Join us for our
Springtime Harvest Celebration: Thursday, April 21
Be sure to
attend our springtime in-store party; with the wines, food and door prizes
we're assembling, it promises to be a fun evening!
The event will be held Thursday, April 21,
6:30 - 8:30 pm. We'll be serving select wines from the southern hemisphere,
highlighting some of the best wines being produced "down under." We'll
have light snacks, and a great assortment of door prizes, including:
- Gift certificates to Sal & Carvao
- Bottles of wine
- Beautiful wine gift basket, $100 value
- Winery t-shirts
- Signed wine bottles & labels
Cost for the
event is $20 per person.
We'll have tasting stations highlighting wines from Chile,
Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The format is
casual, "cocktail party," so bring your friends.
Advance
registration is requested, so call us and plan to attend! 630-435-9463.
Come anytime
between 6:30 and 8:30 pm. We look forward to a great evening!
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In this issue:
Feature: South Africa
Upcoming Events:
The View: Germany
Weekend Tastings
Ladies Night Out, May 2
Store Hours
Legal Notice on Ordering Wine
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Feature Article
South
Africa's New Age
Wine country in South
Africa’s Stollenbosch region is about as pretty as it gets anywhere on
earth. Table Mountain provides the backdrop for impossibly green pastures
and 200-year-old Cape Dutch homesteads that fairly dazzle the eye in the
strong sunlight. It looks like Paradise On A Good Day. It’s a beautiful place with an interesting story to tell, and
now that the grape harvest is in, there’s time for the telling.
Interestingly, South Africa’s first cultivated vineyards predate those of
most of its “New World” compatriots, including California, New Zealand and
Australia. The harsh realities of latitude and geography confine the
cultivation of grapes to the southwestern tip of the continent, near Cape
Town and its environs. Here the Benguela Current sweeps up the Atlantic
coastline from Antarctica, tempering the African heat and bringing much-needed rains in winter.
Grapes grow well here, and the wine industry flourished until the close of
the 19th century, when phylloxera and the Anglo-Boer War killed
off its vineyards and its principal market in quick succession. Reeling
from this double disaster, the industry sought to reinvent itself as a
giant co-operative, the now-notorious KWV. To its credit, the KWV
succeeded in resuscitating the industry, creating a domestic market for
its wines and stabilizing prices. But it also imposed stifling
restrictions on what could be planted, and where, effectively prohibiting
expansion and diversification within the industry. This, coupled with the
international community’s unwillingness to export quality vines (or much
of anything else) to South Africa until it abolished apartheid, resulted
in a long stretch of dark times for South African winemakers.
Things finally began turning around in the 1960s, as apartheid began its
long slow
crumble under the weight of international disapproval. Prohibition for
non-whites was abolished in 1962, and wine was approved for sale in the
nation’s grocery stores in 1979. During these years South Africa’s
vineyard managers scrambled to obtain the international varietals they’d
been coveting (or smuggling) for decades, replacing substandard indigenous
or virus-plagued vines with Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and
Shiraz rootstocks. The first premium wines from South Africa debuted in
the 1970s, a full ten years behind California and Australia, but the
industry found itself at last in a position to capitalize upon its many
natural advantages.
The
Coastal region, anchored by the Cape of Good Hope and home to Cape Town,
Constantia, Stellenbosch and Paarl, enjoys an almost perfect Mediterranean
climate, with cool nights and hot days for most of the 8-month growing
season. The soil is fertile and varied, sandy on the valley floor, heavier
on the mountain slopes. Frost is virtually unheard of, hail is not a
problem, autumn rains are rare, and the incidence of disease is low. Real
estate is understandably pricey, and the wineries here are largely
well-established and well-funded.
Stellenbosch and Paarl will likely remain the undisputed hub of South
African viniculture, but quality wines are being produced by an
ever-increasing number of ambitious wineries across the region. While
these outlying regions may not be blessed with all of the Coastal Region’s
geographic advantages, the issues they face are primarily about water, and
therefore solvable with technology. Perhaps the biggest obstacle facing
the industry right now is its relative youth, but that won’t be an
impediment for long. South African winemakers may be “green” by European
standards, but they are among the most-traveled in the business, working
the fields and harvests from Bordeaux to Mendoza, soaking up knowledge and
bringing it home to South Africa.
Buitenverwachting, in the Constantia region on the Cape of Good Hope, is a
lot easier to drink than it is to pronounce. Situated on Dutch Governor
Simon van der Stel’s original farm and claiming some of the oldest and
most revered vineyards in the country, Buitenverwachting is a consistent
producer of rich, well-balanced red and white wines. The 2002 Sauvignon
Blanc is no exception; Wine Spectator called it “built for food”, and
awarded it 89 points.
The
Robertson region lies in the fertile Breede River Valley, inland and east
of Cape Town. The distance from the coast makes irrigation a fact of life
here, but Robertson winemakers are dedicated and ambitious, steadily
adding quality red wines to their established repertoire of premium whites
and fine fortified wines. Excelsior’s Robertson Cabernet Sauvignon remains
one of our best-selling reds vintage after vintage, and Wine Spectator
applauded the 2003 as yet another great value.
Charles Back, owner of Fairview Estate in Paarl, is as dedicated and
ambitious as you’re likely to find anywhere, but it’s his wry sense of
humor that gets him noticed. Admittedly, the French makers of Côtes du
Rhône and Côtes Rôtie wines didn’t appreciate the humor behind his “Goats
do Roam” or “Goat-Roti” red blends, but the rest of us got the joke, and
love the wines. Wine Spectator either got it, or decided to overlook it,
and listed Goat-Roti as one of its top 100 wines for 2004. Fans of
Rhone-style blends won’t want to miss out on this one.
Back’s sense of humor may be the best indicator yet of the sense of
optimism pervading South Africa’s vineyards and wineries. It’s still not
quite Paradise, but it’s getting closer. As the South African winemakers
continue developing to reach the area’s potential, we raise our glasses to
them.
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Store Location
We are located in downtown Lisle at the southwest corner of Burlington
Ave. & Main St.
Extra parking is available behind our building.
Hours of Operation
Mon - Sat 10 am - 8 pm
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About
Our Mailing List
The mailing list for this newsletter was gleaned from the personal email
archives of Wine Expressions' owners and from direct requests received
from our customers.
We hope you enjoy the newsletter and decide to remain on our distribution
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By the way, we never share your email or address information with anyone
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Remember Mother's Day
Be sure to stop by our store for Mother's Day gift ideas. We can
assemble a beautiful custom gift box, or help you find the perfect bottle
of wine. Also consider tickets to one of our popular "Ladies Night
Out" events.
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The View Tasting:
Wines from Germany,
Tuesday,
April 26:
Join us at The View restaurant in Lisle as we highlight six great wines
from Germany. The event includes education materials and a tasting of
six wines, paired
to appetizers.
The tasting begins at 7 pm on April 26th, at The View restaurant in
Lisle. Cost is $25 per person. Call The View to register, 968-1920.
Ladies Night Out: May 2
- Real Women Make Wine
On May 2, in honor of Mother's Day, we'll taste wines from women
winemakers around the world. Plan to attend as we celebrate (even
more than usual) the ladies!
In addition to the wines and the
gourmet hors d-oeuvres, we're working to arrange a special guest
presentation.
Cost is $25 per person. Please register by Thursday, April 28.
Ladies Night Out:
Monday, May 2, 7:30 pm
$25 per person
Call for Reservations: 630.435.9463
or 888.656.9463
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Legal Notice
on Ordering Wine
You must be 21 years of age or older to order any alcoholic beverage.
By law, we are allowed to ship wine to the following
states: Arkansas, District of Columbia, California,
Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota,
Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota,
Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and
Wyoming.
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