A Different White from South Africa

WTN: '06 Bukettraube by Cederberg, South Africa

Knew nothing about this wine, but on sale at $13 it caught my eye. From what I've learned since, "burkett" is German for bouquet and the grape is known in Alsace as Bouquettraube. A vinifera, it appears to be used mainly in blending but in South Africa it is made into a stand alone varietal. Cederberg is a major producer.

The label says it goes well with spicy foods, so we tried it with chicken fajitas filled with red and green bell peppers and sour cream.

The wine is aptly named. It has an unmistakable and pleasing muscat nose. The taste is of melons and honey, perhaps a bit of dried peaches and apricots too. With the fajitas, the tastes intensified and differentiated, moving up from the good to the very good. Definitley worth trying as something different, especially at the price.

Dan, many thanks for the note on a unique varietal wine, and from SA to boot. I love notes like this.

A South African muscat-type wine would be great with spicy foods - I agree. By the way - was it dry or off-dry?

Great find! A grape of awesome obscurity! Even Galen is vague about its origins. I've never seen it, much less tasted it. Your description fits well with what little I was able to find out--clearly a muscat-like experience. Where did you find it?

It was off-dry, maybe a bit sweeter. I only did a "psycho" test for sweetness, neglected the "physics" side (psychophysics was once a major field of study in psychology).

I got it at MacArthur in Washington.

By the way - was it dry or off-dry?

approx 27g/L RS according to Platter

There's the physics side.