Your monthly home winemaking experiment: Next month we will be looking at the perfect temperature to enjoy your wine. So here is a little experiment you can try at home in the meantime, to determine the perfect temperature for enjoying your wines! Just follow the next few easy steps:

  1. Take a bottle of BLANKbottle (preferably red) and put in the fridge.
  2. Cool it down to about 3 degrees Celsius.
  3. Once the wine is nice and cold, pour a glass and immediately take a gulp, DON’T SWALLOW (although it might be tempting, being BLANKbottle and all!)
  4. Whilst the wine is in your mouth, try to identify and describe the first flavours you experience!
  5. Now, with the wine still in your mouth (gradually increasing in temperature to 37 degrees), constantly monitor the presence and the change of intensity (if any) of the component flavours.
  6. Then, make up your own mind! Decide what temperature, in your opinion, is the best and how temperature influences the sensation and enjoyment of wine!
  7. Finally, email me with your findings, I’d like to hear your views and publish some of the results in my next newsletter!

Oh, and by the way, this experiment only works on authentic BLANKbottles….!?! -)
So what’s the connection between horses, paraplegics and wine?

I believe life is all about experiences!!! We enrich each other’s lives by sharing these experiences. Just the other day I, as usual, literally walked right into one of those life-changing experiences. I am no expert on the lives of others and not your typical Peoples magazine reader (“no really, the Huisgenoot lying here is not mine, a friend left it here….!?”). I therefore do not recognise or know too many celebrities! That’s why I find it so very ironic that last week Wednesday I ended up between some of our country’s most beautiful and famous celebrities! I’ve never played one game of rugby in my life and there I was: chatting away to some rugby guys triple my size and who knows how many times my weight. We were all gathered for one purpose only: To get the attention of the media and people out there, on some of our country’s less mobile citizens. Nicholas Rey, son of former Miss World Penny Rey, was paralysed 20 months ago in a horse riding/polo accident. With the help and vision of Ricky Smit, they started the Nicholas Rey Foundation, organizing functions around the country to collect money for other, less financially fortunate paralyzed individuals and the African horse sickness trust. Now it’s here (like always with the help of a few miracles) where I come into the picture.

I have the privilege of being the official winemaker for their benefit function held on the 7th April, at Spier. I made their Cabernet Sauvignon 2005, which will be sold exclusively prior to and at the function. You’re welcome to drop me a note via email if you’re interested in getting your hands on some wine, purchasing a ticket to this glamorous event or if you’d like to have more information about the Foundation! Tickets sell at R600 per person and all proceeds go to the Nicholas Rey Foundation.

So, getting back to those experiences I mentioned at the start: I believe it is imperative to follow your passions in life, in order for such divine appointments to jump up from nowhere! And that, with ever-increasing regularity!!! Well, that’s my opinion anyway! People sense your passion and react to it in sometimes incredible ways.

Another interesting turn of events is that an oil painting that I’ve done, as well as 100 bottles of wine will be auctioned at the event!! Now, I’m no Van Gogh (not by a long shot!), but I’ve started to express my emotions about each specific batch of BLANKbottle™ on canvas. I then keep the last 100 bottles from each batch to sell afterwards with the painting. I’ve already completed 4 paintings with the 4 sold-out batches! I heard that Van Gogh’s paintings only started selling long after his death. So although I might not be getting the same heap of leopard bills for mine, at least I’m alive and well to enjoy the ride!

E-mail: pieter@blankbottle.co.za
Telephone: +27 (0)82 872 8658


Please note

Due to the many small batches of wines we make, availability changes on a daily basis. Please email aneen@blankbottle.co.za if you’d like to order any of our wines or if you are looking for a specific wine, and she will reply with a list of wines now selling. If the wine you are looking for is sold out, we could suggest some alternative excitement and/or we could also put together a unique selection for you.

Please also make sure you add your name to our list below. You’ll be the first to know of new releases.

* indicates required