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the past few years, there’s been a growing trend in the wine industry to
use humor as a marketing tool, especially with branding and labeling.
Randall Grahm’s Bonny Doon Vineyard
has been at the forefront of this movement for some time now, and
another is South African Charles Back,
who is producing high quality wines for the Goats do Roam label,
an offshoot of his
Fairview Winery.
An obvious spoof on the French appellation Côtes du Rhône (as is
Goat-Roti of Côte-Rôtie), these wines are well – made and
offer excellent value for what’s in the bottle. Each wine features a
“legend” on the back label telling of how the Back family’s herd of
goats supposedly selected the choicest grapes for the respective blends;
they're good for a chuckle, and, like the wines, are not at all overdone. Our friends,
MoCool
co – founders Sally
and Joel Goldberg have been
fans of Fairview and Goats do Roam for some time now, and when I
told Joel (who is also on the steering committee of
Winecam, a
organization devoted to defending the rights of Michigan citizens to
receive wine shipments from both in and out of state) about our
enthusiasm for the wines, he had this to say:
“Right you are. We've visited there, and indeed
the goats do roam at the winery -- there's a pen in the front yard with
a specially built tower that they can climb on, around, and inside. What
I admire is their commitment to quality at every price point -- they're
as serious about making an excellent Goats do Roam as they are about
their single-vineyard Syrahs. Sort of reminds me of Beringer in the
early Sbragia years.
Charles Back has a fabulous sense of humor and guerilla marketing, as
well. When the French filed suit over his "Goat Roti" name, he staged a
huge media event at the French consulate in Cape Town, complete with
protest signs saying "Free the Goats" and "You'll Never Get
our Goat", climaxed by his entering the building to present the
consul with a magnum of the wine.”
Gang of
Pour Canadian Correspondent
Alan Kerr aka
Canadian Zinfan has also
expressed his enthusiasm for these wines in his LCBO Vintages
Release Tasting Notes, so we're happy to supplement his comments
with this report.
We’ve enjoyed the Goats do Roam red many times ourselves here at Gang
Central, but until now, haven’t found the opportunity to report on them
in these pages. However, AHD Vintners Sales Rep
Rob Della Rosa recently put together a sampler 4 – pack for
us, and I picked up a bottle of Goat Rotie to make it a nice round
number. Here’s what we tasted:
2003 Goats do Roam White Wine, $10.99, 13.5% alc.:
Medium straw to pale gold in color, with reticent yellow fruit on the
nose; slightly waxy honeycomb, melon and peach on the palate, with
enough acidity to make it work and a decent finish. Somewhat resembles a
southern Rhone white, perhaps due to the Grenache Blanc in the wine. A
pleasant, inexpensive white to pair with the usual fish and fowl
suspects, or just for casual summer sipping; a blend of Clairette Blanc,
Semillon, Grenache Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Cape Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc
and Chenin Blanc. From the
Goats do Roam
website: “This is totally unique wine in South
Africa. We have utilized what is possibly the only Grenache Blanc in
South Africa. As the grape is not registered on the official cultivar
list in South Africa, we have had to get special permission from the
authorities to produce wine from this variety. The grapes were hand
harvested fully ripe and whole bunch pressed.”
2004 Goats do Roam Rosé, $9.99, 14% alc.:
Raspberry rose color, with a little earthy raspberry and cherry on the
nose; the flavors pick things up nicely with some added strawberry and
mineral on a medium to medium full bodied frame. The acids are fairly
low, so while there’s a nice core of fruit and the wine finishes well
enough, it could use a little more zip. A serviceable rosé, blended from
Cinsault, Grenache, Carignan, Merlot, Gamay Noir, Shiraz, Pinot Noir,
Chardonnay and Semillon.
“One afternoon, at harvest time, my mischievous
son Jason and his friend Justin let the goats out of their tower and
sent them for a walkabout amongst the vines. As in the legend of the
Yemeni goat herder, whose roaming flock first discovered the joys of
coffee beans, our goats picked out the best and tastiest fruit. Their
choice which includes Pinotage, Shiraz, Cinsault, Grenache and Carignan,
serves as our inspiration for this wine.”
2003 Goats do Roam Red Wine, $10.99, 14% alc.:
Ruby dark garnet, with big flavors and aromas of tar, black plum, black
currant and blackberry, all accented with smoky undertones; some red
berries come out with air. Rich, round and eminently drinkable, this has
size and structure, more than one has a right to expect for so few
dollars. It drinks well now, with a nice long finish, but has at least a
few years of improvement. One of the best QPR (quality – price ratio)
reds I can think of, certainly one of the best we’ve had in a while.
 “The
council of Billy goats convened - bearded and wise elders grumbled.
Their position has been challenged by the popularity of Goats do Roam,
the exuberant wines created by the frisky and youthful members of the
flock. And so an edict was issued - go out into the vineyards. Sniff out
the finest fruit. Create a wine befitting our status - or risk a
roasting. The elders rose to the occasion. Goat Roti - a wine abundant
with rich fruit and warm spices - the elders are well pleased."
2003 Goats do Roam Goat-Roti, $16.99, 14.5% alc.:
Dark garnet color, with red and black plums and berries shaded with
overtones of road tar on the nose; deep, dark and almost mysterious on
the palate, with a dense, intense spectrum of black fruit that comes to
the fore, relegating the tarry aspect to the background. Despite the
ample structure, the fruit comes through loud and clear, and the tar
gives a distinct accent to the character of the wine. Solid from entry
right on though the finish, this should get even better with a few years
in the cellar. Blended mainly from Shiraz, Grenache, Carignan and
Viognier.
 2003
Fairview Pinotage, $14.99, 14% alc.: Dark garnet, fading to pink at
the rim, with a Pinot Noir – like bouquet of smoky plum and black cherry
that carries over onto the palate, turning deeper and darker, with
undertones of earth and tar; this has structure, concentration and some
heat, but it opens nicely with an hour’s air, losing that initial bite
and most of the heat. This is a wine for those that say they’ve never
had good Pinotage; it has an attractive personality, and comes off like
a big, fruit forward cross between a Burgundy and a southern Rhône.
Drink now, or give it a few years in the cellar to shed some of the
tannins and soften a little. Either way, you’ve got a very nice glass of
wine here. ~
Addendum:
Ten days after filing the above report, we got our hands on a couple
more wines from Fairview - Goats do Roam, which we promptly opened
with Alan Kerr. The "in Villages" in the wines' name is a
reference to the fact that Charles Back and Goats do Roam have donated a
flock of high-yielding milk goats to U.S. relief workers
Rebecca and
Gary Mink's efforts to help nourish AIDS orphans in the wilds of
Caprivi in
northern Namibia. Once again, both wines deliver excellent
QPR.
 2004 Goats do Roam in Villages White Wine, $12.99 - 14.99, 14% alc.:
Medium straw in color; at first, the nose shows straightforward apple –
pear aromatics, but as it opens and warms in the glass, a broad note of
peach
emerges, adding to the attractive character of the wine. The rich
flavors echo and expand with good weight, balanced acidity and a nice
finish. We found this to be an excellent match for grilled, butterflied
chicken. A blend of mostly blush vine, dry land fruit from the
Swartland and fresh
Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay from Stellenbosch. The Chardonnay
and Semillon are barrel fermented and left sur lie for 7 months (battonage
weekly). Dry farmed Clairette Blanche (Swartland appellation), Grenache
Blanc (Piekernerskloof appellation) and crisp Sauvignon Blanc (Stellenbosch
appellation). All tank fermented and left on fermentation lees for 6
months prior to blending.
2004 Goats do Roam in Villages Red Wine, $12.99 - 14.99, 14.5% alc.:
A deep dark garnet, fading to pink at the rim, and showing earthy red
currant, cherry and plum aromatics, shaded with notes of smoke and wet
dog fur. The flavors pay off on the promise of the nose, gaining a
little smoke and bacon, more chocolate as it opens and some black
licorice and beetroot, according to Mr. Kerr. With its rich fruit, good structure and nice finish, this will benefit from half an hour in
a decanter before drinking, and it should continue to develop and
improve for at least a few years in the cellar. The dominant
variety is a rich, spicy shiraz (74%), blended with pinotage (26%). The
shiraz and pinotage components are co-fermented. The components are aged
in a mixture of (French /American) oak, 10% new, remainder 2nd and 4th
fill. Time in oak, 12 months.
Goats do Roam and Fairview Wines are
imported by
Vineyard Brands, Inc., Birmingham, AL
Reporting from Day-twah,
Bastardo
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