Another Warwick winner

December 29, 2012
by Carl Bates
in Blogs
with 2 Comments
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Warwick Wine Estate, the perfect setting to enjoy a glass of fresh unoaked Chardonnay

Warwick Wine Estate has been associated with quality wines in South Africa for a number of decades, consistently releasing premium vintages in a variety of styles – as I recently had the opportunity to personally validate. In 2012 they also added a new style to their winning collection, The First Lady Unoaked Chardonnay.

Warwick’s First Lady Unoaked Chardonnay

But like anything in my life, there is always a story to be told. And in this particular instance food, wine and business have been brilliantly intertwined.

I first experienced the new Warwick style when it was served as the white wine choice at the Sirdar Annual Governance Awards black tie dinner. Held at The Hyatt in Rosebank in November this year, it was an event of particular significance for all involved. As the Group Chief Executive of Sirdar South Africa, I hosted the event and given my personal interest in both food and wine I was particularly fussy about what was to be served in both categories. To the extent that we did not choose from the hotel’s wine list, in order to perfectly match the wine with the menu.

As the evening progressed it was evident that this new unwooded chardonnay had been the perfect match for the duck starter and the salmon main alike. A successful way to kick off the awards evening.

So when I was invited to attend the Warwick Wine Club ‘Pink’ party held last Monday it gave a brilliant excuse to end the year off with a road trip to Cape Town. The trip was built around having to travel to the Mother City for a client’s year-end board meeting, coinciding perfectly with the Warwick party in Stellenbosch.

And what a winning weekend! The vintage wines that Nic van Aarde, the winemaker at Warwick, pulled out of the cellar for the vintage wine tasting were superb. A lucky treat for us indeed, and the party itself was an absolute hit. We then spent the afternoon, enjoying this new unwooded chardonnay, with picnics served up by the Warwick Wine kitchen. As an added benefit of course, I had the opportunity to connect with new contacts from Cape Town’s business community.

However the reason behind this particular entry traverses several points (luckily for you though not as many as the number of kilometers we travelled in the course of writing this story):

Matching food and wine for your corporate events is critical to maximizing the experience of your guests;

Just because the hotel offers a particular range of wine, doesn’t mean they are the best to use. For the awards dinner we selected the wines specifically, paid the corkage, and the results speak for themselves; and

Warwick’s new The First Lady Unoaked Chardonnay is a brilliant vintage. It traverses (like we did) a variety of environments’ in which it can be served. In the last couple of months I have personally served it as the host of a black tie function and consumed it at a romantic dinner for two, as well as over an all-afternoon picnic on a hot summers day. As a stand-alone glass, I must say that I find it particularly enjoyable as well.

Let me tell you, it’s one that you can serve during the festive season at home as well as to guests or business associates alike.

Contact Warwick Wine Estate (Stellenbosch)

Phone: (021) 884-4410

Email: info@warwickwine.com

Website: www.warwickwine.com

Carl Bates

As a global entrepreneur and speaker and author on business success, governance and leadership – particularly in SMEs, I am always traveling. Food and wine form a big part of this journey. So while my ‘day job’ is Group Chief Executive of Sirdar South Africa (www.sirdargroup.com), I enjoy a good glass of wine and bite to eat, at every opportunity!