Have you ever been to any wine tasting where nobody asked a question about oak, wood or barrels?
I certainly can’t recall one such tasting.

For this reason we decided to do a tasting where we can focus on the use of oak and how it influences wine. Let’s unpack why certain winemakers prefer one type of oak over another and how do they decide how long to keep a wine in barrel. We’ll explore how oak can be used differently in order to achieve very different results that suites different varieties.

Who is Erika Obermeyer?
Erika was winemaker at Graham Beck for 12 years, looking after white and red wine production. In 2016 Erika established her own label, Erika O, focusing on small batch, handcrafted, distinctive and terroir specific wines from selected vineyards across the Winelands. Erika received  5 Stars (95 points) for both the maiden vintages Erika O Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 and Erika O Syrah Grenache Noir Cinsault 2016, and 4½ Stars (94 points, only one point short of the 5 Star) for the Erika O Sauvignon Blanc 2017, hence being awarded 2019 Platter’s Newcomer of the Year.

Erika Obermeyer has a very special gift when it comes to barrels. She has an amazing ability to remember what each barrel contributes to a wine and how to use it correctly in order to achieve the desired results in the final wine. This became clear when we had the pleasure of a little private tasting of her new Erika O wines about a year ago. The intense understanding of the vineyards she works with and what she can do with each parcel in her cellar, in order to achieve optimum results, was what lead us to this tasting. We asked her on the spot if she could do a masterclass for us to share this passion and knowledge.