NEWCOMERS to South Africa’s Top 50 fine-dining restaurants in 2026 as rated in the annual Gourmet Guide, edited by Jenny Handley, included three on Cape wine farms, among the vines: Arum at Boschendal in Franschhoek and two Stellenbosch eateries, Precious Hidden Valley (Helderberg) and Vuur at Remhoogte (Simonsberg). Chef Shaun
AS OFTEN happens in the Global Wine Masters competitions focusing on various categories throughout the year, the results of the 2026 Global Chardonnay Masters in the UK were made available in advance of the tasting report – judging took place mid-October, awards announced end-October, report to be published in November.
IT WAS IN 2018 when the Old Vine Project launched the Certified Heritage Vineyards seal that wine producers can place on bottles of wine made using grapes from vineyards at least 35 years old – the seal confirming the year in which the vines were planted. South Africa was the
WITH the 2026 FNB Sauvignon Blanc SA Top 10 awards, the number of South African Sauvignons most highly rated by the top panels of judges during the year to date climbed to 37 – see below, with the Top 10 announced by the SA Sauvignon Blanc association highlighted in green,
Not to be missed! The 2026 edition of Caroline’s annual White Wine & Cap Classique Review will be staged on Thursday 29 October from 5pm to 8:30pm in the Members’ Lounge on the 4th Floor of the DHL Stadium on Fritz Sonnenberg Road in Green Point, Cape Town. It’s one
THERE WERE as many as 95 of the 1293 wines and brandies entered in South Africa’s 2026 Veritas competition that earned Double Gold medals – these over-and-above the 196 Golds, 276 Outstanding Silvers, 410 Silvers and 207 Bronzes. For a ranking of the top wines, we have to get the
ATTRACTING the highest bid of R4583pb at the 2026 Cape Winemakers Guild Auction in Woodstock, Cape Town, was Andrea Mullineux’s ‘The Gris’ Old Vine Semillon 2025. A “piece of South African viticultural history”, according to the auctioneers Strauss & Co. “Once dominating the vineyards of the Cape, this natural and
ONE OF THE first farms on the Stellenbosch Wine Route. Top Wine SA Hall of Fame. Producer of one of the best expressions of Pinotage and an ‘old vine’ Chenin. Pioneer of bottle-fermented Cap Classique – Kaapse Vonkel (Cape Sparkle) being the first South African sparkling wine made according to
AT UNDER R200pb, surely there’s no better value-for-money sparkling wine on the market in 2026 than the 2020 vintage of Laborie Blanc de Blancs from KWV in Paarl? Champion at the 25th edition of the Amorim Cork Cap Classique Challenge after scoring 96 at South Africa’s Trophy Wine Show earlier
TWO OF THE winning wines in South Africa’s 2026 Standard Bank Chenin Blanc Top 10 Challenge applauded in September 2026 had already been honoured by top panels before: Stellenrust Barrel Fermented 2025 and Stettyn Old Vine 2025. Plus, there are four other top SA Chenins that have earned very good
IT’S BACK! Reinvented, under a different name… The popular Cuvée restaurant that closed some years ago has been replaced with Vonkel (‘Sparkle’), open daily from 9am to 5pm at Simonsig Family Vineyards in Koelenhof, Stellenbosch, serving “brunch and lunch with a menu built around fresh, seasonal ingredients, quality provenance and
RIEBEEK Valley Wine Co complete the winemaking of the flagship Kasteelberg range of wines in a boutique cellar at their large production facility in the town of Riebeek Kasteel, separate from the bigger-volume lines in their portfolio. It’s about taking the craft of winemaking to another level, beginning outside the
