Our Wine Advent-ure: Days 20 & 21

Only three wines left before we polish off the Advent Wine Calendar our adult children very thoughtfully gave us at Thanksgiving as an early Christmas present.

On Friday of last week, Day 20 of Advent, we opened a bottle of Who's Who Pinotage from the Western Cape of South Africa.

The Western Cape wine region of South Africa is renowned as one of the world's most diverse and picturesque wine-producing areas. Situated on the southern tip of the African continent, this region enjoys a Mediterranean climate characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, wet winters, ideal for grape cultivation.

Tasting notes say this wine has a deep, dark hue and offers up notes of ripe plum, dark chocolate and a hint of smoky oak.

Maybe some years (though this is a non-vintage offering), but this one had only a medium hue, light nose and a tiny bit of fruit on the palate. No "flutter of, like, a nutty Edam cheese." Bonus points if you get the reference. Pleasant, but rather like one of the thinner Pinot Noirs I've tasted.

Then on Saturday, Day 21, we twisted the top of Strut King Old Vine Zinfandel from Lodi, in California's San Joaquin Valley.

The tasting notes describe this wine as "confident." That's rather like saying, "It's a naïve little wine but I think you'll be amused by its presumption." What does that even mean? Again, pretentious words to needlessly hype a wine that, simply put, is smooth with modest tannins and is pleasantly full without being overbearing. Black cherries on the nose and palate, though not overly fruit-forward or "jammy" as some zinfandels can be, and with a pleasant, lingering finish.

These few days leading up to Christmas are going to be incredibly busy (aren't they always, for everyone?), so we'll taste -- and report on -- the last three wines once the holiday is behind us.

Na Zdrowie!

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Photos by Carl Dombek
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