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
The 2026 edition of Caroline’s annual Red Wine Review, hailed as one of the most prestigious tasting events on the South African wine calendar, will be staged on the evening of 30 July at Cape Town’s DHL Stadium. Hosted by Caroline Rillema of the legendary Caroline’s Fine Wine Cellar, this
THEY WON’T tell us the number of entries received for South Africa’s 2026 National Wine Challenge, convened by Robin von Holdt of Buy Better Wine, and for a while it wasn’t clear just who was on the panel, however… The producers of the winning wines in the last of the
Brookdale Estate has released its latest vintages, including its first Grenache Noir, vintage 2025, and Grenache Blanc 2025, of which fewer than 1000 bottles were produced. The new wines join Brookdale’s Old Vine Chenin Blanc 2024, two blended whites – the Bradbourne Estate Blend 2025 and the Sixteen Field Blend
THE WINEMAG panels don’t score many wines 95+, let alone ones that sell for less than R200 a bottle… Of the 45 wines assessed for the 2026 Winemag Pinotage Report, the highest score of 95 points was awarded for three wines in the competition, with two of them, the Cape
THE FIRST really good review of a South African Rosé in 2026 to date! The producer: Aaldering Vineyards in Devon Valley, Stellenbosch. The wine: Women of the World Pinotage Rosé 2025. The panel-rating: gold medal at the Global Rosé Masters in London. The panel of judges: Jonathan Pedley, Patricia Stefanowicz
OF THE 48 entries in South Africa’s 2026 Top 10 Merlot competition, the wine most preferred by the panel of judges was the 2024 Provenance Merlot from L’Avenir on the slopes of the Simonsberg in Stellenbosch. The Judges’ Choice Award winner also offered great value at R140pb – this in
