Ethiopian Wine?
Where is that wine from from Castel in Ethiopia that we have all been waiting for???
Wine Tumbler began in April 2012 as a personal project for founder and editor, 'kola. The site aims to be one of the most influential wine blogs on the Internet and a respected "go to" source for wine produced in Africa (except for South Africa).
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Where is that wine from from Castel in Ethiopia that we have all been waiting for???
Ethiopia Red (Gouder from Awash Winery)
Awash Wineries has not ceased to amaze me since being in Addis… in addition for guaranteeing me the worst hangover headaches post wine-drinking, they came up with this small bottling brand of red wine in the shape of a beer bottle. Cute but …can’t place my finger on something missing … oh, yeah, this leads to bad hangover headaches also … tastes a tad like pinot noir but do not know what sort of grapes are used for this … going to visit Awash Winery soon.
Ethiopian Whites and Reds
WT came to Ethiopia looking for Tej Wine and the supposed wine Castel promised it would be producing from the country earlier this year but came across this range from Awash Wineries. The lowly priced bottles of wine can be found in most restaurants and supermarkets. Generally drinkable if one can get through the first glass but they make for a terrible hangover especially if new to the altitude of the country …
Ethiopia Vineyard
A grape picker walks through a vineyard in the Beaujolais region, Ethiopia.
Photograph: Jean-Philippe Ksiazek/Getty
“The first grape harvest will be in November and the first bottles will go on the market early next year. The long-term aim is to compete with South African wines, considered the best on the continent. However, planting vines in the Ethiopian Rift Valley, by a lake at an altitude of 1,600 metres, is not without pitfalls. “We were getting intruders like pythons, hyenas and even hippopotamuses in the vineyards,” said Guy Campillo, in charge of the estate. “As a result we had to dig a two-metre-wide trench around the vineyards to protect them. Since then it’s been fine.”“