COLOUR

Pour a little wine into the glass, tilt the glass 45° away from you over a white background. Look at the COLOUR.

WHITE WINE

Simonsig Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc will have a pale to medium straw colour. Usual for a young, dry wine.
Simonsig Chardonnay, having spent some time in wood, has a deeper colour. Yellowish gold.
Franciskaner and Gewürztraminer will be dark straw colour, even though still young, because they are both sweeter wines

Order of tasting:
Light, dry and young first – Simonsig Sauvignon Blanc Semillon (Adelblanc), Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc.
Fuller, dry: Vin Fume, Chenin Avec Chene, Chardonnay
Off dry – Simonsig Mustique
Semi or natural sweet – Gewürztraminer, Franciskaner.

RED WINE

The age of a red wine can be determined from the colour. A young red wine, when tilted 45° away from you, will be almost the same colour right through with a watery edge As the wine ages the heart stays a deep, garnet, plum, burgundy but towards the outer edge the colour becomes lighter, slightly orange and eventually with age the orange will turn to amber.

Simonsig Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot (Adelberg) and Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz are made in a youthful style for drinking young. The colour is lighter and consistent throughout.

Simonsig Pinotage has a beautiful garnet colour but as we move to the more full bodied wines like Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon the colour becomes more intense.
Full bodied, firm structured, often slightly older wines like Tiara, Frans Malan, Redhill and Merindol will have deep hearts and lighter rims.We recommend a glass that is comfortable to hold, has a fat belly and narrows towards the top to catch the aromas which are released when the glass is swirled. The International tasting glass works well.