South World Wine Society - Taste the wines of the Southern Hemisphere

Upcoming Events

Fifth Annual Five Nations Cup -
The Results Are In!

WAS January 14 , 2010

7- 9 pm
Location: Listel Hotel
1300 Robson Street
Vancouver, BC
V6E 1C5

Our Speaker: past SWWS Cellarmaster
and wine educatorl

Year 1 went to Chile. Years 2 and 3 were awarded to Australia. Year 4 went to Chile. The 5th season's winner of the coveted 5 Nations Cup is CHILE! One suprising result was that our Chilean Sauvignon Blanc was aged and most people prefer young Sauvignon Blanc, so do not be afraid of letting some of your Sauvignon Blanc's get a few years age on them! Argentina came in very close. Thanks to Paul Watkin, our past cellar master for being our guest speaker at this event.

Country	Rank
Chile	1
Argentina	2
Australia	3

Country	White Wine	Rank
Chile	Matetic EQ Sauvignon Blanc 2005	1
Argentina	Catena Chardonnay 2007	2
New Zealand	Moncellier Pinot Gris 2008	3
South Africa	Raats Chenin Blanc 2006	4
Australia	Brokenwood Semillon 2007	5

Country	Red Wine	Rank
Australia	Two Hands Shiraz 2006	1
South Africa	Graceland Cabernet Sauvignon 2006	2
Argentina	Dom Domenico El Escondido Bonarda 2005	3
Chile	Chocalan Gran Reserva Malbec 2006	4
New Zealand	Allan Scott Pinot Noir 2007	5

Enjoy some pictures of the event. Hope you can participate in our 6th Annual 5 Nations Cup next year!

wine in brown bags

Deseado sparkling torrontes

Doteasy Web Hosting

Canada Second Destination for Argentinean Malbec

In the first six months of 2009, Argentinean Malbec argentina flag
exports increased from 85.4 to 108.9 million dollars and from 2.4 to 3.9 million 9-liter cases. The main market for this wine remained the United States, with a whopping 57 million dollars, equivalent to 52% of the market share.

Canada is the second most important destination for Malbec. The country imported 8.2 million dollars in 2008 and and 11.1 million dollars in 2009.

The figures show the important inroads Argentinean wines -in particular Malbec- are making in the country.

New Zealand Red Wine Terroirs

Better known by the tremendous success of its white wines, particularly Marlborough's Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand's red wines are mostly off the radar for the global market, with the visible exception of Pinot Noir. The "heart break grape" has made its home in Martinborough, at the southern tip of North Island, and in Otago, in the southern end of South Island.

Central Otago has the only true continental climate in the country. Its soils are also different, with heavy deposits of mica, schist and silt loams. Pinot Noir wines from this region have received accolades due to their purity of fruit, intensity and vibrancy.

Martinborough, in the Wairarapa region, also offers excellent Pinot Noir. Climatically is closer to Marlborough, maritime, cool and with less extremes of daily and seasonal temperatures. The top Pinot Noirs produced there exhibit richness and opulence.

Although little known, New Zealand also produces high quality Bordeaux and Rhone style blends, mostly in Waiheke Island and Hawke's Bay. The former is located in the Hauraki Gulf off Auckland. Its hilly terrain produces Bordeaux blends that have good reputation, though production is rather small.

Hawke's Bay, on the eastern central coast of North Island, is the nation's capital when it comes to Cabernet, Merlot and Syrah. The Bordeaux blends produced there show finesse and restrain. Syrah is the new buzz, yielding wines that are fresh, long and peppery, reminiscent of the northern Rhone reds.

2009 - 2010 Tasting Calendar

The 2008 / 2009 Tasting Calendar is now taking shape and the event topics are listed below. More details to follow. Dates and events are subject to change.

Sep 17 Argentina Tango
Nov 5 Big Reds
Jan 5 Nations Cup
Feb Asian Fusion
March Aussie and N. Zealand
April South Africa
May Members Choice
June 17 Summer Solstice Festival

Wine About Town

Check out www.gismondionwine.com for articles, reviews and a database with more than 4000 tasting notes.

Recent Events of The Last Season

Have you ever wanted to travel to New Zealand? What kind of wines are there to try?Click here to find out more about our Planning a New Zealand Vacation event.

This was an evening of iconic red wines from across the southern hemisphere. In the Cellar Select Premium Reds we enjoyed big Cabs, Shiraz, Malbec, and blends. Click here to find out more about this event.

The movie Sideways helped bring Pinot Noir to the forefront of the minds of people. This evening we were fortunate to sample pinot noirs from New Zealand, Australia, and Chile, including a rare Leyda Valley bottle. Click here to find out more about this event.

Brent Fraser, led us through a great tasting in our South Africa - The Old New World tasting. We had a chance to try a Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Cab/Merlot blend, and a Syrah from both the classic regions of France and from South Africa. How did both countries fare? Click here to find out more about this event.


	Tasting calendar 2009-2010

	Sep 17 Argentina Tango Nov 5 Big Reds Jan 5 Nations Cup Feb Asian Fusion March Aussie and N. Zealand April South Africa May Members Choice June 17 Summer Solstice Festival


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We organize up to 10 wine tastings per year of Australian wine, Argentinian wine, New Zealand wine and South African wine. The highlights of the year include a wine dinner and a summer solstice wine festival at the Vancouver Lawn and Tennis Club.