A NEW WINE GUIDE FOR THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE

South African wine lovers may have access to a large and diverse selection of wines thanks to an increase in production over the past few years, but reputable wine guides assisting consumers in making satisfactory choices are in short supply. The first edition of The People’s Guide, written by local wine experts Neil Pendock and Michael Olivier, heralds a new chapter in consumer-friendly wine books aimed at demystifying wine by providing buyers with a colourful and succinct guide aimed at making their wine-shopping easy, fun and informative.

The People’s Guide provides tasting notes and information on 561 wines selected from a list of 1 200 representing all major categories including Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Mèthode Cap Classique, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Merlot and Pinotage. Besides relevant information on each wines flavour profiles, the Guide offers food suggestions, quirky and irreverent wine-related facts and – most importantly – a guide to what the consumer can be expected to pay for the wine.

Stand-out wines are awarded their own page under the title Coup de Coeur (Blow to the Heart) to highlight wines that blew the judges socks off.

“Besides the terrific wines included in this guide, the book celebrates the wine consumer and wine buyer,” says Olivier, who besides writing on wine has worked as a restaurateur and retail consultant. “Without the customer, there would be no wine industry. The industry therefore owes the customer a guide that clearly, objectively and honestly provides the wine lover with the information he or she wants to know. And despite all the hot air surrounding wine, the whims of the customer are simple: what wine tastes good and how much does it cost. This simple approach lies at the heart of the guide, which we have also tried to keep as informative and colourful as possible.”

According to Neil Pendock, South Africa’s leading wine writer, a wine guide has to have integrity and be written for the customer who is expected to pay good money for the love of wine, and not be written to opine or impress the insular wine fraternity. “That’s why The People’s Guide has – unlike South Africa’s other well-known wine guide – insisted on providing opinions reached through blind-tastings of the wines listed,” says Pendock. “In order to be honest to the paying wine customer, the judges tasted the wines unsighted and were thus able to provide truly objective, unbiased opinions which to our minds lead to the most authoritative wine guide in South Africa.”

Olivier say that they were moved by a guide dog called Hogan who is the seeing eye for blind New York Wine Merchant Alexandra Elman.  The book is dedicated to Hogan.  “It was a perfect opportunity for us to use this book to raise funds to buy a guide dog for a South African who needed one. Neil, Anibal and I are so happy that sales have allowed this to happen,” said Michael.  Offering the Association 1000 copies at a reduced price will allow the SA Guide-Dogs for the Blind Association to buy and a further 5 dogs.

In selecting the wines for The People’s Guide, Pendock and Olivier were assisted by local and international wine experts including Aníbal Coutinho, one of Portugal’s leading wine writers and judges, local doyenne Norma Ratcliffe, Cathy Marston - Wine 24 Journalist, and sommelier David Mnoneleli Msebi who trained under Marston.

Besides the tasting notes, price guides and irreverent facts “Rooiberg Winery claims to be 10 000km from London and 9 999km from Paris!”, the guide ends with team called the Bacchus Boys consisting of 11 wine-makers ready to take on the world in 2010.

But the power-play is offered by Allan Cheesman, international wine consultant and former wine-buyer for British retail chain Sainsbury. In his foreword to The People’s Guide he writes: “As retail diversity increasingly becomes complexity becomes confusion, a GPS (Gastronomic rather than Global Positioning System) like The People’s Guide is a godsend to anyone wishing to find a shortcut to the ultimate gastronomic destination: a decent glass of wine at a decent price.”

Michael’s website is www.michaelolivier.co.za and he would love you to visit and subscribe to his free online digital magazine Crush! which is to be launched on July 1st.