I've been all around this world

Well, maybe not really, but I've certainly travelled the world with wine. That is one of the beauties of wine, it allows us a peak into various cultures because the grape is grown all over this wonderful planet that we live on. And while not every environment can grow every grape, there is a grape that will grow in a lot of different environments. Rocky soil, sandy soil, clay soil, limestone, granite, long summers, long winters, hot, cold, dry, wet, you name it and there is a type of grape that grows there. And the vintners of this world do their very best to coax something special out of this plant so that we can have wine.

The earth itself is where it all starts. The soil and the climate combine to impart certain characteristics to the grapes being grown there. This is why in France, there is a concept of terroir or geography of place. (Author's note: Having spent time studying geography at a graduate level I can safely say that this is a concept that escapes most Americans. Which is why you hear terroir spoken of in terms of European wines, but seldom in American wines.) It is a rather simple concept in that it identifies a relatively continguous area of similar soil and similar climate as generally producing similar grapes. For instance, if you have two sides of a mountain with the same soil and a similar elevation such that they both experience similar temperatures, but one side gets a lot of rain while the other side doesn't, then these two areas are of different terroirs. The same goes for a change in elevation such that one area is on average 5 degrees fahrenheit cooler than the other or if one area is primarily limestone and the other is shale. The differences in two wines from the same terroir are typically based on the interpretation of the winemaker although the terrior is usually evident in the finished product.

All of this brings us to today's wine which is from an area that is beginning to be heard from as far as wines are concerned. This is South Africa, the wine region is Robertson and the wine itself is a Merlot from Arabella. This region tends to be very hot but it is known for its white wines (white grapes tend to grow better in cooler climates, but again, many different things can influence the growing of the grape). The wine itself is a beautiful deep ruby color that lets plenty of light through. This is a big wine, 14.5% alcohol, but you don't sense that in the nose. That's because this wine has a wonderfully powerful nose of leather, cigar and tobacco. Just smelling it conjures up images of an old study in some mansion with overstuffed leather chairs and walls of books. On tha palate this imagery continues as there is just a hint of plum and then you are again washed with leather and tobacco with just a bit of coffee to round things out. Very smooth with almost no tannins present. A wonderful sipping wine especially since it can be found for under $15.