Our winemaker Andries Blake believes that it is important to honor South Africa’s 350-year winemaking heritage while appealing to today’s wine tastes. Sebeka wines offer complex flavors yet remain uniquely approachable for American wine consumers. By balancing exotic aromas and intense fruit flavors, Andries believes that his Sebeka wines showcase the natural beauty of the South Africa landscape.

Winemaking Notes
The grapes used to create the 2006 Sebeka South Africa Cabernet-Pinotage were grown in a number of South Africa’s finest vineyard districts located across the Western Cape. The cooler districts benefit from the fog created by the cold ocean currents coming north from Antarctica, as well as the vigorous “Cape Doctor” cross winds coming from the Indian ocean. The warmer districts take advantage of the bright South Africa sunshine and produce grapes with deep, rich colors and ripe fruit flavors. By marrying grapes from such diverse areas, Andries was able to produce a finished wine of great character and complexity. The Cabernet and Pinotage grapes were carefully hand harvested and gently de-stemmed. They were then crushed, pressed and fermented separately in upright stainless steel tanks to retain the bold fruit flavors of the wines. The juice was allowed ten days of fermentation at 22-25°C, and afterwards spent five days macerating on the skins to intensify color and flavor. Each of the lots underwent malolactic fermentation. Andries tasted the final wines and blended 64% Cabernet Sauvignon with 36% Pinotage to create this rich, intense wine.

Taste Profile
Our 2006 Sebeka South Africa Cabernet-Pinotage is a fruit driven wine that features the blackberry, currant and herbal notes typical of Cabernet along with red fruit, acidity and smoky earth notes typical of Pinotage, South Africa’s signature varietal. This deep crimson wine is well-balanced and easy to pair with a wide variety of rich foods. It is especially good with fire-grilled meats and vegetables. This wine is at its best if enjoyed within two years of release, but should be able to age in the bottle for up to five years.