Indaba Pinot Gris 2011 Wine Review

"Indaba" is the Zulu word for "a meeting of the minds," or a traditional gathering of tribal leaders for a sharing of ideas. The Indaba wine brand was created as a celebration of the democratization process in South Africa and, from its inception, the wines have conveyed the spirit of South Africa to American consumers. A portion of the proceeds from the Indaba wines supports a scholarship for formerly disenfranchised South Africans who are interested in wine-related careers. Through growth of the brand and via the affiliated scholarship, Indaba is proud to be a part of the positive changes that are altering the face of South Africa's wine industry.

The Indaba range is carefully selected from emerging regions of the Cape winelands, such as Robertson, Wellington and the Breede River Valley. Production is overseen by Bruwer Raats, celebrated winemaker of Raats Family Wines and long-term consultant for Indaba. All are bottled under user-friendly screwcap closures with environmentally friendly packaging. In addition to garnering regular "best buy" nods from Wine Enthusiast, Indaba has earned extensive praise in Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, which described the wines as "truly mind-boggling values" for the past two consecutive vintages. 

I purchased the Pinot Gris recently. On the nose, I sense minerals and Granny Smith apples. The taste reminds me of tart fruits, like kiwi and strawberry with a little lime and pepper... very crisp. While it's a great wine, rated 88 by consumers — whose opinion I trust more than the so-called experts — it's a bit too tart for my individual taste. So I decided to use it to make sangria. 

I marinated overnight in one cup of light rum one cup of pineapple chunks, one peach (peeled and sliced), one kiwi fruit (peeled and sliced) and one lime with zest. I added to this mixture 1 teaspoon each of cinnamon and clove. The next day, I added the remainder of the bottle of wine, which was about 2/3 of the bottle with about 2 cups of ginger ale. The result was amazingly good! Careful, though... it's really smooth and yummy, with a taste of mince meat pie or, perhaps, peach cobbler, but the alcohol sneaks up on you. I'm even considering trying this as a mulled wine for the holiday season.