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
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
HIGH up in the Cederberg mountains to the south-east and north-east of Clanwilliam and Citrusdal respectively… Amazing that they thought to plant grape vines up there among the rocks, the highest vineyards in South Africa’s Western Cape with those cold, snowy winters. And so successfully! The Nieuwoudt family’s winery is the
CRAZY, or not? South Africa’s Wine Certification Authority will not disclose what wines it has certified in terms of where the grapes come from, e.g. Wine of Origin Piekenierskloof, WO Paardeberg, WO Polkadraai Hills, WO Elgin, WO Elim, etc. If you want to know the names of everything that originated
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
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
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
GREAT VALUE! Every wine from South Africa at under R200pb scored 95+ in authoritative panel tasting reports during the past six months – November 2025 to April 2026: CHENIN BLANC Durbanville Hills Collectors Reserve Chenin Blanc 2024 Rated 96/100 in Platter’s Guide R165pb ex-cellar, Durbanville Leeuwenkuil Reserve Chenin Blanc
ABRIE Beeslaar. A quiet, modest winemaker who keeps his cards close to his chest. Former cellarmaster at the renowned Kanonkop estate, three-time recipient of the Winemaker of the Year award at the International Wine & Spirits Competition (2008, 2015, 2017) and a member of the exclusive Cape Winemaker’s Guild, he
The release of the 2025 white wines from Cavalli celebrates the latest chapter in the re-positioning of the Smith family’s estate in the Helderberg. Over the past five years, and particularly since the appointment of acclaimed Cape Winemaker’s Guild member Rianie Strydom in 2023, the team’s focus on precision, site
THE MOST established of the Cape Bordeaux red blends in the flagship range of wines from Gary and Kathy Jordan’s estate in Stellenbosch Kloof honours the family heritage as master cobblers. First farmed back in the 1700s, the property was acquired by third-generation shoemaker Ted and Sheelagh Jordan in 1982
GRENACHE Noir is referred to as the ‘abalone’ of South African grapes, according to De Kleine Wijn Kelder on the Tulbagh farm Drie Fonteine. “So skaars soos hoendertande,” says winemaker Wynand Grobler, “as scarce as hens’ teeth.” Which gave rise to the name of the wine, of which the 2023
