Jun 2020

Winter is that time of the year where our social lives go into unofficial hibernation and we tend to stay in, develop our home cooking skills and spend our evenings sipping delicious drinks in front of the fireplace, snuggled up under a blanket. During the past decade port-style wines have both managed to evolve in its versatility, such as the De Krans Cape Pink which is used as a cocktail mixer, and expanded on the traditional styles, for example tweaking a Cape Vintage to produce a lovely and unique dessert wine called Espresso.  It is also almost 10 years since the EU agreement that every port-style wine bottled

Although De Krans is synonymous with producing award-winning port-style wines, they have really managed to extend their relationship with Portuguese cultivars beyond their fortified range, resulting in a diverse and unique range of dry, still wines, known as the Terroir range. Appropriately so, since the Calitzdorp terroir is so similar to that of the Douro Valley in Portugal, making it a perfect area to produce quality wines from Portuguese varieties. The first Portuguese grape vines planted in 1973 at De Krans in Calitzdorp, were actually intended to be Shiraz grapes. Only when the first grapes were harvested a few years later, were these vines discovered to be Tinta Barocca,

A Twist of Fate, a blend between Portuguese grape varieties Tinta Barocca and Tinta Amarela, forms part of the De Krans Terroir Range. A Twist of Fate is a lighter style red wine, which is arguably comparable to a Pinot Noir in terms of style and use. The concept behind this wine was to produce a lighter style red wine, which should be served chilled, making this wine perfect for those warmer days. Free run juice is used resulting in delicious strawberry and cherry flavours with a lovely earthiness, hints of spice and a subtle oak character. Retailing for approximately R92 per bottle, A Twist of Fate pairs perfectly

De Krans Wines has expanded its Moscato range with the release of the Muscat Nectar Alcohol-Free Sparkling. This refreshing alcohol-free Muscat Nectar consists of 100% muscat grapes with a slight fizz added when bottled. The Muscat Nectar has lovely tropical fruit flavours with muscat tones and a balanced acidity. Similar to the De Krans White and Red Moscato Perlé, the Muscat Nectar Alcohol- Free Sparkling will no doubt appeal to those preferring a slightly sweeter, fizzy option either on a menu or on the shelf. The Alcohol-Free Sparkling Muscat Nectar retails for approximately R58 per bottle, and is best enjoyed chilled, on its own, or served with fresh summer salads,