South African Wines - February 23rd - The Lanes

photo credit
South African Wines - Wednesday, February 23rd - hosted by Mr & Mrs. Lane
We chose South African wines for this month's tasting, because we love them (and Valentine's Day is about celebrating love) AND it's Black History Month, which leads us into a discussion on the ISAW Foundation (non-profit) and the South African wineries it helps to support & bring awareness to.

Food served at this months wine club:
Mushrooms, Lamb Shank in mint sauce, carrots, feta dressing, hemp/chia/flax tortilla chips, chipotle salsa, red pepper spread, goat cheese, New Zealand/organic/grass-fed/cheddar cheese, green olives, milk chocolate with hazelnuts, dark chocolate bites, blister peanuts.

Tasting Notes:
1- 2006 M'Hudi Pinotage - $18.99 @ Wine Shoe (in Castleberry Hill) -DECANTED
color- purple, brick-brown, garnet
nose - smoky, citrus,
palate - smoke and citrus flavors
comments made - nice legs, medium body, excellent decanted wine

2- 2004 KWV Merlot - $11.99 @ Rhapsody Bottleshop - 90 pts
color - brownish garnet, brick red, cloudy
nose - lovely cocoa powder scent with slight floral and spice notes
palate - tart, orange & citrus, longer finish
comments made - might go well with a tomato based entre, amazing scent, pairs well with dark chocolate

3- 2009 Two Oceans Cabernet 60%/Merlot 40% blend - Western Cape - $7.99 @ Hillside Liquor
color - purple/brown, more garnety (?)
nose - funky smell at first, but then lightens into a mushroom/earthy scent, olive oil
palate - smoother, shorter finish, dry, medium body (bottom side of medium)
comments - "nice legs, yeah it does, I love nice legs" , "very drinkable", pairs well with milk chocolate and hazelnuts

4- 2006 M'Hudi Pinotage - $18.99 @ Wine Shoe (this bottle wasn't decanted thus the difference)
color - opaque, rubier garnet, dark ruby
nose - woody-cedar, smoky
palate - strawberry, cherry, smoke, medium bodied
comments - "OMG these legs are the best - Wow!"

5- 2009 Spier Pinotage - Western Cape - $9.99 @ Total Wine
color - more purplier (that's what they said)
nose - blackberry
palate - plum, cherry, tobacco, lighter body, shorter finish
comments - pairs well with red meat, grapey, slow lingering legs that pause down the glass after a swirl

6- 2009 Seven Sisters Bukettraube - Odelia - Western Cape - $13.99 Wine Shoe
color - "color of rapunzel", pale straw, nearly clear
nose - sea grape trees from Florida, lychee, apple,
palate - semi-dry, sweeter, honey/floral, pineapple, light, refreshing, slightly sweet
comments - summer picnic wine,

7- 2008 M'Hudi Sauvignon Blanc - Western Cape - $15.99 @ Wine Shoe
color - paler straw, clear
nose - green/clean, to borrow a word from ISAW's Stephen - "herbacious", green apple,
palate - grapefruit and apricot, hint of oak but not too oaky, deeper layers
comments - sticky legs, better than a New Zealand Sauvingnon Blanc!

For more information on ISAW Foundation, please see these previous posts:
ISAW on CBS
ISAW Media Project Fundraiser
Drink Well Do Good on Travel Channel
ISAW article in The Voyeur Magazine
Abbie meets Vivian of Seven Sisters Winery
ISAW Foundation Info
ISAW Event at Emily Amy Gallery
ISAW Blackout
ISAW Wine Tasting

Support ISAW at these Atlanta Retailers:
Tower Wine & Spirits
Ansley Wine Merchants
Wine Shoe (Castleberry Hill)
Wine Styles Cascade

ISAW Stephen on CBS Atlanta!

ISAW on CBS Atlanta

Hi Everyone,
I wanted to share this link from CBS, and am asking you all to do the same. http://www.cbsatlanta.com/positively-georgia/index.html

As always, our funding and awareness efforts are grassroots and depend on you guys pushing this forward. Much love and many thanks for your ongoing support.

*Buy M'hudi*Ask For M'hudi*Buy Seven Sisters* Ask for Seven Sisters*

Drink Well, Do Good,
Stephen Satterfield

ISAW Foundation Media Project Fundraiser

ISAW 1K 4C: 1,000 People for $100
Take the challenge! This spring, thousands of people across the country were introduced to the ISAW Foundation and our mission of using wine to create economic opportunity for Africans through our Drink Well Do Good Campaign. This summer, we spent seven weeks in South Africa on the M’hudi Estate working on research and media development. With the help of our media partner Clear Films, we captured over 100 hours of footage in what is the most comprehensive collection of film that has ever been dedicated to the subject of black vintners, farmers, and black empowerment viticultural projects.

ISAW will use this media to help black entrepreneurs get their product to the US market, and engage Foundations, donors, and corporations for the financial support needed to develop the ISAW Training Center on the M’hudi Estate—South Africa’s first black‐owned vineyard. We need your help to develop the media and the school! As an incentive, if you help our Foundation, we’ll help you start your wine cellar! Here’s how:
1. Raise $100: It’s that simple! Please note that this is not asking you to personally give $100, we just need you to pledge your support to help raise it. Tell your friends, family, and co‐workers
that you have taken the challenge and that you need their help. $10, $20, $50, anything…once
you reach $100 you get a free bottle of delicious South African wine on us! Share it with
those who helped you raise it!
2. Recruit one more; win more wine! Each new donor you get, you will receive a new bottle
How to Donate
• Collect payments from your collaborators
• Submit your contribution via check to ISAW Foundation PO BOX 5502 Atlanta, GA 31107 OR
• Submit your payment online at www.toastafrica.com and clicking the icon that says SUPPORT
• If you are mailing a check, make sure you include your name, address, email, and phone number so we can get you your wine.

To help kickstart the initative, Emory University will match our donations until August 1st.

Also, check out this awesome profile of Mhudi on CBS
Thank you a million times over for all of your support. Thank you thank you thank you! I hope that you can see from all of our progress that we couldn't do it without you!

Also here is the Drink Well Do Good Trailer

Drink Well, Do Good,
Stephen A. Satterfield
ISAW Founder
------------------------

CONGRATULATIONS!

The TWITs and friends raised $200 for ISAW Foundation before August 1st!

Red Wine Haiku's

Be sure to check out the Haiku for M'hudi Pinotage!
http://redwinehaiku.blogspot.com/

Awesome!

Help ISAW Foundation

ISAW is an Atlanta-based 501c3 with the mission of building sustainable communities through viticulture. In April 2010, ISAW is preparing for a 14-city food, music, and arts tour called "Drink Well Do Good" spanning from New Orleans to Cape Town. The tour is a series of wine exhibitions and concerts raising money to build a viticultural training center on the M'hudi estate in Stellenbosch, South Africa.

Helpful ISAW Links:
ISAW Foundation
Local Wine Events
Toast Africa - to donate

YouTube Videos:
Drink Well, Do Good Promo Video
Drink Well, Do Good Commercial
Drink Well, Do Good Toast Africa

Press:
Media Release
Cuisine Noir
NY Times

Support ISAW at these Atlanta Retailers:
Tower Wine & Spirits
Ansley Wine Merchants
Wine Shoe (Castleberry Hill)
Wine Styles Cascade

ISAW Blackout Today

Letter from Stephen:

"Dear Friends,

This Tuesday December 1, ISAW will launch our 2010 initiative, the Drink Well Do Good Tour. On Tuesday December 1, people from all over the world will take part in a simple campaign called BlackOut. We're asking that on this day, you all can help us cause a stir with this celebration. Here's how:

1) We'd like to send you a file of our ISAW logo. Can you make this your Facebook image for one day? If youre a blogger of tweeter, can you post this image?

2) Can you print this logo, take a picture of you holding it, and send it back? We are going to put the images on a gallery on our website (which launches on Dec 1). The goal is to have people from cities all over the world send us images of them holding the ISAW graphic. The gallery will read ISAW ATL, ISAW CAPE TOWN, ISAW DC, etc...Its that simple. In the weeks ahead we will build on this campaign and have a very cool catalog of art and viral campaigns. Help us bring in the BlackOut by forwarding this to others. Thanks for your support and we look forward to sharing more about the exciting developments around the 2010 Drink Well Do Good Tour. Please email isawstephen@gmail.com for more details and your BlackOut graphic.

Drink Well, Do Good,

Stephen"

ISAW Wines - March 18, 2009 - Hostess: Ms Mina

ISAW Wines - March 18, 2009 - Hostess: Ms Mina

ISAW Website.ISAW - International Society of Africans in Wine - is a non-profit organization founded in January 2008 by sommelier Stephen Satterfield. Their focus is training and development of skills for South Africans. In addition to the training, a plus is that the wines are exported world-wide. The money raised through the sale of the wine, is reinvested in the facilities, farmers, and community.
Note: ISAW is also on Facebook (become a fan), and some of the wines were also auctioned off at the High Museum event later that month (March 2009).
You might find some of the ISAW wines at Whole Foods or Ansley Kroger. Ask your local Wine Merchant for more details or to carry these wines.
Distributer - Bacco Fine Wine
Wines: About Seven Sisters . About M'Hudi

Abbie's Tasting Notes:
We had the pleasure of Mr. Stephen Satterfield's presence as our own Wine Club Sommelier that evening. His eloquence and sharpened palate were a great honor to witness.

1) Seven Sisters - Yolanda (Chenin Blanc) - retails for approximately $14-15/bottle
pale yellow, smells like peachy/pear, light, moderate finish, dry, tart, good with cheese or fruit, late harvest, can grow in hot climate but also in cool climate to let acidity come thru.

2) M'Hudi Sauvignon Blanc (M'Hudi means "The Harvester") - retails for $16-17/bottle
sole black viticultural land owners in South Africa.
pale yellow/green, smells like green, light, sweeter, green/bitter, finish is dry,
Stephen says "herbacious"
pair with fruity/salty/fat content foods

3) 2006 M'Hudi Pinotage - retails for $17/bottle
scientist from South Africa, hybrid from Pinot Noir, first planted in South Africa.
dark burgundy color, tastes berry-like, blue and red berries, smoky, dried dill smell ? dry wine
pair with roasted or bbq chicken, something with sweet/tangy sauce

4) Seven Sisters - Dawn (Pinotage/Shiraz) - retails for $15/bottle
dry but nicely done, smells like strawberries, rhubarb, cooked/baked strawberries, floral notes maybe?
pair with roasted meats or bbq

5) 2008 Seven Sisters - Odelia (Bukettraube) - retails for $13-14/bottle
(pronounced 'boo-kuh-trobe') German grape but varietal usually found in South Africa, he has never had a German one.
clear, summery flavor, crazy aromatic, not too sweet, ripe fruit/peaches/honeysuckle smell, rose
pair with Blue Cheese or Thai.