I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, South Africa produces some of the most delicious, well made and under rated wines in the world, currently.

The country has some of the most versatile and beautiful terroir, which can produce excellent grapes. From this top grade fruit the highly skilled wine makers of the country, some of which have been making wine for many generations, produce juice that could rival the best in the world.

Blank bottle winery, which have appeared in my recommendation before, are a perfect example of this. Moment of Silence is a blended white wine made by Pieter H. Walser. Pieter tells us through his website, that after 3 vintages of producing this Moment of Silence wine he learned that he was buying the Chardonnay for the blend from a farm named Twyfeling that was owned by his family 7 generations before. He only found this out when he was sitting at the original Hauptfleisch (the H in Pieter’s name) table about to buy the Chardonnay grapes and the conversation turned to the history of the Twyfeling farm. The Hauptfleisch family had owned and operated the farm 230 years ago and were direct ancestors on his mother’s side. What a great story!

This vintage is the first time he hasn’t used Chardonnay in the blend. The blend had previously been Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay and Viognier and by Pieter’s own admittance Chardonnay isn’t well suited to warm climates, but he wanted to have the historical connection with Twyfeling. Having sourced some 60 year old vine Chenin from the farm he now has that historical connection and has developed the blend to be Chenin Blanc, Grenache Blanc and a touch of Viognier.

Moment of Silence is a beautifully rich wine, with acidity that dances across the palate to give it a fresh zip. It fills your senses with lemon, peach and apricot that are paired with a creamy texture. If you close your eyes and take a sip of this you could imagine yourself on a hot summers day with a bowl of peaches and vanilla ice cream.

A true example of what can be produced from this fascinating country, I would recommend matching it with barbecued chicken, meaty scallops or roast pork with apple sauce. Available at Green Man Wines at a bargain price of €23.95.