Friday, 8 September, 2017
Institute of Cape Wine Masters
These past few months have been very active and busy with regards to the activities of the Cape Wine Masters. Several tastings have been presented, both to the Cape Wine Masters as a closed group, as well as the public. These tastings included, amongst others, a technical diacetyl tasting and varietal tastings of Grenache and Shiraz.
Another exciting tasting was one where the University of Stellenbosch Wine Culture Society (USWCS) contacted our regional representative, Lizette Tolken, to ask Cape Wine Masters to participate and present a tasting to the students. The theme was to present international wines available in our local supermarkets, as that is the extent of what the student’s pocket allows him/her to buy. For me, the excitement lies in the fact that the ICWM had set “building bridges with other organisations” as a target for ourselves, and this is a step in the right direction. More examples of similar events are in the planning phase.
I would seriously like to encourage any Cape Wine Master to take the initiative to present interesting tastings, especially those where we can invite the public too. We need to see it as our privilege to spread our knowledge, understanding and love for wine and brandy to the wider public. To this extent, ICWM pull-out banners have been produced to assist us in this undertaking (see 'Bits & Pieces' section for more information).
The new ICWM Spotlight Page on www.wine.co.za will become a monthly feature and act as an extra tool to market our events and activities. We will appreciate your input into making this feature a very big success (see 'Bits & Pieces' section for more information).
I would also like to take the opportunity to wish the Cape Wine Masters who are members of the Cape Winemakers Guild, all the best for the coming Cape Winemakers Guild Auction, that will be held on 30 September 2017 at Spier.
Lastly, I hope you will enjoy this bumper edition of the MasterCopy. With the 2017 Perseid meteor showers that peaked in early to mid-August, I wonder how that affected the biodynamic winegrowers’ philosophies? Just thinking out loud!
At your service
Conrad Louw
Chairperson: ICWM
To read the complete August 2017 MasterCopy newsletter, click here.