‘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
THE FOLLOWING wines, given in alphabetical order, are among the notable newcomers from South Africa’s winelands so far this decade that notched up another good review in 2015 – no fly-by-nights, no one-hit-wonders, and not the only ones by any means, but particularly interesting for one reason or another. Alvi’s Drift Albertus Viljoen Chenin Blanc. The Worcester champions at Alvi’s Drift have got
IT WAS ABOUT TIME! Long overdue, you might say… By far and away South Africa’s leading producer of fortified dessert wines over the past 30 years or so and with a reputation for great-value quaffers too, Nuy Winery east of Worcester had made do with a rather humble cellar-door tasting and sales facility until the new showcase venue, restaurant and deli opened
IT’S ONE OF THOSE wine route destinations off the beaten track that’s worth seeking out for the wines but also for the location – above the basin and south of where most of the other Elgin cellars are to be found, close to the sea, and dramatic in terms of the scenery, the weather and the family behind it all. The
FOR YEARS the reputation of Fleur du Cap as a collection of top quality, interesting wines from Distell’s Bergkelder in Stellenbosch was built mainly on the strength of whites in the ‘Unfiltered’ range – such was the consistency that Fleur du Cap Unfiltered soon ranked among South Africa’s top-ranked classified Chardonnays, Semillons, Viogniers and white blends. And it wasn’t long before the
EIKENDAL’S latest releases of their so-called ícon wines – the 2014 Chardonnay at R127 pb and the 2013 red blend Classique at R223 pb – promise much. Such are the good track records of these wines that it’s amazing to some that the Stellenbosch property still has a low profile relative to many of the other Top 50 wine cellars in South Africa. It was
WHAT were the chances! Another branch in mankind’s family tree is discovered beneath the bushveld and they call it Naledi, the same name that adorns a range of Savanha wines produced by Spier in Stellenbosch… Amazing to think of a species not that unlike us wondering around the Magaliesberg of Gauteng hundreds of thousands if not millions of years ago, staring up at the
THE TERMS Rosé, Blush and Blanc de Noir describe ‘white’ wines made from ‘black’ grapes, grapes that are actually red in colour… Typically they involve a gentle pressing of the grapes, limiting the time that the juice and the skins spend in contact with each other, and then proceeding with production along similar lines to wines made from ‘white’ grapes, grapes which actually range from
GOING BY the last count in 2014, South Africa has some 3300 farms on which grapes are being grown for making wine and there are around 550 wineries in the various regions, districts and wards. According to industry data published by SAWIS, about 200 farms are registered for the production of Estate Wine – wine that is grown, produced and bottled on
AS ONE OF the Cape’s ‘First Growths’ with a history of winemaking going back to the 1700s and uninterrupted since 1892, Rustenberg in Ida’s Valley and on the slopes of the Simonsberg in Stellenbosch has not been resting on its laurels. Far from it. The Barlow family stands out as one of South Africa’s Top 20 producers as regards dry reds and whites
ACCORDING to 2015 statistics announced by the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) based in Paris, France, South Africa now ranks 7th among the biggest wine-producing countries in the world: 1 France (16.7%), 2 Italy (16%), 3 Spain (14.9%), 4 USA (8%), 5 Argentina (5.4%), 6 Australia (4.3%), 7 South Africa (4.1%), 8 China (4%), 9 Chile (3.8%). Spain has the most
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
“PERFUMED NOSE, with good expression of spice, rose petals, Turkish delight and lychees… Floral flavours and a mélange of fruits… Lingering finish… Enjoyed on its own or as an accompaniment to spicy foods, curries and sushi” – Altydgedacht‘s tasting notes for their Gewürztraminer 2014, winner of a Double Gold medal at this year’s Six Nations Wine Challenge in Sydney, Australia. There are very
ALTHOUGH THE EXACT pecking order regarding the very best wine producers in South Africa will forever be debatable, there is little argument amongst the cognoscenti that The Sadie Family is comfortably among the Top 10 in terms of the special nature and interest value of what they produce. Yet to many, this cellar in the foothills of the Paardeberg outside Malmesbury in the
RELATIVE to many other top South African wine estates, Diemersdal is humble in appearance – nothing very fancy, a rustic farm that in some ways has been slow to change with the times, and all the more charming for it. Within the ward of Durbanville, the farm stands apart to the north of the town – quite separate from most of
Thelema Mountain Vineyards, Helshoogte, Simonsberg-Stellenbosch Vergelegen, Helderberg, Somerset West Vineyard up the road from the Niewoudt’s Cederberg Private Cellar From Ken Forrester Vineyards: Avontuur Estate on the Helderberg, Somerset West Stark-Conde, Jonkershoek Valley, Stellenbosch Boekenhoutskloof, Franschhoek Morgenster Estate, Helderberg, Somerset West Stellenrust, Stellenbosch Paul Cluver, Elgin
THE MURATIE Wine Estate has become a favourite stop-over off the R44 along the Simonsberg stretch of the Stellenbosch Wine Route, particularly since the Melck family stepped up a gear hospitality wise by offering meals from their Cellar Kitchen – either outdoors in the courtyard under oak trees or inside where ‘The Longroom’ and ‘Die Gat’ double as an art gallery with fireplaces, oak
TULBAGH is one of those places on the way to nowhere really, a destination in itself, tucked away between the Obiqua, Winterhoek and Witzenberg mountains. Named after a former Dutch governor of the Cape, Rijk Tulbagh, the town is accessed via Malmesbury or Piketberg off the N7 and via Wellington or Worcester off the N1. It includes some lovely countryside, is popular
The greenhouse at Babylonstoren, Paarl: great place for a snack and a glass of vino, or for some tea and cake if you’d prefer THEY ARE TWO of the most talked-about destinations on the wine routes within easy travelling distance of Cape Town, highly recommended on several fronts and each better than the other for this or that. Nobody’s perfect,
WITH SOUTH AFRICA’S 2013 wine grape harvest fast approaching, many farmers are re-assessing their cost structures and modus operandi in the wake of wage demands that turned ugly. The following was first published in the Cape Argus newspaper last week… * * * * * Published in the Cape Argus on 18 January 2013 As the smoke clears following the
