In This Email:
Super Sale: The More You Buy, the More You Save 
Great Wines 
Wine Team Picks: Diana Jacklich on Wines That Think Outside the Box 
Wines of Good Hope 
Exclusive offer from Decanter Fine Wine Tracker 


Super Sale: The More You Buy, the More You Save

It might not be a leap year, but this month is still a bounding 
opportunity at wine.com. Witness our Super Sale, your chance to amass 
a cellar full of reds, whites, and bubblies from all over the world. 
Savings start at 10 percent and get bigger from there, as prices of 
prearranged 3-packs, 6-packs, and 12-packs feature increased 
discounts for increased quantities. And, if you build your own case 
of single-bottle selections, you'll receive our standard 10 percent 
discount on top of the individual sale prices. The idea is simple: 
the more you buy, the more you save. Log on and leap on this 
limited opportunity. 

To learn more about each item listed below, simply click on its name.
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Great Wines

1998 Simonsig Chardonnay, Stellenbosch, South Africa, $14.00
One of the first -- and best -- Chardonnays produced in South Africa. 

1999 Trinity Hill Sauvignon Blanc Shepherds Croft, Hawkes Bay, New 
Zealand, $14.00
No shortage of personality in this New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. 

1998 Huia Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand, $16.00
Pear and melon flavors, with lots of finesse. 

1999 Aresti Cabernet Sauvignon Rio Claro Reserva, Curico Valley, 
Chile, $9.95
A supple red that's guaranteed to please. 

Virtual Vineyards Duet, $25.00
Double your pleasure with two bottles of Virtual Vineyards wines. 

1997 deLorimier Merlot, Alexander Valley, California, $19.95
Immediate gratification in this seductive Merlot. 

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Wine Team Picks: Diana Jacklich on Wines That Think Outside the Box 

Oftentimes, when invited to a dinner party, I show up with "weird" 
wines. That is, I bring wines that think outside the varietal, 
regional, or easily pronounceable box. 

Come Monday morn, I inevitably receive the following sort of email 
plea: "You know that wine you brought Saturday? With the weird name? 
That was really, really good!" Then the dreaded postscript: "Hey, can 
you get me a discount?" 

My cheap friends notwithstanding, the following wines shouldn't be 
missed -- tongue-twisting monikers be damned. 

1995 Piaggia Carmignano Riserva, Tuscany, Italy, $25.00

1997 Bodegas Escudero Valsacro Crianza, Rioja, Spain, $32.00

1999 Reinhold Haart Riesling Kabinett Piesporter, Mosel, 
Germany, $18.00

1999 Marie Odette Beaujolais Villages Le Perreon Vieilles Vignes, 
Burgundy, France, $15.00

1999 Adegas Morgadio Albarino, Rias Baixas, Galicia, Spain, $19.95

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Wines of Good Hope

South Africa: When you hear those two words, wine might not be the 
first thing that comes to mind. "South African wine has lived in 
obscurity as far as Americans are concerned," acknowledges wine.com 
merchant Lee Codding. "Because of the country's political situation, 
the United States had a trade embargo against South Africa until just 
six years ago. But now that we can bring the wines in, we're beginning 
to see more availability." 

With vineyards dating back to the 17th century, South Africa is one 
of the top-10 wine-producing countries in the world. Moreover, with a 
Mediterranean climate and spectacular mountain peaks soaring above 
the grapevines ("a cross between Napa Valley and the Grand Canyon," 
in the words of wine.com chief merchant Peter Marks), the area 
adjoining the Cape of Good Hope is commonly considered the most 
beautiful wine region in the world. 

According to Marks, the end of apartheid in the early 1990s cleared 
the way for a corresponding revolution in the South African wine 
industry. "The first milestone was when the KWV (a quasi-governmental 
wine agency) relinquished control over wine pricing, production 
levels, and legally defined growing areas," says Marks. Until then, 
the mainstream industry had considered quality to consist solely 
of quantity. 

Next, an economic breakthrough in capital investment (another happy 
effect of the political transformation) brought about enormous 
improvements in vineyard practices and winemaking technology. "Like 
Mandela's release from prison, South African wine producers finally 
have the freedom to do what it takes to catch up with the rest of the 
wine world," says Marks. "South African wines are coming on strong." 

What wines exactly? The most distinctive South African red grape -- 
"what Zinfandel is to California and Riesling is to Germany," says 
Marks -- is Pinotage, a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault that 
was developed at the University of Stellenbosch in 1924. Marks 
describes its flavor as robust with dark berry, spice, and earth 
characteristics. Codding likens it to "a more rustic and accessible 
style of Pinot Noir." 

The most widely planted varietal in the country is Chenin Blanc. 
"Americans tend to dis Chenin, but they'd get pretty excited about it 
if they tasted these," says Codding. "They're made in a really 
lovely, dry, Loire-Valley style." 

South Africa is also catching up to the world in terms of popular 
varietal selection. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah (or Shiraz), 
as it's called there and in Australia do well in these soils and 
climate. There are also some remarkable Chardonnays and delicious, 
surprisingly ageworthy Sauvignon Blancs. 

For Americans, the most intriguing example of the latter might be the 
creamy, complex Simunye ("We Are One"), made by Zelma Long, formerly 
of Simi Winery in Sonoma County, California. Long has been working in 
South Africa with her husband, ex- Robert Mondavi vineyardist Phil 
Freese, who has revitalized the vines at Backsberg. 

If this all sounds slightly familiar, Codding confirms that South 
Africa is indeed on the threshold of "an Australia situation, where 
the wine industry is about to rise from obscurity to prominence in 
the marketplace. The exchange rate is favorable now, so South African 
wines represent great value. For example, there's a winery called 
Cape Indaba that produces really approachable, well-made wines for $8 
to $10 dollars a bottle." 

Marks agrees that, in the $8 to $25 price range, South Africa is "a 
worthy competitor of wines from anywhere in the world." He also 
believes that its long grapegrowing history results in wines with a 
unique flavor profile. "The best producers spawn wines with ripe, 
juicy, upfront fruit flavors and the inimitable Old World nuance of 
terroir," Marks says. "The best South African wines are a marriage of 
Old and New World styles." 

Sound like the best of all possible wine worlds? "If people give 
South Africa a try," says Marks, "not only will they discover some 
wonderful wines, but they'll broaden their knowledge, expand their 
taste horizons, strengthen the South African wine industry, and help 
stabilize the country's economy and government. All that from a 
bottle of wine!" 

For more on Southern Hemisphere wines, click here to check out our 
selections at wine.com.

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Exclusive offer from Decanter Fine Wine Tracker

Ever wonder what your Bordeaux first growths are worth compared with 
the California cult wines in your cellar? Now you can find out. 
Decanter Fine Wine Tracker keeps track of the latest auction prices 
of 2,500 of the world's finest wines. Better yet, as a visitor from 
wine.com, you'll receive three extra months of this special service 
free of charge, saving up to $100 -- and if you're one of the first 
100 subscribers, you'll also receive the Oxford Companion to North 
American wine, a $45 value. Click here to take advantage of this 
special offer. 

Please note: Prices have been converted from British Pounds. Offer 
ends March 31, 2001. 

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