Layne’s Wine Gig – An improvisation on stage with wine
As many followers of The West End News are aware, Blue at 650 A Congress Street is a venerable, awesome entertainment venue (jazz, folk, bluegrass, blues, etc.) that hosts local, regional, and national talent.
Layne’s Wine Gig occupies a monthly slot on stage every third Thursday of the month from 5 to 6 p.m. We offer up four three-ounce pours for $12. One frequently asked question: What is this thing?
Reppen is a “rep” working off a script with predetermined wines to sell for their company. This is none of that. It is a gig, much like a jazz performance, an improvisation on stage with wine. I choose four wines, do enough research as to not look stupid, and along with the audience, taste them on stage together for the first time. What gives this an exciting edge is what we call “mendo blendo,” assembling and trying out our own blends, becoming our own winemakers on the spot.
Let’s look at a recent gig: “South African Wines.” I knew this was going to be tough for an hour impromptu. In twenty years, I had only written two articles on South African wines. The first was October 8th, 1997. This was local daily newspaper cookie cutter journalism at its finest. Looking back on it I chuckle that it is better than I remember. But climbing out of years of apartheid the wines could have been a lot better. The second article was in 2002 when I stated that they should be better and got blasted by the entire expat South African community.
A Brief History of South African Wines
1685 Constancia. An intensely sweet, long lived, muscat grape concoction adored by Napoleon and Europe’s emperors. Like winning the Boston Marathon for two hundred straight years. Recently discovered ancient bottles have recently sold at auction for thousands of dollars each to today’s Napoleons.
1950’s-1970’s KWV. The major co-op and soul of South African wines. They chose to be a faux sherry producer and spiraled downward with the decline of sherry.
1940’s-1990’s Apartheid. South Africa’s contact with world winemaking trends diminished. Some Bordeaux style chateau wineries hung on.
Today. Changing in all directions.
Now for our four wines for the gig…
The Royal Old Vines “Steen” Chenin Blanc, Swartland, 2020, $12.99 bottle.
Steen, all 46,000 acres of it, is the most planted grape in South Africa. You can make it into brandy, a generic white, or as they are discovering, a very palatable, interesting standalone varietal. The Royal is a large winery with quaffable wines, so serve this one very chilled.
They didn’t know that their own native “Steen” was Chenin Blanc until the 1960’s. Since they have 46,000 acres of this wonderful stuff, much of it in old bush vines, they have a head start should Chenin decide to take off on the world stage. A distinct possibility.
Since this one is simple, a goat cheese or Mexican food dish is ideal. Try sour cream and onion dip with potato chips for fun.
Rustenberg “Old Vine” Chenin Blanc, Stellenbosch, 2019, $15.00 bottle.
What a difference a zip code makes. Stellenbosch is their Napa Valley. We were all knocked over by the Rustenberg. Almonds, apricots, citrus… It is all there. Fabulous to compare the two. No “mendo blendo” here, as the Rustenberg just stands alone as a splendid example of the grape. This tasted like a much more expensive wine.
Pair it up with fish and a lemon sauce. Fried food. Lobster bisque! Asian food with complex sauces. Calamari. Clams.
A word about “old vines” and South African wines.
There are two vine discovery revolutionaries working today in South Africa: Rosa Kruger and Eben Saben. Both are searchers after the ancient low vines called “bush vines” producing grapes that used to wind up in the yawning maw of the co-ops. Our old nemesis KWV has become an old vine savior as they kept all planting records of vines since 1918.
South Africa leads the planet in old vine certification. Older vineyards, 35 years or older can have a certification of their old vines attached to the bottle.
Why it matters?
Old vines at thirty-five plus years produce “intense and flavorful wines.” Jancis Robinson’s rundown on the subject is in her article, “The Justified and the Ancient: The Case for old Vines,” London Financial Times, November 2021. There are societies, regions, groups, and individual wineries on the hunt to locate and preserve the ancient ones. A cool ongoing chase. Domaine Jones in the Languedoc region of France will let you “adopt an old vine” and put your name on it.
THE WEIRD STUFF: Barista Pinotage, Western Cape, 2020, $16.50 bottle.
Tasting wines for the first-time, live-in front of an audience can be either awesome or harrowing. In this case it was both.
There is a tendency today to aim for a newer audience with wines like Jam Jar Pinotage. I don’t even have to taste it to look askance at it. Pinotage is an invented grape to begin with. It is Cinsault (high yield) crossed with Pinot Noir (low yield, very site and climate specific). At its best it can be a fun little entertaining red. At its worst it can taste like a trip down a rutted, dusty road in an open-air Jeep with no shocks.
The Barista part refers to the winemaker’s nickname “The Barista,” and damn it tasted exactly like a Starbucks Latte with a sprinkle of cinnamon on top. We loved it! This is a glory of a wine gig in all its unexpected moments. The winemaker was no doubt digging into his best bag of heavily toasted oak chips, while playing and coaxing flavors out of the wine.
It will pair with steak tips and mushrooms. Chocolate. Chocolate mousse. And Moose.
Robertson Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, 2018, $12.00.
Go to their website and you will see a winery that never met a grape or style it didn’t like. The Cabernet was a calming influence on the Barista if the intense coffee flavor was too much. A good Cabernet for the money, more like the Central Coast than Napa. Serve with Camembert or aged Gouda.
We discovered many things in an hour:
- Search for South African Chenin Blancs as they are an uproariously great value.
- Bring a bottle of “The Barista” to a winetasting to wake up the assembled.
- Look for that “Old Vine Heritage” seal.
- Regions like South Africa that have either fallen off the radar or have never been on the radar are worth looking for.
LAYNE’S WINE GIG: Third Thursday, November 18th, 5:00-6:00 p.m.
We will choose four fascinating wines. Maybe something for Thanksgiving. Check their website, portcityblue.com, for events. And remember, there will be “mendo blendo.”
Wear your mask and bring your vaccination card. See you then!
Layne has been a professional in the wine business for many decades as a teacher, importer, writer, competition judge, and winery CEO. He was awarded the Master Knight of the Vine for his pioneering work in the Oregon wine industry.
Read more WEN Layne’s Wine Gig posts here.
Visit Layne’s blog at http://winemaniacs.wordpress.com/blog.
