“I prefer the most unfair peace to the most righteous war” – Marcus Tullius Cicero
Given that Cicero was born in 106BC his quote above serves only to strengthen the gravitas of the man’s intellect. An emotional intelligence that all of the current day world leaders would do well to emulate. So whilst we sit at the bottom of a world gripped by the ravages of war, in a country approaching winter, I’m looking inward for forms of comfort and content. Books are a wonderful, comfy crutch. Netflix is another. Gardening is the perfect soul enhancer but it’s sort of the wrong time of year to become immersed in one’s garden. Cooking fuels the imagination and fills your home with irresistible smells that invite like-minded people in. And then of course, the single common denominator that enhances each of the aforementioned comforts – wine.
Permutations have always fascinated me. Here is the simple, (if painstaking), art of growing a bunch of grapes, squeezing the juice from the harvested bunch, fermenting said juice and bottling it. However, this seemingly simple process, comprising just a few steps can produce a trillion different results – and its that chemistry of the sum of all parts working in perfect harmony that keeps us going back for more. It’s that 2 eyes, a nose and a mouth story that somehow results in 8 billion inhabitants of the earth all looking different from one another whilst blessed with exactly the same sum of all parts. I often wonder if I’m the only one who finds it all that intriguing? I encourage you all to get stuck into the wines on offer in the BizNews shop to start your own personal ‘wine permutation journey’. Keep a wine journal if that’s the sort of person you are – it makes for interesting reading a few years later and you may even find that reading back on earlier wine tasting notes will help you spin your very own wine chemistry web – the one that leads you to your ultimate sweet spot when all the permutations fall into place and you fall in love with the result.
This month we are adding a few new farms to the shop plus I’m off to Cape Town next week to judge in the SA Cabernet Franc Challenge. I’ll report on it all when I am back. In the meantime, buy some Groote Post Sea Salter and Wildekrans Chenin Blanc Barrel Select – it is still warm enough during the days to enjoy both.
Happy sipping,
Carrie.
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