Mmmm! The 2021 Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships held in England came and went, the CSWWC results were published and, for the second year in succession, the best South African producers could muster were silver medals presented for a couple of Cap Classiques from Graham Beck of Robertson and
AWKWARD! Who was more embarrassed: the good folk at Spier Wine Farm in Stellenbosch, the South African National Wine Show Association who organise the Veritas Awards, or the sponsors of the competition? Whereas De Grendel Wine Estate in Panorama/Durbanville would be forgiven if they felt robbed! The 2021 prize-giving took
BLUE COVER in 2019, green in 2020, black in 2021… Platter’s 2022 South African Wine Guide is no doubt packed with as much useful info as in previous years, the highlights including awards presented to the top-performing wineries and producers of the tasting panels’ favourites in various categories. Edging out
DAYS IN ADVANCE of launching the 2022 edition of their book and presenting awards for their choice of Wines and Wineries of the Year, the publishers of Platter’s South African Wine Guide teased followers by divulging the names of their 5 Star laureates – 234 of them, each considered to
WHAT TO LIKE about Winemag‘s pick of South Africa’s ‘Top 20 Wines’ in 2021, ‘The Best Wines in South Africa’ and their choice of ‘Winery of the Year’? Well, good to see Vergelegen in the spotlight again: top estate, veteran winemaker, impressive track record. Interesting to see what Winemag rated
THE DUIMPIE BAYLY Veritas Vertex Award for “the overall champion” at the 2021 edition of South Africa’s oldest bottled wine [and brandy] show, still one of the biggest competitions of its kind in the country, was presented to Spier of Stellenbosch for the 2018 vintage of their Creative Block
MOST OF the South African wines assessed for Winemag’s 2021 Prescient Chardonnay Report were from grapes harvested in 2020, which the judges felt was “a slightly lesser vintage” relative to 2019 when it comes to this variety, “the wines not having the same fruit concentration”. Their absolute favourites of the
THE International Wine & Spirit Competition organisers in the UK are holding back on announcing their 2021 trophy winners, but in the meantime they’ve disclosed the names of gold medallists including 26 South African wines (see below for those scored 96 or 95 out of 100) while teasing the audience
“THIS YEAR will be remembered as a world-class Top 10,” said Kleine Zalze winemaker RJ Botha, chairman of Sauvignon Blanc South Africa. There were 157 wines entered by 96 producers in the 2021 edition of the association’s competition, with four of the winning wines having achieved the feat before –
THERE WERE 125 entries from various parts of the South African winelands submitted for Winemag’s 2021 Prescient Sauvignon Blanc Report. Most were unwooded, some were wooded and some comprised blends of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon (albeit that this isn’t always disclosed on the labels). And there were plenty that delighted
IT WAS JUST a matter of time, some would say. The Benguela Cove estate alongside the Bot River Lagoon on the road to Hermanus has been on many a wine lover’s radar since entrepreneur Penny Streeter and her family began investing in the area and particularly after cellarmaster Johann
WITH THEIR achievements in the 2021 edition of the Perold Absa Cape Blend Competition, the five winners showed once again how consistently good their wines are as combos with Pinotage being the leading component comprising between 30% and 70%. Since the competition was first held by the Pinotage Association in
