Tasting the Top 10 Chenins at Woordfees with Tertius Boshof from Stellenrust in Stellenbosch

The South African wine industry is often criticized for not working together as a unit.
Woordfees to Toyota US Woordfees if possible, and Agri Expo to Agri-Expo with a hyphen – and it should be the Agri-Expo Agricultural Tasting Series.

I must say - I often find quite the opposite, and on Friday 6th March at the first of the Toyota US Woordfees Agri-Expo Agricultural Tasting Series we were treated to a tasting of the best of the Standard Bank Chenin Blanc Top 10 Challenge of 2019, where I was delighted to see how very un-subjective the energetic presenter, Tertius Boshoff was.  He clearly was well versed in each of the wines and wineries, and had enough information with him to make informed comments, eg how old the wines were, whether they were bush vines, trellised, wooded or not. Stellenrust (his winery) has been a winner at the Top 10 Chenin Awards every year since inception in 2014 - not a shabby accolade. Well done to the Stellenrust viticulture and wine-making teams. And not only do they make good wines, but they have also contributed (through the Standard Bank funds won in the competition) to the continued upliftment of their staff.  They have 3 of the children from the farm now doing tertiary education, something that was unlikely to happen in the past.

Tertius makes many different chenins - both still and sparkling, so you can easily find one to suit your palate.

It was my first time that I witnessed a presentation by Tertius, and he is such a natural. The wines all came alive under his animated tutelage and what a selection of wines it was! These 10 chenins clearly represent the best of the best. Kleine Zalze(2 wines in the Top 10), Stellenrust(The Mothership - available usually only from the farm but sadly sold out!), Ken Forrester FMC, Rijks, DeMorgenzon, Durbanville Hills, Cederberg, Slanghoek LEGENDS and Flagstone Tributary. What a line-up!
Well done to the Chenin Blanc Association and Ina Smith (Madame Chenin) who has made a significant contribution to chenin standing out as a truly South African cultivar.

wine.co.za has put together a Taste of Chenin pack which includes a few of these Top 10 Wines... so you can easily get them delivered to your door - just click HERE (while stocks & prices last!).

Remember to keep the 20th June clear for the international #drinkchenin day!