THERE ARE plenty of food and wine happenings around South Africa at this time of year, but the main attractions on the 2015 Calendar of SA wine events in November are as follows: TOP-NOTCH CHARDONNAYS Limited-seating tastings of award-winning Chardonnays presented by Winemag.co.za at Radisson hotels in Johannesburg and Cape Town on the 4th and 11th respectively. Expect a line-up of 10 beauties
LOOKING BACK on what went down at the 2015 Nederburg Auction of rare South African wine in September and the Cape Winemakers Guild Auction of special bottlings in October, as was to be expected, clearly bidders were primarily interested in the classified wines and cellars on offer – those with good track records. Also in demand were wines that have been properly matured
YOU MIGHT well wonder why Rustenberg Peter Barlow was excluded from the line-up for Winemag.co.za’s 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon report, i.e. given the wine’s great track record over the past 10 years, given that it was scored 5 Stars in the 2014 edition of the report and then chosen as the international judges’ overall favourite at this year’s Trophy Wine Show. You might also wonder
WOW! There will be Syrahs from nearly 80 cellars to experience at the Shiraz Showcase on 18 June – 18:00 to 21:00 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. Expect well over 100 beauties available for tasting – including most of the 2015 Shiraz SA Challenge winners. For more info about the Showcase and for tickets to the event, click here. The participating producers
THEY SAY the reason for changing venue was a lack of space. In just a couple of years, the Feast of Shiraz & Charcuterie grew in popularity to the point that host Hartenberg was bursting at the seams and hence the switch to Joostenberg Deli & Bistro for the 2015 event on Saturday 30 May, 12:00 to 17:00 – not quite as
SOMETHING(S) to bear in mind if planning a trip to the Cool Wine & Country Festival in Elgin between 9am and 5pm on 2 & 3 May that involves a weekend pass costing R100 pp: Not every Elgin wine will be on show – non-participants include Richard Kershaw, Spioenkop and Sutherland (of Thelema), plus a number of other producers who
FOR SOME the annual Cape Winemakers Guild Auction is an opportunity to acquire some of what amounts to the best tanks or barrels before they’re combined with others nearly as good for sale in commercial quantities. For others it’s a chance to get one or more of the special cuvées from top cellars, wines made in tiny quantities, sometimes very unique,
