WBW #37: Indigenous Varieties.

My entry for Wine Blogging Wednesday, which this month is hosted by Dr. Vino, came from South Africa. The grape used in making this wine is the Tinta Barocca grape from Portugal where it is one of the five principal grapes used to make port.It is rarely used to produce a red varietal wine. While it is not indigenous to South Africa it is grown there to produce port and is practically considered indigenous. A few wineries will make a red table wine with it as well. I believe that South Africa is the only country in the world where wineries use the Tinta Barocca grape as a dry red wine cultivar.
One of them is the Allesverloren winery in the Swartland region of South Africa. The Swartland area is dotted with green vineyards among rolling golden wheatfields. Allesverloren is the oldest wine estate in the Swartland Wine of Origin district. The history of the estate dates back to 1704 and the first grape harvest was in 1806. The original farm house was destroyed by fire in 1704, hence the name Allesverloren, which translated from South African Dutch means "all is lost".

It was first planted in 1945 as a port making varietal and immediately won many awards. By 1961 it was decided to produce a dry red wine with it as well. The Allesverloren Tinta Barocca spends 18 months in oak barrels. Displaying a ruby red color with a youthful violet in the rim, it offers typical port aromas of lush fruit and vanilla. It is medium to full bodied weighing in with a 14.5% alcohol which gives it some warmth on the mid palate. It has a delightful silky texture and a complex fruity taste leading to a lingering well balanced soft and round finish. A great match for grilled or roasted meats. This is what I call one of my "book" wines, meaning you get a good book, sit in your favorite chair and sip and ponder on what a good wine is all about. It sells for $22.50 Can. here and unfortunately does not appear to be widely available. I have seen it on a few UK sites where it sells for an average of $13 US. Allesverloren may mean "all is lost" but I was happy to find this one.