I went for a wine training yesterday by an organisation called WOSA (Wines of South Africa). The event was in a bid to show Kenyans more about South African wine and what they have to offer. There are some wines that caught my eye. I will review my favourite wine but before then, let me explain to people who do not drink wine why we even go for wine tastings.

Why do we taste wine?

We taste wine to learn and explore the diversity of wines using our senses. We analyse everything from the colour, smell and taste of the wine. Sometimes, we explore mouthfeel. For example, have you ever into a lemon or an unripe mango? What happens? Saliva gushes from the sides of your mouth and that is called "acidity" in wine. So when you hear "wine people" talking about a wine being acidic, that is what they mean. Other wines give you a dry taste. You feel as if you are biting into a paper. Have you ever chewed on grape seeds? If yes, you know that your mouth feels so dry after that. That mouthfeel is called "tannicity" and it is caused by compounds called "tannins" present in grape skins and seeds.

Why all the fuss with winetastings?

People like to be fancy when it comes to wine tastings. It appears like that when you are looking at it through a lens of a non-wine drinker. Wine people sometimes appear pretentious because they like to hold their glass against a white tile, they sip and savour and even spit their wine. However, once you get into the world of wine, you will learn that they do that so that they can understand the wine better. For you to know what bottle or grape you like, you must be willing to go through many more so that you can compare them. For example, if you have only tasted one flavour of juice you can't believe that that is the best juice there is. You have to try good and bad ones and through that, you will discover something that you really fall in love with.

The Vondeling Baldrick Shiraz (My Favorite for the Day)

With that background, you will now know why one winetasting is never enough. There are so many grape varieties in the world and no one can have all the wine knowledge in the world. There are also winemaking regions with their intricate details to study. One of my favourite wines of the day was the Vondeling Baldrick Shiraz. This wine was very spicy. I love Shiraz because it is spicy and I am more into the heavier reds like Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. This is a perfect wine to serve with spicy meat, lamb chops with hot sauce of spicy curries. Spicy bold wine is served with spicy and flavourful food.