'Just don't talk about Pinotage'

By Ingrid Biesheuvel 2011-4-13 22:01:10

If you drink wine, you are one of two types of people: pro or pleb (broadly speaking). Either way, there is much to be gained from attending Cathy Marston’s Wine Course, not least interesting advice from winemaker André van Rensburg about taboo topics to bring up over a glass of Vergelegen Red.

For the pros, it’s the opportunity to taste Vergelegen Red 2004, Groote Post’s Pinot Noir 2007, and Steenberg’s Semillon 2001 and Magna Carta 2009 without spitting, frowning, fact checking, judging or the pressure to come up with a Platteresque description.

For the plebs, it’s a light-hearted, not-exam-tested and very delicious way to learn about wine: how to taste it, how to make it, and how to talk about it. And if you’re trying to swim across the Cabernet Sauvignon sea from quaffer to connoisseur, Cathy’s weekly evenings of education at Wine at the Mill are perfectly spaced little oases of information and inspiration.

I don’t want to give too much away, such as the unique placemats and gorgeous spittoons you can look forward to, but here’s my long-distance swimmer’s take on what makes Cathy’s course worth attending again and again, as I hope to do:

Cathy herself: relaxed, unpretentious, knowledgeable and fluent in prolish and plebeian
learning through your tastebuds: themed tastings enable you to explore only two varieties each evening, consolidating varietal character, or comparing influence of oak or age across each
the winemakers: humourous and honest
the company: new friends to share wine with, from food bloggers to magazine editors and brave-faced partners in between

Three weeks and 18 exquisite wines down, I can still look forward to 6 more varieties (including Pinotage), Nigel Cattermole of Wine at the Mill’s fantastical wine facts from behind the till, and just being in the same room as the pros. I’m such a pleb.

From www.wine.co.za