Ethiopian wine

Any one have any experience?
We were given and opened a bottle last night and I’m not sure if it was damaged (heat?) or just terrible to start with.

It was Awash Gebeta Red. Vintage uncertain but > 2013 (from copyright legend on label). Interestingly the very faded label is different from what’s on current web site.
Did not taste like wine. “Welch’s” figured in the discussion. Not really unpleasant just not wine. Not overtly cooked, just zero tannin, zero alcohol on palate (label said 11%), slightly sweet and some vinegar notes. My guess is heat damage somewhere along the way. 3 /20 or 55 / 100.

I gather there’s cool climate areas, are any credible wines produced? Just curious.

I read an interesting article on the Ethiopian wine industry a few years ago but can’t locate the article via google. It may have been an actual paper magazine. If I remember correctly the reason that there may not have been a vintage is that I think that they were able to produce two crops per year.

I have very very limited experience. An Ethiopian colleague brought over some honey wine years ago. It was fine. Nothing amazing. But there are probably many others out there. When we lived in Kenya we mostly gravitated to South African wines (though they were usually the less good ones at inflated prices.) There were a few Kenyan wines that were pretty mediocre. I don’t recall seeing Ethiopian wines in the Kenyan market, which is sort of interesting in itself. The Ethiopian food, on the other hand, was superb!

A nice light roasted Ethiopian Harrar can have some beautiful winey notes :wink:

But now I will try some of their wine next time I there

Have you had their coffee with butter? Or with salt? I liked the former, less so the latter!

I have been lucky enough to experience a traditional ceremony with butter! I can’t say I enjoy it the same as when I roast it to 1st crack and drink it black, saving those beautiful fruity notes from being burnt away or masked by cream and sugar.

I love both natural and wet processed Ethiopia coffees. I have never had one that I didn’t like :wink: I roast my own coffee, have noticed that even the lower end green (unroasted) retailers still have goood to great Ethiopia coffees.

Jason - Nice to see another roaster on board. I roast to to first crack …keeping it light so as to enjoy all those lovely fruit notes.

I haven’t had any Ethiopian wine, but from my experience with other (non-South) African wine, my guess is that your bottle was not heat damaged. At least not after harvest.

Heat damaged in the vineyard. I was thinking the same thing.

The Yirgacheffe grape produces my favorite Ethiopian wine.

honestly I never heard and tried any Ethiopian wines…
Never seen also in any wine fairs