If you want to catch the true spirit of “Battle of the Wines 2020” look no further than this “Battle” between Jasper Wickens and Pol Andsnes. In this edition of “WineyPeople” it is South Africa vs Argentina, and this skin contact “Battle” will take you all around the wine world.
Shot on location in the austere Swartland, Jasper explains the mutation beyond the green gone red grapes he gently presses on skins to create his “Battle” wine. Yes… mutation, no French gone new world wine here, but a climatic reaction of the traditional Semillon, a mutation to cater more to the lavish sun drenched latitude of Swartland. Most Semillon Gris was lost to the rise of Chenin Blanc and the takedown of phylloxera.
Jasper and his gun toting Father-in-Law Barry managed to preserve and propagate the mutants and now present the “Rooi-Groen Swartland Semillon Gris 2018” into “Battle”. The ‘Nominator” is from Japanese wine importers “African Brothers”, who also run a smashing wine bar éVino in Saitama, Japan.
The opponent is Pol, an American who migrates south to Mendoza, making small qualities of skin contact Torrontes. These wines sell out in a flash at the hip Hackney, London wine bar Silver Lining owned by Sarah Maddox. Pol’s “PolOpuesto El Otro Lado Torrontes 2017” is grown and made in Mendoza and apparently “PolOpuesto“ is based on his name as “Pol” means opposed in Spanish. The project started years ago as an underdog fight against standardised Argentine wines.
Skinsy, natty and all things funky are on trend, and in the 2020 series of Battle of the Wines no less.
