Sanniesrust is the personal label of Pieter van der Merwe, a winemaker at David Finlayson Wines. It is named after the Free State farm he grew up on. The tone matches the winemaking. “Wine must be fun. Wyn moet LEKKER wees.” These are serious wines made without any pretension, with labels that carry the farm windmill. They are easy to pour, easy to pair and easy to talk about.

The grapes come from a young vineyard in the Voor-Paardeberg and were harvested by hand. The best bunches were hand selected and fermented as whole bunches. After fermentation the wine stayed on the skins and stems for four weeks before pressing in an old school basket press. It was then matured in 3rd fill French oak barrels for four months and bottled unfiltered, so a fine, harmless sediment might form over time.

Tasting Notes: Spring flowers, lemon zest and pear juice lead on the nose and carry straight through to the palate. Four weeks on the skins and stems give the wine a lovely pithy texture, the kind of gentle grip that makes a white feel like it has something to say, and the finish is long, crisp and clean. Bright, fresh and quietly confident, this is a skin-contact white that never gets heavy or fussy, and it leaves the drinker wanting more and more.

Food Pairing: Seafood is the natural partner here, from grilled calamari and line fish to garlic prawns with lemon, where the pithy texture and crisp finish work like a squeeze of citrus. Roast chicken with herbs is just as happy, and so are Mediterranean sharing plates of olives, feta and grilled vegetables, or a simple lazy lunch of fresh bread, soft cheese and salad. Serve lightly chilled.

ANALYSIS: ALC 13.89% | TA 5.19g/L | pH 3.45 | RS 2.0g/L