DRINK : Wine Event Scotland brings us Bruce Jack Wine & Food Pairing at Heron
How wonderful it is to be back participating at an ‘in person’ event and how delightful that one of my first wine tastings after a two year or so hiatus was with South African wine maker, Bruce Jack. In person, here in Edinburgh at Heron restaurant in Leith organised by Diana from Wine Events Scotland.
I wasn’t the only one absolutely thrilled to be at a wine pairing lunch, the other 30 or so people attending all seemed to be in similar agreement.
REVIEW : WINE EVENT SCOTLAND BRINGS US BRUCE JACK WINE & FOOD PAIRING AT HERON
Over the last 3 years of online wine tastings, I have had the pleasure to ‘meet’ some of the worlds greatest wine makers and sommeliers. From the Finger Lakes in New York to the Colchagua Valley in Chile, to Marlborough in New Zealand but very few have the charisma and charm to leave an impact.
Enter Bruce Jack, the shy face behind Bruce Jack wines who always seems to have a joke, a story and a smile whether you are online or in person. Bruce is charismatic, enchanting and a natural storyteller, so much so that you want him to tell tales for hours and savour the wines and his memories of growing up and wine making in South African into the wee small hours.
Bruce’s wine making story is fascinating but you’ll be blown away by his commitment to the environment, sustainability, and social upliftment through education. This is one winemaker that’s dedicated to giving back; from local beach cleanups to contributing to a local music programme in schools. Bruce is also know for employing a Pipe Major to play the bagpipes to his wine barrels. He believes (and there is a lot of science behind this) that music travels through the molecules in the wine to help them develop resulting in tastier wine! The bagpipes is also a nod to Bruce’s roots - his mum was Scottish hailing from Tiree and he also studied at St Andrews University.
But lets move onto possibly one of the best events from Wine Event Scotland that I have attended! They are all brilliant but for me this ticked all the boxes.
Meet the Winemaker lunch at Heron with 9 delectable wines, 1 refreshing cider and 1 charismatic wine maker!
Arrival drink of De Grendel Brut MCC, Tygerberg, South Africa 2017 (£20.00)
The well established Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vineyards are located on the slopes of the Tygerberg at approx 7 kms from and in sight of the Atlantic Ocean. Grape bunches are handpicked and gently whole bunch pressed to produce a more elegant wine. After settling and racking, the juice is inoculated and fermented into base wine in stainless steel tanks where it undergoes malolactic fermentation. This is then filtered and bottled with ‘Liqueur de Tirage’, a yeast and sugar mixture which facilitates secondary fermentation in the bottle which creates natural carbonation. The wine is aged on the yeast in the bottle for 15 months before ‘degorgement’ resulting in a perfect bottle of Brut made in the Methode Cap Classique style.
Quite dry and with a beautiful continuous rain of bubbles.
Ajoblanco with cucumber, almond and grape paired with
La Bascula Atlantic Way Albarino, Rias Baixas, Spain 2020 (£13.99) and
The Berrio Sauvignon Blanc, Wine of Origin Elim, Agulhas Wine triangle, South Africa 2021 (£19.99)
The dish - refreshing flavours of the cucumber really shine through but its the wee pops of sweetness from the grapes that delight here.
Albarino - Atlantic Way takes its name from the maritime pilgrim trail to Santiago de Compostela that runs just past the cellar front door. The wine is made at the Pazo de Cilleiro cellar which is 4kms from the Atlantic Ocean shoreline. The bodega works with approx 80 contracted growers and only makes wines from the Albarino grape. Cold fermented in stainless steel and then with 5 months contact with the fine lees, this wine undergoes no malolactic fermentation.
Sauvignon Blanc - Named after a remarkable little ship with a fascinating history that led Vasco de Gama’s challenging expeditionary voyage around Cape Agulhus early in 1497. The grapes are from Francis Pratt’s farm, Moddervlei in Elim. Hand-picked, processed, crushed, in the press with minimal skin contact. Pressed into stainless steel tanks where fermentation takes place. Extended lease contact is followed by blended Berrio components. The wine is then stablised and bottled.
Ham Hough with rabbit, parsley and caper paired with
De Grendal “Op die Berg” Chardonnay, Ceres, South Africa 2020 (£23.10)
The Epic Journey, Coombsville, Napa Valley, USA 2019
The dish - I’m not a fan of ham hough but plates were cleaned so I’ll take that as a seal of approval.
Chardonnay - High on the Witzenberg Mountain range in Ceres this unique appellation exhibits South Africas only truly continental climate with winter temperatures frequently dropping below freezing. Handpicked at the break of dawn, carefully selected grapes are destemmed, crunched and lightly pressed at De Grendel. After 2 days of settling, the juice is inoculated and transferred to 225 litre French Oak barrels for fermentation. The wine is barrel aged for 6 months whilst undergoing ‘batonnage’ twice a week before malolactic fermentation and once a month after malolactic fermentation to enhance the mouth feel and structure of the wine.
Epic Journey - a blend of Carbernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Cabernet Franc from 3 vineyards in Coombsville. Varieties are destemmed, berry sorted and fermented separately in 1 ton bins and stainless steel open top fermenters. They use 5 days of cold maceration prior to fermentation to absorb long chain tannin complexes and stable colour from skins. Malolactic fermentation takes place in barrel, and individual components are racked and returned to the same barrels after completion of malolactic fermentation. 21 months in barrel altogether. Individual barrels are tasted over the course of maturation and the final wine was blended in June 2021.
Ronaldsay Mutton with black olive and aubergine paired with
The Drift Estate Moveable Feast Estate Red, Overberg Highlands, 2017 (£21.63)
La Bascula 3x3 Old Vone Garnacha & Carinera, Terra Alta, Catalunya, Spain 2018 (£25.00)
The dish - Simply superb, the mutton was melt in your mouth with a deep umami savouriness brought about from the jus
Moveable Feast - This is an estate blend using only grapes grown in this unique Overberg Highlands farm. As such it reflects the different aspects and soils on this remarkable farm. All vineyards lie between 390m and 550m above sea level. Most of the grapes are fermented apart, but as pioneers of co-fermentation in South Africa they do have a few secret combinations. Fermented wild in open top fermenters with between 15% and 100% whole bunches. Hand plunged 6 times a day. Pressed into 225 litre barrels, mostly old, for between 18 months and 24 months of ageing.
3x3 - Take 3 wine fanatics and 3 blocks of old vines and you get their new 3x3 organic, old vine red. Pepe Fuster’s estate of 25 hectares of organically farmed vines has been in his family for generations. Over 10 years ago he started making wines with Ed Adams, MW and Bruce Jack under the La Bascula label. As 3 long standing friends and partners, they have embarked on a a new joint project to create the wonderful, complex, ethereal and delicious red wine from Pepe’s oldest blocks of Carinyena and Garnatxa.
Loch Arthur Cheddar with apple chutney paired with
Bruce Jack Rioja Reserva, La Rioja, Spain 2016 (£14.21)
Cluve and Jack cider (£2.29)
The dish - not much to say about cheese, chutney and crackers other than they worked splendidly with the wine.
Rioja - Bruce grew up on the southern tip of Africa - Cape Town but immersed in the language, food and music of Spain. It seemed perfectly natural when in 2005, he was given the opportunity to make wine in Spain for the first time. With many happy vintages under his belt, Spain felt even more like a second home. The traditions of this magnificent region are the foundations of this wine, overlayed with subtle tannins, delicious grapes and a very particular house style. Crafted for long lunches and collaborating across continents.
Cider - Patiently fermented in the Paul Cuver winery, using old Jack family cider-making recipe, Cluver and Jack Cider is all about representing a specific combination of apples. Made from hand-picked granny smith apples, no fruit concentrate is used. The fresh apples are chopped up and then processed to extract the juice. The juice then ferments at a cool temperature to capture all the flavours. Afterwards it is filtered, and given a small burst of CO2 for a celebratory fizz.
So besides these delectable 9 wines and 1 cider here are another 10 reasons you should be drinking Bruce Jack wines
All his wines pair perfectly with food, either contrasting or complimenting as per the food pairing at Heron.
He plays bagpipes to his grapes.
He’s South African.
He makes wine in Spain, Chile, South Africa and Napa Valley.
He’s a collaborator and a wine champion.
He also makes cider using Granny Smith apples.
He has Scottish roots with his mother hailing from Tiree.
Bruce Jack is a fairly young wine brand, only starting in 2018 and already reached global domination.
Bruce Jack is one of the most admired wine brands in the world.
And lastly, if you don’t know it already, they’re just bloody great wines!
Should you be interested in attending an event similar to this, Diana has them all listed and updates often, on her website - www.wineeventsscotland.co.uk
You can also purchase any bottle mentioned here direct from Wine Events Scotland.