Filed in archive Food and Wine , South African Wines by tammy on September 5, 2006

The hubby and I enjoyed a nice sit-down dinner this past holiday weekend, a rare treat for us these days. As our house chef, he was in charge of cooking and cook he did. He seared scallops in a skillet using some of this MAN Vinters 2005 Chenin Blanc we had in our stash. I'm not sure where we originally purchased this bottle, probably from one of our clubs, but I found it on line for about $10.

They say you should never cook with a wine you wouldn't also drink "as is," and while we were not thrilled with this vintage, our scallops were still wonderful, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. And, we did drink the rest of the bottle afterwards. Really, it's a matter of personal preference. This is a tart wine, and we aren't into tart that much, but those who are would probably like it.

Here are the tasting notes from the MAN Vinters site:

MAN Vintners Chenin Blanc w.o. Coastal Region current vintage: 2005

Blend: Chenin Blanc 100%
Production: 10,000 cases of 12
Grape source: 100% from mostly dry-land, bush vines in Perdeberg region of Paarl
Wine analysis: Alc 13.0% RS 7.4 g/l TA 7.5 g/l pH 3.14

Winemaking techniques: Fully ripe grapes were hand harvested from 25-40year old traditional bush vine vineyards at a yield of less than 8 tons per hectare. After pressing and settling the must was inoculated and allowed to ferment over 20 days in stainless steel tanks at an average fermentation temperature of 13û centigrade. The wine was left on its lees until bottling.

Vintage conditions: 2005 saw unusual growing conditions with erratic weather patterns and severe drought. On the positive side, the vines were generally disease free with small concentrated berries and fruit in good condition (after some sorting). Paarl had an early harvest with a small, good quality crop, and the Villiersdorp (Worcester) area also had a significantly smaller crop, producing good quality wines.

Wine description & food pairing: Lively tropical fruit and melon aromas, with crisp, bold, sweet citrus and tropical fruit flavors backed with a refreshing acidity and minerality that is characteristic of Chenin from the best Perdeberg area vineyards. An excellent wine to go with most fish, poultry or salad dishes. Also a fabulous aperitif for a hot summer day. Serve chilled.