Attention planet earth inhabitants:  you are about to embark upon a competition that will pit you against your brethren from every corner of your planet.  In the end, it’s the last team standing.  It’s a happening bigger than the MLB World Series, bigger than the NBA finals…..even bigger than the Superbowl.  I’m referring, of course, to the upcoming World (Soccer) Cup.  While we in the United States still place baseball and football at the top of the sports kingdom, the rest of world embraces soccer (their football).  The kickoff, no pun intended, is this Friday morning, MST and I plan to cheer it on.  So how does a wine enthusiast, such as myself, celebrate the event.

Well, considering that the entire match is to be played in South Africa, I thought that it would be proper to celebrate with some South Africa wines.  So where should I start?  Well, I thought it might be interesting to attempt to pair the wines with a few South African dishes.  I had to embark upon some research as my familiarity with South Africa cuisine is non-existent.  I found a recipe for an interesting Yellow Melon Muscadel (Melon Salad) that incorporates fruit juice, lemon juice, cantaloupe and watermelon along with a little Muscadel wine, sugar, salt and pepper.  I figure I can pair that with an indigenous Sauvignon Blanc (Ken Forrester or Warwick).  Next up, I am intrigued by the Mealie soup.  Now before you conjure up distasteful images of this dish, let me allay your fears…………….it’s corn soup.  Ingredients include butter, onions, tomatoes, canned and creamed corn, evaporated milk, chicken stock, salt and pepper.  The richness of the soup seems to beg for a rich Chenin Blanc….look for the Ken Forrester, De Trafford, and Raats.  For a main dish, I could elect to go for the Bobotie (meat pie) but it incorporates lemon juice, curry powder and apple and I really want to go for the Ernie Els Stellenbosch Bordeaux blend (www.ernieels.com/wine).  I’m afraid that the citrus and curry elements might not allow the wine to show its best and the Ernie Els blend is one of the best reds that South Africa has to offer.  So excuse me for omitting the meat pie but I think the wine deserves a big piece of meat.  So for this one, I’m hopping a plane back to the US for a Prime Sirloin or Ribeye.  I’ve paired these before and it’s a great match!  For dessert, how about a Klappertert (coconut pie).  For that, I scouted out a Chardonnay, either the Excelsior or the Fleur du Cap.  Both are mid range on the quality scale, very affordable with the latter sporting a little more fullness.  I’ll let you know the pairings and dishes work out.  Meanwhile, you can learn more about South Africa and its wines by clicking here and about Ernie Els and his wines by clicking here.