“THE 2000 hectares of old vines that South Africa has is important… It’s part of our history, part of our future, but it’s not going to take our industry forward… What about the other 95 000 hectares!” So reasons Bruwer Raats, applauded as top producer in Platter’s SA Wine Guide, champion of the varieties Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc, outspoken winemaker
99/100 in PLATTER’S 2018 Nederburg Two Centuries Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 Platter’s Red Wine of the Year The Foundry Grenache Blanc 2015 Platter’s White Wine of the Year Klein Constantia Vin de Constance Natural Sweet 2013 Platter’s Unfortified Dessert Wine of the Year Beaumont Starboard NV (Port) Platter’s Fortified Dessert Wine of the Year 98/100 in PLATTER’S 2018 Cederberg Shiraz 2015
IF YOU’RE contemplating which Franschhoek wineries to buy from, the following have the best track records in the valley over the past 10 years – full SA Wine & Cellar Classifications here. ALLÉE BLEUE Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Chenin Blanc L’Amour Toujours (Red Blend) Pinotage BELLINGHAM The Bernard Series Basket Press Syrah The Bernard Series Bush Vine Pinotage The Bernard Series
UNLIKE the annual Nederburg Auction of rare South African wines in Paarl, the annual Cape Winemakers Guild Auction of rare South African wines at Spier in Stellenbosch is open to anybody and offers limited releases made exclusively for sale at this event and packaged as such – with no reserve prices. These are mostly young wines, some special cellar- or vineyard-selections,
WINE BOTTLE SIZES: HALF = 375ml STANDARD = 750ml MAGNUM = 1,5L JEROBOAM = 3L REHOBOAM = 4,5L / 5L METHUSELAH/IMPERIAL = 6L SALMANAZAR = 9L BALTHAZAR = 12L NEBUCHADNEZZAR = 15L MELCHIOR = 18L GOLIATH/PRIMAT = 27L THERE’S SOMETHING special about having a large bottle of wine on the table – something grand, pleasing on the eye. Plus, there are collectors who reason that wines aged in big bottles
IT’S REPORTED that there were over 500 entries in the 2017 edition of the National Wine Challenge, now in its seventh year as a competition that culminates with awards for the Top 100 entries from South African vintners and Grand Cru awards for the wines judged to be best in each class. The number of submissions is some way off the
FROM TIME to time Top Wine SA has fielded queries regarding how the South African Wine & Cellar Classifications compare with the South African Wine Index, which also has to do with good track records. For those who remain curious about the SAWi Wine Excellence Awards or how Top Wine SA’s selection of the country’s Top 100 and the Hall of Fame differ from
YET ANOTHER accolade for Swartland vigneron Eben Sadie on receiving the 2017 Winemakers’ Winemaker Award presented by The Institute of Masters of Wine and The Drinks Business publication in the UK is further affirmation of his talent and dedication. It also highlights one of the elite group of South Africa’s top wine producers who are proprietor, farmer and cellarmaster – all in one –
THE 2017 Drinks International Wine Tourism Challenge (UK) culminated with awards for Best Visitor Centre (Codorniu in Spain), Most Innovative Experience (Vineyard Tour Guide App at Yealands in New Zealand), Best Food and Wine Matching (Zonin’s Castello di Albola in Italy), Best Retail Experience (Gonzalez Byass in Spain), Best Promotional Body (Stellenbosch Wine Routes), Best Wine Event (Harvest and From Vine
FROM THE VALLEY to the upper slopes and over the ridge, wonderful views left, right and centre… The Hemel-en-Aarde wards outside Hermanus in the district of Walker Bay account for six of South Africa’s Top 10 Pinot Noir – two of the others originating in Elgin (Paul Cluver Seven Flags and Oak Valley), one in Franschhoek (Chamonix Reserve) and one in Stellenbosch
BASED ON THE BEST track records in 28 local and international forums for the assessment of wine quality and interest value over the past 10 years, the South African Wine & Cellar Classifications celebrate the country’s leading outfits – those who are regularly on top form, their product judged top-notch again and again, year after year. To be eligible for
WINE AWARDS, ratings, reviews, recommendations. They needn’t be complicated or controversial, however it helps to know what you’re dealing with in distinguishing between pretty darn useful, somewhat interesting, and just a waste of time… Some folk get into a froth over whose opinions count most – besides your own that is – and some troubled souls even question whether wines
WITH JUST weeks to go until the end of 2016, the spotlight shone on a few of the Cape’s top wineries and winemakers more brightly than usual. Shiraz/Chenin specialist Andrea Mullineux of Riebeek Kasteel in the Swartland, previously of California, was pronounced Winemaker of the Year by Wine Enthusiast magazine in the USA. Nederburg of Paarl won the IWSC trophy for South African Wine Producer
IT’S A LOVELY drive through the countryside to the vineyards of Slanghoek Valley. Visitors typically head out along the N1 highway, taking the R101 to Rawsonville just east of the Du Toitskloof Pass/Huguenot Tunnel (or via Worcester) before turning north along ‘The Route Less Travelled’ than most others in the Cape winelands. It’s alongside the Slanghoek Road in the Breedekloof that the
IT’S NOT that the district of Darling – including the Groenekloof ward – is no longer the source of good Sauvignon Blanc. A number of top wineries outside the area continue to source some of the fruit for some of their wines from Darling – KWV of Paarl, for example, produces a particularly fine Sauvignon from Darling grapes under The Mentors label. But
THE CAPE Winemakers Guild Auctions together with the pre-sale dinners and Showcase tastings are many things to many people… Obviously, they are opportunities to experience and/or collect some of South Africa’s finest and rarest wines from some of the Cape’s top cellars. They are also indicators of what the vintners are particularly passionate about producing or confirmation of what they’re best
THE 2016 Muskadel SA awards point to some of the great value wine producers at under R100 a bottle, or even under R50 at the cellar door – and not just in the fortified dessert wine categories. Du Toitskloof Red Muscadel 2014 at R50 and Orange River Cellars White Muscadel 2015 at R50 were commended for the packaging as well as
IN WHAT AMOUNTS to a closing-down sale running until the end of March, the prices of everything at the Winters Drift shop next to the Elgin railway station east of Grabouw were slashed by 35% following a decision of the powers that be to cull the brand and to replace the vineyards with orchards – apples and pears. Apparently the wine side
THERE WERE a number of South African wineries that excelled in 2015 by way of good reviews, however none were more frequent visitors to the podium than the grande dame Groot Constantia – a property dating back to 1685 but which ranks right up there with the best in the modern era too. Winemaker Boela Gerber is very modest about his team’s achievements
‘THE WINE KINGDOM’ is a marvelous publication ‘Celebrating conservation in the Cape winelands’ – marvelous by way of stunning photographs of beautiful countryside, fauna and flora, marvelous by way of the many success stories and conservation-worthy achievements that involve an industry collaborating out of respect for nature and the environment. And although not a wine guide proper, the coffee-table book features
