New columnist: Bregje van Weezel

Bregje van Weezel (47) lives with her family in Cape Town, South Africa. She writes about her experiences in the colourful but also complex country. In this column, she shares her enthusiasm and knowledge about the South African wine industry. Her stories are neither too dry nor too heavy and this column is entirely on her (wine) mind. If you would like to read more about everything she likes in South Africa, you can follow Bregje on Instragram @vin_ik_leuk

New columnist: Bregje van Weezel

Seven years ago, I moved to South Africa with my family. For years the favourite holiday country. I couldn't get enough of the dazzling nature, the friendliness of the people and could easily spend whole days in the wine countries. Which we did. We even got married there. I always came home feeling homesick, which only faded a little when we booked the next ticket. We thought it would be great to experience all the seasons and so we did. Our children were still small and could come with us, my husband found a job there and I left my job as HR manager. We found a house in Hout Bay, near Cape Town and, after many moves, we still live there today. My departure in a nutshell.

Turned hobby into profession

Meanwhile, the children have become real South Africans and prefer to walk around "barefoot" and we too have settled in just fine. Living among the vineyards is magical. That you can just drive to a winery for a quick tasting or lunch still sometimes feels unreal. That something so typically holiday-like is part of everyday life is a separate feeling. But I can live with that just fine. Am still not bored. Mind you: with nearly six hundred wine producers around. My knowledge of and love for the South African wine industry is only growing. So I have made my hobby my profession and write about everything that makes life in South Africa so enjoyable. I will share my enthusiasm for South African wines and wineries with you in this column.

Stone

Indeed, I hope that when you think of South African wine, that one-and-a-half litre bottle of Droë Steen does not appear on your retina. Because that's not exactly advertising South African wine, let alone chenin blanc. Next to pinotage, South Africa's most famous grape variety and also called "stone". By nature, it is a very versatile grape. It has the characteristics of sauvignon blanc, pinot grigio as well as chardonnay and can also go in the sweet direction. Sort of the Barbapapa among grapes, in other words. South Africa produces the most with this grape worldwide, and fortunately not just mass. Thus, at the moment, South Africa's best wines are chenin blancs, which are pretty much nodding along globally in terms of quality. The fact that South Africa is producing more and more quality wine is partly due to its great "terroir." After all, South Africa may be known as New World. The land on which wine is grown is among the oldest and richest in the world.

Nels0n Mandela and Barack Obama toasted with it

South Africa is also the place to be for a good bubble. They also call it Cape sparkling or MCC. That's short for "Méthode Cap Classique." Officially, it should not be called Champagne because it is made in South Africa. But it is the same chardonnay and pinot noir grapes, which turn into MCC through fermentation just like in France. It tastes the same and maybe even better, when you know how attractive the price is. Fifty years ago, the first MCC was bottled at Simonsig. Today, many a winery makes its own bubble, even with South Africa's favourites chenin blanc and pinotage. Needless to say, South African bubbly was drunk at Nelson Mandela's inauguration dinner. But Barack Obama also toasted it when he won the election. Indeed. I drink one of these to celebrate my first column. And if not, I would have come up with another reason.