Krone Borealis Cuvee Brut 2008

What is it about sparkling wine that makes us use it to launch ships, shake it up and shower the winners of a Grand Prix race, or blissfully open a bottle just to celebrate life? Perhaps it’s the myriads of frothy bubbles that explode from the bottle once the cork is released having had 5 bars of pressure to assist, or just because it must be one of the nicest drinks around!

December is a month of festivities culminating with New Years Eve parties where at midnight the sound of popping corks ring in the New Year. The nice aspect about sparkling wine is that the alcohol level is generally a lot lower than still wine so we can enjoy more of it! It is an excellent aperitif which stimulates digestion and older vintages have been known to pair the most complex of dishes!

We are lucky, as we are with many things by living in South Africa, that we are known as one of the finest producers of sparkling wine outside of France. I am not talking about the carbonated versions but the ones made in the Champagne Method. We call this Methode Cap Classique in South Africa which involves the second fermentation of a still wine in a pressurised bottle.

The House of Krone at the Twee Jonge Gezellen Estate in Tulbagh is a winery dedicated to making an exclusive range of excellent Methode Cap Classique wines. The Krone family are well known figures in the wine industry having pioneered cold fermentation in the ‘50’s and night harvesting in the 80’s. The present owner and cellarmaster, Nicky Krone, has steered the farms activities towards concentrating on producing his fine Cap Classique’s with only small amounts of still wine being made.

Nicky Krone and sons

Krone Borealis is named after the constellation of stars called “Corona Borealis” which has a legend linked to Bacchus, The God of Wine. Corona means crown as does Krone so the family named their Cap Classique range Krone Borealis, a wine being full of stars!

The first Krone Borealis Brut was the 1987 vintage launched on the market in 1991. It was a huge success which confirmed the Krone’s vision of producing a top quality product. Nicky Krone received the Diners Club Wine Maker of the Year Award in 1995 for the Krone Borealis Brut.

The Krone Borealis Brut 2008 is a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. It has an elegant classic biscuit bouquet, with silky rich brioche creaminess on the palate, along with fine persistent bubbles.

Delicious to enjoy now so I will be popping several corks of Krone borealis on New Year’s Eve while watching the stars in the Cederberg! Also the bottle design is elegant and classy making this wine an ideal gift for someone special.

Cheers!!

Expect to Pay R106.50