Friday Night Wine School - Drama & Intrigue, Exploring the Cool Climate Zones of South Africa

Join us for our attendance-limited, signup-only Friday night tasting!  Tastings are held on the back patio with a max of 12 people per time slot.

At Latitude 34 Degrees South, and with a Mediterranean climate of dry, sunny summers and rainy winters, South Africa’s Winelands are not inherently considered cool climate zones. Yet the region has diverse and unique geographic influences that create pockets of specific microclimates where colder climate French varietals thrive and produce high-quality wines with fresh acidity and complex flavors.

Tonight we'll take you on a tour of those cool climate zones like Cape Agulhas where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet violently with strong icy winds and ocean spray; Durbanville where the Cape Doctor winds cool the misty ocean-facing slopes; Simonsberg and the Ceres Plateau where high-lying, dramatic mountain ranges produce wines at elevations of up to 960 meters; Elgin where all of three of the influences come together, making for a particularly cool and distinct wine region. We'll taste the wines from these areas and discuss how the combination of these forces create microclimates that are very different from the rest of the Cape Winelands and how they affect the wine.

Suzaan Laing, native of Cape Town and owner of South to South Wine Importers, will lead this tasting of wines that showcase what South Africa’s cool climate regions are about – the high acidity, lower alcohol, crisp, spicy, herbaceous wines that are products of this unique combination of icy maritime influence, cold winds, sheer elevation and ample sunlight.

-All ticket sales are final.
-Please be considerate and let us know if you've reserved spots and can't make it. Our tastings always sell out and we have a waitlist for most events.

-We will hold our tastings outside on the patio from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM on Fridays weather permitting, if it rains we move inside to the back of the shop.
-Your $5 tasting fee is refunded when you purchase a bottle of wine from the tasting. Limit 1 refund per bottle per customer.
-Please arrive 5 minutes early for your time slot, as we may not be able to move you to another spot.
-No waiting in line for your taste of wine in a plastic cup and snippet of info. During your time slot, you will have the presenter's undivided attention as you learn about and taste the wines from Riedel glassware.
-When your tasting is over, you can browse and shop or enjoy a glass or bottle at our indoor and outdoor tables.