L'Avenir Vineyard, Cape Town Peninsula, South Africa. Photo: AFP

By Jim Boyce

As the World Cup in South Africa has settled on its semi-finalists, it seems like a good time to settle down with some wines from the host country. While Beijing might be six time zones and 13,000 kilometers away, it has no shortage of South African wines given that distributors here represent dozens of labels. They range from the largest wineries to small family-owned operations, from bottles priced below 100 yuan ($14.7) to those topping 500 yuan, and from white wines such as Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc to red ones such as Pinotage and Cabernet Sauvignon, with plenty of blends to boot.

Diversity

It might surprise some but South Africa has a winemaking tradition that dates more than three centuries. The main grape-growing areas fan out from Cape Town in the southwest corner of the country where the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet. And after being isolated for some time, in the past two decades the world has been discovering these wines and the diversity they offer.

Such diversity is epitomized in the portfolio of Beijing-based WineLink, which specializes in South African wines and carries the city's largest range, with more than a dozen labels available for home delivery or at the affiliated restaurant Pinotage in Shunyi.

Chris McDaniel of WineLink notes that such wines tend to be good buys. "Because South Africa is new to the international market, it provides value for money," he said. "From a drinking perspective, these wines are made using 'old world' techniques but 'new world' grapes, and we are finding the quality has really improved the past few years."

This applies to less expensive wines. Case in point, during a wine contest called Grape Wall Challenge I helped organize last year, a panel of Chinese consumers tasted more than 20 red wines that retailed for less than 100 yuan. In a tie as their favorite red wine: A 99-yuan "Foot of Africa" Pinotage from Kleine Zalze that is distributed in China by Torres (see everwines.com). This turned out to be no fluke.

In this year's contest, another South African wine fared well with the consumer judges, this time in the white wine contest, again tying for top spot. The wine in question: Obikwa Sauvignon Blanc, distributed in Beijing by French Wine Paradox, and available at spots such as Carrefour and Jenny Lou's for about 75 yuan.

Affordable wines

This is good news for Beijing citizens, since it means getting decent wine without emptying your wallet or purse and having a range of choices that are as varied as the players on a football team.

In this case, the character player would be Pinotage, a cross of the grapes Cinsault and Pinot Noir, the latter known to many due to the movie Sideways. Pinotage is in some ways associated with South Africa as Zinfandel is with California and Malbec is with Argentina. It has its lovers and loathers, with some experts finding much of the Pinotage out there too "rustic," but it seems to have some appeal in Beijing, particularly given how fruity these wines can be.

McDaniel said Pinotage is especially good for beginners. "It's easier to drink and it's easier to distinguish the tastes and smells in the wine," he said.

"They have been wellreceived in the Chinese market. People call them 'fruit bombs' because they have so much flavor," McDaniel said. He added that those who want some high-end Pinotage would do well with Beyerskloos Diesel, a wine that retails for 650 yuan per bottle and he called "absolutely incredible." (Order from chrisb@winelink.com.cn.)

To return to the "wine" soccer team, if one player had the natural talent to pull off a mind-blowing play or two per game, it would be Springfield Estate, which is distributed in Beijing by Links China (contact floris@linkschina.com.cn).

As examples, Springfield Estate makes wines where only wild yeast is used for fermentation, where there is no filtering, or where the winery bypasses mechanical crushing of grapes and instead puts whole berries into tanks where time and gravity do the bulk of the work.

These are some of the more interesting wines out there. The team would also have a flashy player, the type that has the coolest hair cut or the most elaborate goal celebration and perhaps the penchant for getting into opponents' faces. Cloof wines from COFCO might qualify, in name alone. "The Very Sexy Shiraz," "Inkspot," which sees Pinotage blended with small amount of Shiraz and Cinsaut, and "The Dark Side," a Cabernet-Shiraz combination, all provide varying degrees of richness. And the "Cellar Blend" takes it up a step with a mish-mash of no fewer than six grapes, including Cinsaut and Cabernet Franc.

Wide range

That's a healthy start to building a "wine" team and there are many more players that could be added in Beijing. Take your pick.

Nederburg: The official wine of the World Cup in South Africa is distributed in Beijing by ASC Fine Wines (asc-wines. com). There are nine kinds, ranging from a sparkling wine to whites such as Chardonnay, Riesling, and Sauvignon Blanc. ASC also distributes Meerlust, with the range including the highly regarded Rubicon, a Bordeaux style blend that retails for about 400 yuan and a creamy Chardonnay that has lemon and honey aromas and costs slightly less at around 340 yuan. At the mass-market end, ASC distributes a range of Two Oceans wine from South Africa that retail for less than 100 yuan.

Enoterra Reserve Shiraz: This South African wine is distributed by Enoteca and available at its wine bar in The Place.

Lyngrove Collection Pinotage: Another of those rich wines associated with South Africa, this one is available directly from China Wine Platform for 85 yuan (wineplatform.com). A Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, and Pinotage blend from the same maker is 200 yuan.

Kleine Zalze: Torres China (everwines.com) has a six-bottle promotion during the World Cup. It includes a Pinotage, a Chardonnay, and a Chenin Blanc, the most planted grape in South Africa, for 856 yuan.

WineLink: Of the many wines he carries, McDaniel recommends the Boland Cabernet- Shiraz as an easy-drinking and inexpensive option at 70 yuan and the Lanzerac 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon for 170 yuan as a higher-quality wine. And for those who want something unique, he has a "coffee" pinotage, a wine that has been stored in a barrel smoked in coffee beans. It is amusingly called CappuPinoTinoTage, is made by Boland Cellars, and retails for 90 yuan.

Finally, for those who would rather browse, Jenny Lou's is worth a stop as it has more than a dozen South African wines. These range from the Obikwa and Foot of Africa wines mentioned above to higher end options such as the Neil Ellis wines from Jebsen (jebsenfinewines.com). There are even a couple of sparking wines, in case you want to try celebrating the World Cup with some South African bubbly.