Wines of the Rugby World Cup: Pool B
Find Pool A here.
As we inch ever closer to the beginning of the Rugby World Cup – as pitches are prepared, as players psych themselves up, as a legion of confused non-rugby fans desperately try to figure out the difference between Rugby Union and Rugby League – so to does our 4-part guide to the wines of the competing nations continue. Today, Pool B: South Africa, Samoa, Scotland, Japan and the United States. Somehow, we imagine the US will be slightly easier to buy from than Samoa. Let’s find out.
Pool B
South Africa
South African wine has a rich history, reaching back as far as the 17th century and marking the steady ascent of the country’s esteem on the international market. Today, 270,000 acres of vineyards grow grapes for the production of 264,000,000 gallons of wine every year. This means that, when it comes to picking something to drink during the World Cup, you’ve got a few options. For something classic and beloved, you could opt for Constantia – a dessert wine made from the Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains variety that is generally considered to be one of South Africa’s greatest wines. For something a little bit more in keeping with the theme, however, we suggest a bottle from Annandale Wines, an acclaimed fifth generation winery run by Gerhard ‘Hempies’ du Toit, once prop for South Africa’s national rugby team. If you can’t get hold of that, though, maybe try searching around South African Wines, who deliver around the UK, for something that takes your fancy.
Samoa
Let’s just save us all some time here – Samoa doesn’t make wine. We’d recommend finding the nearest competing World Cup nation and trying them, but that’s Fiji, and they don’t make it either. Just head down the shops and get a bottle of claret or something.
Scotland
Now, you may be bracing for disappointment here, too, but fear not – Scottish wine does exist! The country has a grand total of one producer, Chateau Largo, near Fife, whose first vintage this year received such critical acclaim as ‘horrible’ and ‘undrinkable’.
Japan
Okay, this is more like it. Japanese wine is a genuinely fascinating thing – began in feudal Japan but made popular with the adoption of Western culture in the 19th century, many wines in the country are produced by major corporations, though some small wine producers do exist. Japanese wines have only very recently – within the last year or two – begun to appear on the shelves of British supermarkets. A lot of that will be sake, or rice wine, which uses a different fermentation process than Western wine, but, if you’re lucky, you’ll be able to get hold of that rarest of things – actual Japanese grape wine. If you can’t, Amathus Wines have a few, too. If nothing else, cracking out a bottle of Japanese wine will be, at the very least, a pretty interesting conversation starter.
United States
Lots of choice here. These days, North American wine is as critically acclaimed and widely available as anything from the Old World, so finding a wine that you really love shouldn’t be that difficult – if you haven’t already. Unhelpfully, the official wine sponsor of the USA’s rugby is Planet Bordeaux, so we’re going to have to look elsewhere for inspiration. Perhaps something off of the Connecticut Wine Trail (the home state of the US captain, Chris Wyles), or, if you’re willing to take out a significant loan or sell at least one of your kidneys, the Californian cult wine ‘Screaming Eagle’? The USA’s team is known as the Eagles, after all. Quelle surprise.
Be sure to check back next week for Pools C and D. Don’t worry, we’re almost at France.
