De Krans A Twist of Fate – A lighter styled Portuguese blend perfect for every day

While the De Krans Private Cellar on the outskirts of Calitzdorp has traditionally been synonymous with producing award-winning port-style wines, they have also managed in recent years to pave the way with developing interesting and quality Portuguese still (or table) wines.

De Krans’ Twist of Fate is a Portuguese blend made up of tinta barocca and tinta amarella, and all about the story. It pays tribute to the start of the port industry in Calitzdorp when the first Portuguese grape varieties were planted in 1973 … by accident. A fortunate accident it turned out to be, as the climate and the terroir embraced these supposed shiraz vines acquired from the Swartland area. When it was realized that the shiraz was in fact tinta barocca, the port industry was born.

History repeated itself in 1999 when this time tinta amarela was mistakenly planted, having thought it was tinta roriz. Thus followed a so-called “marriage of two tintas”. Yes, that’s a lot of tinta and it may be confusing, but if this wine teaches you one thing, and that is that things don’t always go as planned … and that it sometimes results in something unexpected, something even better.

Harvested together, only the free-run juice is used for this wine, therefore resulting in a light-bodied, fruitier and flavoursome summer red wine. This wine boasts a beautiful cherry colour with red berry flavours and a spicy character. On the nose the wine has a lovely earthiness and leather character with the 12 months in oak elegantly translates into subtle oak and smooth tannins. This is the perfect summer wine for red wine drinkers and should be served chilled.

This easy-drinking wine is quite versatile and is the perfect accompaniment with meaty dishes, hence the nickname, the “braai wine”. The De Krans Twist of Fate is available from most outlets nationwide at R92 per bottle.

For more information, visit www.dekrans.co.za.

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