SURELY EVERY wine lover is familiar with a magnum, twice the size of a standard 750ml bottle, but when last did anybody put a 6L methusalah on their table? Many of us would not be comfortable pouring wine from an 18L melchior or solomon bottle weighing over 30kg, let alone
A SOUTH AFRICAN wine producer got in touch to voice his discontent regarding the critics, the show judges, locally and internationally… How is it possible that Merlot makes such a high percentage of the red wine bought in this country yet there are not many brands that qualify for
TOP WINE SA Hall of Fame, one of the Top 100 in the 2022 SA Wine Classification, among South Africa’s Top 10 white blends and one of the country’s Wines of the Year in 2021. The barrel-fermented Sauvignon Blanc Semillon combo from Cape Point Vineyards, the “world class winery by the sea”
THE NUMBERS go some way to painting the picture! Fifteen of South Africa’s Top 20 Cabs are from Stellenbosch. Cabernet Sauvignon, that is. Ten of the country’s Top 20 wines from Pinotage are WO Stellenbosch. Eleven of the Top 20 Red Blends. Also, 11 of the Top 20 Chenins
IT’S ARGUABLE THAT you can’t really call this a wine route. Many of the top cellars operate quite independently, many require you to make an appointment in advance of visiting and some are not keen on dealing directly with the general public on a daily basis. One of the
SAUVIGNON BLANC territory… But they also offer a range of fine wines using different varieties, of course. Particularly in the case of Diemersdal and De Grendel, which might be associated with other estates on this wine route but is around the corner from Durbanville Hills in Panorama – and
CHARDONNAY and bubbly are what come to mind for many when contemplating the cellars of the Robertson Wine Valley. But they also offer good reds, and sweet pleasures too. See below for the top wineries in the area and what they’re best at. For the names of exactly which
FROM THE FOOTHILLS of Paarl Rock Mountain to the Simonsberg, Voor Paardeberg and beyond, this is a wine route encompassing some of South Africa’s biggest cellars as well as some of its smallest. Babylonstoren, Fairview and Spice Route are among the most popular tourist destinations in this district where
MANY WOULD ARGUE that their Chardonnay is more impressive than their Pinot, and they make some other outstanding wines here too – with a number of the cellars’ beauties originating in vineyards outside the area! But it tends to be Pinot Noir that the Hemel-en-Aarde winelands are best known for,
JUST OVER an hour’s drive (around 80km) from Cape Town, the ‘French corner’ of the Cape winelands – east of Stellenbosch and Paarl – is one of the most popular wine routes in South Africa. Numerous guesthouses and Airbnb options, as well as a wine tram connecting one end
HARD TO BELIEVE that 20 years ago this wine route was still struggling to get off the ground, so to speak. Whereas today, not only is Elgin home to some of the country’s top cellars but numerous wineries in Stellenbosch and elsewhere use grapes from the area and proudly proclaim
SOME STRUGGLE to get their heads around the law that allows for wines from Durbanville being labelled as Capetonian. Some feel that even Cape Point and Kommetjie are too far from the Mother City to be considered part of Cape Town. Perhaps we could agree that the wineries in the
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Top Wine SA is your go-to site for South Africa’s top-rated wines and their prices, top-rated wines at under R150 a bottle, other SA wine recommendations, the top SA wine events calendar, news and comment. Home of the SA Wine Classification and the Hall of Fame, keeping tabs on the best track records of the country’s top wines as judged by the top panels locally and internationally. A directory of the country’s top producers as well as where to eat and stay on the top farms, among the vines. And there’s more, much more…
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