Neil Pendock : One may be the last, the other is a pop first, but both are hits

At Annexkloof, Hugo Basson is seriously thinking about abandoning whites. This is in spite of the fact that chenin blanc is the calling card for the Paardeberg, recently renamed the Partyberg by locals, after former Rustenberg winemaker Adi Badenhorst moved to Kalmoesfontein.

"At least with reds, if you can't sell them, they go up in price while older chenins and sauvignon blancs are impossible to move," he notes mournfully.

Basson bottled his 2009 sauvignon blanc on Friday and by Tuesday it was for sale, unlabelled, for R25 a bottle. A year on the lees has transformed the sometimes simple and grassy cultivar into a complex mélange of tropical fruits with a racy citrus zing. R20 more secures his blend of chenin, chardonnay and sauvignon blanc from the 2008 vintage that has rich honey notes with an attractive floral bouquet; a wine for gastronomy.

The day before, I'd enjoyed another chenin blend at a concert, this time from neighbouring appellation Wellington, complemented by gewürztraminer, chardonnay and viognier. It costs R20 more again, but this wine is flying off the shelves at Woolies. The secret? It's the Parlotones' white called Push me to the Floor. The name is something of a misnomer, as Capetonians who chose it as their free bottle at the Parlotones charity concert at Kirstenbosch were swaying like alien invaders in a light southeaster, holding candles in plastic cups aloft, for the last few numbers of the show.

As winemaker Pieter Walser said: "We took a bit of a chance with this wine, I have no idea what the gewürztraminer will taste like in a year's time." But then as Steve Straker, the musical impresario behind the wine, countered: "Who cares? It will be sold out by then. The Parlotones' red, called Giant Mistake, sells five times the volume of any other Woolies wine at its price point." Giant Mistake? Another misnomer.

The reason for the charity concert was to raise funds to send the venerable institution to the annual Chelsea Flower Show in London. Kirstenbosch is currently between sponsors and it is only right that Straker's Handmade Wines step into the breach, as SA wine has been using flower power for marketing in the UK for years.

Exhibit A is Wosa's (Wines of SA, the exporters' mouthpiece) "diversity is in our nature" marketing slogan. And, as recently as last month, wine farmers were flourishing fynbos to fend off exploration applications from a shadowy government mining company in the Stellenboschkloof.

As quid pro quo, Kirstenbosch should apply for some of Wosa's R30-million war chest, which would be far better spent sending Kirstenbosch to Blighty than on some of the harebrained schemes hatched to promote SA wine in the UK - such as having teetotal Jacob Zuma pose with bottles of SA wine at Sainsbury's supermarket.

It was nice to see the green logo of Old Mutual sharing the stage too, perhaps making amends for blowing everyone's pension on the US subprime fiasco. Perhaps they are rethinking their sponsorship of wine competitions that seem to reward show tanks and special bottlings rarely seen on Sainsbury's shelves.

Dancing broke out when the Parlotones played a cover version of Koos Kombuis's anthemic Lisa se Klavier and the previously well rooted audience jumped up as if they were at a pop concert. What happened to the ironic detachment of this blend of chenin, gewürztraminer, chardonnay and viognier? Or did they think they were at a Die Antwoord gig in Bellville, flexing and stretching?

Lisa se Klavier and the wine were a perfect conflation of vinous and cultural terroir. As lead singer Kahn sang it:

I have a lady friend

Far away, by the blue sea

As the sun sets against Table Mountain

She plays the most beautiful melodies.