Golden Kaan winery in South Africa is located in that country’s famous Western Cape wine-growing region and has done a lot for South Africa’s wine presence amongst the world-wide market. 

One of the things you’ll notice about most of their wines is that they’re very affordable and that’s a key point for many folks in this current downed economic times.

2007 Chenin Blanc – W.E.P. Rating: 90%

Technical Data:

• Alcohol vol: 14,2 % vol
• pH: 3,40
• Total acidity: 5,59 g/ l
• Sugar: 3,52 g/ l
• Price: $10

Nose: Dusty lemon peel with honey, rose pedals, orange zest and week-old cheerios.

Taste: Layers of lavender, lemons, starfruit, oyster shell and seawater. Good, clean finish on this wine, however, it doesn’t linger too awfully long but it’s still good – for the price, it’s definitely a wine worth checking out. 

2006 Pinotage- W.E.P. – Rating: 85%

Technical Data:

• Alcohol vol: 14,0 % vol
• pH: 3,52
• Total acidity: 5,62 g/ l
• Sugar: 5,38 g/ l
• $10

Nose: Bacon fat, blackberry, black cherry, star anise, cumin, corriander, tomatosauce.

Taste: Smoked black fruits, black liquorice, tobacco, dark chocolate on the flavor profile for me. Decent tannin structure holds the fruit in check, however, the finish is way too short.

2007 Shiraz – W.E.P. Rating: 90%

Technical Data:

• Alcohol vol: 14,11 % vol
• pH: 3,47
• Total acidity: 5,56 g/ l
• Sugar: 5,5 g/ l
• Price: $10

Nose: Freshly-killed game with black pepper, blueberry and black cherry. 

Taste: Dirty black-fruits mashed up with sweet-tarts, black pepper, venison, tar-bubbles and pomagranate. Firm tannins show the youth of this wine and also turn a bit flabby on the back-end but still a pretty decent effort for the money. The finish is okay – not superb, but good.

Winery Website: www.goldenkaan.com

The spirit of Africa inspired me to cook the following dish:

I did some grilled chicken which I spiced up with yellow curry, cinnamon and garlic – on the side is some basmati rice with rasins and black beans – I also grilled a tomato with olive oil, salt&pepper then topped the entire dish with fresh flat-leaf parsley.

Winery Link

Golden Kaan is the joint effort of KWV of South Africa and Racke of Germany – it’s now a global brand which pays homage to South Africa and has been getting some good press lately one some of its wines. Established in 1918, KWV has been a huge player in South African wine and has been a huge force in helping get that region “on the map” and palate of wine drinkers everywhere.

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South Africa – as a region – has really ramped it up quite a bit over the past few years and I’ve found that many folks – like myself – can easily gravitate towards a lot of the white wines coming out of it.

There’s a good sense of overall minerality in this region which reminds me of some of the whites out of places like New Zealand – and I’m diggin’ that.

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2007 Sauvignon Blanc: Price: $10 W.E.P. Score: 100%

Technical Notes:

• Alcohol vol: 12.36 % vol
• pH: 3.45
• Total acidity: 5.61 g/ l
• Sugar: 5.16 g/ l
• Climate: Mediterranean climate with warm, dry summers and cold, wet winters, of approximately 600–800 mm rain per annum.
• Soil: Table Mountain sandstone and Malmesbury shale.

Nose: Mildew covered river rocks mixed with freshly-cut grass and grapefruit peel. I also pick up some cement dust and hints of apricots.

Taste: Excellent acidity/fruit combination that rips across the front and mid palate – It’s a judo-chop to the taste buds – exploding with mango and hints of kiwi and starfruit. Finishes VERY dry with little lemon drops and I’m digging that.

2005 Chardonnay: Price: $10 W.E.P. Score: 100%

Technical Notes:

• Alcohol vol: 13.53%
• pH: 3.50
• Total acidity: 5.50 g/l
• Sugar: 6.46 g/l
• Climate: Mediterranean climate with warm, dry summers and cold, wet winters, of approximately 600 – 800 mm or rain per year.
• Soil: Table Mountain sandstone and Malmesbury shale.
• Vinification: Full ripe grapes were crushed and the juice fermented in a combination of second fill French oak barrels and on French oak staves in stainless steel tanks. Lees contact of about 2 months were allowed.
• Winemaker: Sterik deWet

Nose: Creamsickle component mixed in with some meyer apples and a bit of earthy minerals. Some nice floral components on the back-end of the nose help round it out – very pleasant. Ivory soap.

Taste: Very viscous mouth feel and a ton of apple coming thru which is quickly followed with lightly toasted nuts, grilled pineapple and hints of lime.

Overall Summary:
Each one of these wines brings a fun, fresh experience to their respective varieties and are wines I’d highly encourage you to seek out – you can usually find them for around the $8 mark thanks to industry post-off and retailer discounts etc.

Golden Kaan completely nailed the quality and experience these wines bring to the table – its low use of oak is always good as it helps keep the quality of the fruit dancing through on the palate.

For only $10, these are a couple of white’s i’d easily recommend to folks who are looking to get off the “Oak-bus-express” of overly oaked wines and want a good halfway-point to going to completely unoaked wines as their palate improves.

Foods I’d hit with these:
Shellfish
Sea Bass
Creamy Pastas
Clam Chowder
Roasted Chicken