliftment are cornerstones. Through the sale of their wine, each actively supports a community project. Everyone who buys a bottle to enjoy the wine also contributes to the very, very positive transformations so needed.
M'HUDI -
As you state, translates as "harvester" in Setswana - one of 11 official languages in South Africa. The Rangaka family are educators. As such, their social activism is focused on providing viticulture training to literate but underemployed and unemployed laborers. The goal provides students with better job opportunities (and indeed a shot at a job for the unemployed) as well as farming know-how and self-sufficiency.
SEVEN SISTERS -
There are 7 sisters. The family - including the parents - were dispersed among friends and family across the country after the father stood up for laborers rights and lost his job and home. Years later, Vivienne, the eldest daughter married a German. She saw how food and wine brought the family together. It was always her dream to bring her family together - and with their heritage in the Western Cape, home to South Africa's wine country, it made utmost sense that they could be one through wine. Each sister is involved in the winery project. Seven Sisters supports literacy for girls - an appropriate social activist role!
DE MEYE -
A young, vibrant team, De Meye have supported Anna Foundation from the start, which provides education, sports and life development for underprivileged children. This is an after school program for at-risk youth that teaches them the 3-Rs: "reading" - literacy development; "running" - physical development and team building; and, "right-ing" - social skills for a right life style, right choices, right attitude, right behavior. The goal is to help the children develop life patterns for a healthy body, healthy mind which leads ultimately to a healthy society.
For everyone who buys a bottle - or 2, 3, more, :) --- a big THANK YOU. Your support aids powerful, positive transformations and touches the lives of many.
Thank you again,
Theresa
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