Three facts about cork I didn’t know until last Thursday: 

1. Wine corks make excellent kindling.
2. Cork is used to insulate rockets (as in, to the moon).
3. If you leave a bubbly cork for about a year, it’ll return to its original shape (hint: not mushroom shaped).

This – and more – I learnt at the Amorim* Cap Classique Challenge – the only competition dedicated exclusively to MCC – where excellent food at the 12 Apostles met sensational bubbles and utterly charming company. The gods were smiling on Domaine des Dieux (‘domaine of the gods’), the boutique wine producer in the Hemel en Aarde Valley near Hermanus that was crowned overall winner.

Graham Beck Wines from Robertson, one of the country’s leading Cap Classique wineries, dominated the competition’s Rosé Category, winning the Vintage department with the Graham Beck Rosé 2009 as well as delivering the Best Non-Vintage with the Graham Beck Rosé.

In the category for Best Blanc de Blancs, Cap Classique made from Chardonnay, Laborie’s MCC Blanc de Blancs 2010 won for Best Vintage, and Colmant Brut Chardonnay taking the Non-Vintage award.

So next time you’re umming and ah-ing in the supermarket isle about which bubbly to buy, you can’t go wrong with one of the above.

[*Amorim is a Portuguese-based cork company]

Words: Robyn Maclarty
Image: Creative Commons Attribute 3.0