For the first time, a wine guide has been published that is aimed at the consumer rather than the wine producer or retail trade. “The People’s Guide” has been written by Michael Olivier and Neil Pendock, both acknowledged as being knowledgeable about wines.
The book aims at making wine-buying “easy, fun and innovative”. It contains tasting notes of 561 wines, selected from 1 200 wines representing the Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Methode Cap Classique, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Merlot and Pinotage varieties. Relevant information is provided for each wine, including its “flavour profile”, what one can expect to pay, which foods to serve the wine with, and other quirky facts.
The authors say that the wine guide “….clearly, objectively and honestly provides the wine lover with the information he or she wants to know. And despite all the hot air surrounding wine, the whims of the customer are simple: what wine tastes good and how much does it cost.” They also pride themselves on having made their selection on the basis of blind wine-tasting, as opposed to the (unnamed) Platter’s wine guide, which has not chosen its 5-star wines by means of blind tastings in the past (however, in the 2010 guide the final list of 41 was chosen by blind tasting). Wine ratings on the basis of blind/sighted tastings is a very controversial issue at the moment, and is a hobby-horse for co-author Neil Pendock specifically.
Michael Olivier is a lovable ex-restaurateur, and was Pick ‘n Pay’s wine head until recently, He still advises the company. Neil Pendock is a free-lance wine writer, and is best known for his wine column in the Sunday Times. The authors worked with Anibal Coutinho, Norma Ratcliffe, Cathy Marston and David Mnoneleli Msebi in selecting and evaluating the wines.
The “People’s Guide” is published by Whisk Publications and sells for R 99. It is available at selected wine shops, supermarkets and bookshops. www.michaelolivier.co.za whiskpublications@iafrica.com
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com
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