THE CHENIN Blanc Association has retracted a statement posted on social media about a new rule applying to their annual Chenin Blanc Top 10 Challenge that would have limited the number of winning wines per entrant as from the 2026 edition of the competition. As reported earlier on Top Wine
FAIR OR nonsensical? “While producers may enter multiple wines in the Standard Bank Chenin Blanc Top 10 Challenge, only one wine per producer can be included in the final Top 10.” A rule introduced (and later retracted) by the competition organisers to ensure that “the final selection reflects not only
THE SA Terroir Wine Awards are the culmination of a competition unique in South Africa insofar as the entries must be certified as single-vineyard, or estate-produced, wine made from grapes grown in a single ward or in a district not divided into wards… The organisers describe terroir as: “The basis
HIGH up in the Cederberg mountains to the south-east and north-east of Clanwilliam and Citrusdal respectively… Amazing that they thought to plant grape vines up there among the rocks, the highest vineyards in South Africa’s Western Cape with those cold, snowy winters. And so successfully! The Nieuwoudt family’s winery is the
HIGHLIGHTs of the 2026 Shiraz SA Challenge results include Spier of Stellenbosch winning in both the straight Shiraz and Shiraz blend categories, Windmeul of Paarl offering great value at R90 for a winning Shiraz, and Benguela Cove of Hermanus coming top in the Shiraz Rosé class. Of the two premium-priced
CRAZY, or not? South Africa’s Wine Certification Authority will not disclose what wines it has certified in terms of where the grapes come from, e.g. Wine of Origin Piekenierskloof, WO Paardeberg, WO Polkadraai Hills, WO Elgin, WO Elim, etc. If you want to know the names of everything that originated
Experience an unforgettable day of exceptional wines, gourmet dishes, local art and luxury. Taste over 100 premium wines, enjoy rare vintage tastings, and discover why this has become one of South Africa’s most anticipated wine events. The venue for the 2026 Ivory Manor Gourmet Festival convened by sommelier Germain Lehodey
DEBUT VINTAGE and already a champion! Scored 97/100 and winner of the trophy for best blend at the 2026 Investec Trophy Wine Show: the Rhône-style Zwartwater Red Blend 2024 from the farm Lammershoek, established as far back as 1718 in the foothills of the Paardeberg mountain outside Malmesbury. Shiraz is
OVER 950 wines later… Convened by the Wine-of-the-Month Club, the American Express Fine Wine Awards is one of the largest competitions of its kind in South Africa (entry fee just R99/wine). In the 2026 edition, tasting ‘blind’, the judges evaluated the entries over six days before settling on 66 gold
HASHER in the Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley and Newstead in Plettenberg Bay produced the top-scorers – a red and a bubbly – from South Africa at the 2026 International Wine & Spirit Competition (UK). As in previous editions, the SA gold, silver and bronze medallists at the competition were announced in
IT WAS NOT one of the Quoin Rock winery’s oft-vaunted Black Series Cap Classique bubblies reviewed as ‘Outstanding’ in the July 2026 issue of Decanter Magazine (UK), but rather the more premium Brut Reserve, the 2015 vintage released in 2022/23 and still available at the time of writing for R2K/bottle
THREE YEARS in a row! Stark-Condé‘s victory at South Africa’s 2026 Trophy Wine Show, where their 2025 Monk Stone Chenin Blanc was judged Best Organic Wine, followed triumphs with their Round Mountain Sauvignon Blanc 2023 and Three Pines Syrah 2022 that won the same trophy at the 2024 and 2025
