Chapter index to follow once the video is live.

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Muscat of Alexandria might be the most misunderstood grape in South Africa. We call it Hanepoot, we assume it is ours, and we file it under sweet nostalgia — grandmother’s stoep, brandy stills. Except the name says Egypt, the DNA whispers Greece, and the grape has collected so many aliases across the Mediterranean it reads less like a vine and more like a witness-protection programme. In this episode Han unpacks the grape with a passport problem: why almost nobody knows where it is actually from, why “Hanepoot equals sweet” is a myth — aromatic is the personality; sweetness is a winemaking choice — and why it keeps sneaking into some of the Cape’s most serious white wines, from Sadie’s ’T Voetpad to Boekenhoutskloof’s Sémillon. Then, the bottle in your hand: Tremayne Smith’s Reigning Sun 2023, a Chenin-led Western Cape blend where the Muscat smuggles in the perfume. By the end you will know why a grape most of the world writes off deserves a seat at the serious table.

But of course, if you have yet to sign up for your Monthly HanDrinksSolo Wine Subscription then you’ll have to hunt this wine down in your own time. But until then, here are my tasting notes and some technical specs:

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Wine of Origin Western Cape | Winemaker: Tremayne Smith

Chenin Blanc, Muscat d’Alexandrie & Sémillon

Fruit from Paarl, Wellington and Slanghoek, whole-bunch pressed and naturally fermented, then rested in stainless steel and old French oak before bottling.

Alc. 12.4%